Turbulent Momentum Fluxes Research Articles

The Vertical Structure of Turbulence Kinetic Energy Near the Arctic Sea‐Ice Surface

AbstractAtmospheric turbulence over the Arctic sea‐ice surface has been understudied due to the lack of observational data. In this study, we focus on the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) over sea ice and distinguish its two different vertical structures, the “Surface” type and the “Elevated” type, using observations during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate expedition (MOSAiC). The “Surface” type has the maximum TKE near the surface (at 2 m), while the “Elevated” type has the maximum TKE at a higher level (6 m). The TKE budget analysis indicates that the “Elevated” type is caused by the increased shear production of TKE at 6 m. In addition, spectral analysis reveals that the contribution to TKE by horizontal large eddies is enhanced in the “Elevated” type. Finally, how the vertical structure of TKE affects the parameterization of turbulent momentum flux is discussed.

On dissipation timescales of the basic second-order moments: the effect on the energy and flux budget (EFB) turbulence closure for stably stratified turbulence

Abstract. The dissipation rates of the basic second-order moments are the key parameters playing a vital role in turbulence modelling and controlling turbulence energetics and spectra and turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat. In this paper, we use the results of direct numerical simulations (DNSs) to evaluate dissipation rates of the basic second-order moments and revise the energy and flux budget (EFB) turbulence closure theory for stably stratified turbulence. We delve into the theoretical implications of this approach and substantiate our closure hypotheses through DNS data. We also show why the concept of down-gradient turbulent transport becomes incomplete when applied to the vertical turbulent flux of potential temperature under stable stratification. We reveal essential feedback between the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), the vertical turbulent flux of buoyancy, and the turbulent potential energy (TPE), which is responsible for maintaining shear-produced stably stratified turbulence for any Richardson number.

Turbulent flow over aligned cylindrical obstacles

Turbulent flow and boundary-layer (BL) characteristics over cylindrical obstacles have been understudied compared to the flow dynamics around cubic roughness in the urban BL literature. Using large-eddy simulation, we investigate a turbulent BL flow developed over two vertically oriented cylindrical obstacles aligned downstream. For widely separated cylinders, the wake flow undergoes periodic oscillations akin to vortex shedding behind an isolated cylinder. As the height-to-width aspect ratio (AR) of the canyon bounded by the cylinders increases, the streamline geometry exhibits a clear transition from isolated to wake interference and skimming regimes. Two-point autocorrelation functions of velocities confirm a strong coupling of canyon flow with the roughness sublayer for wider canyons, while with evident decoupling as the canyon narrows. The length scales, which measure the spatial correlation in the flow, decrease in both lateral and vertical directions with increasing AR. Turbulent kinetic energy and momentum fluxes below the roughness sublayer present pronounced monotonic scaling with AR (with R-squared values up to 0.84 and 0.98, respectively), resulting in a consistent variation in the surface roughness aerodynamic parameters, the roughness length (z0) and zero-plane displacement (d), with AR. Quantitative differences in the results with respect to those well-established for street canyons are analyzed, with the similarities highlighted. The results offer insights into boundary-layer flow parameterization concerning cylinder-occupied surface roughness.

An Observational Case Study of a Radiation Fog Event

A micrometeorological fog experiment was carried out in Budapest, Hungary during the winter half year of 2020–2021. The field observation involved (i) standard meteorological and radiosonde measurements; (ii) surface radiation balance and energy budget components, and (iii) ceilometer measurements. 23 fog events occurred during the whole campaign. Foggy events were categorized based on two different methods suggested by Tardif and Rasmussen (2007) and Lin et al. (2022). Using the Present Weather Detector and Visibility sensor (PWD12), duration of foggy periods are approximately shorter (~ 9%) compared to ceilometer measurements. The categorization of fog based on two different methods suggests that duration of radiation fogs is lower compared to that of cloud base lowering (CBL) fogs. The results of analysis of observed data about the longest fog event suggest that (i) it was a radiation fog that developed from the surface upwards with condition of a near neutral temperature profile. Near the surface the turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent momentum fluxes remained smaller than 0.4 m2 s–2 and 0.06 kg m–1 s–2, respectively. In the surface layer the vertical profile of the sensible heat flux was near constant (it changes with height ~ 10%), and during the evolution of the fog, its maximum value was smaller than 25 W m–2, (ii) the dissipation of the fog occurred due to increase of turbulence, (iii) longwave energy budget was close to zero during fog, and a significant increase of virtual potential temperature with height was observed before fog onset. The complete dataset gives an opportunity to quantify local effects, such as tracking the effect of strengthening of wind for modification of stability, surface layer profiles and visibility. Fog formation, development and dissipation are quantified based on the micrometeorological observations performed in suburb area of Budapest, providing a processing algorithm for investigating various fog events for synoptic analysis and for optimization of numerical model parameterizations.

Vertical distribution characteristics of the typhoon gust factor based on a 356-m high meteorological gradient tower

The characteristics of typhoon gust factors (GF) are important for the design of high-rise buildings in coastal areas. Most research on GF are based on observational data near the ground. This has made it difficult to meet the increasing demand for high-rise building designs in recent years. Thus, improving the knowledge of the vertical distribution of GF inside the typhoon is necessary and helpful for the design of high-rises and the prevention of gust disasters. In this study, the data from a 365-m high meteorological tower were used to explore the vertical distribution features of the gust factor within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) of typhoons in coastal region. The results indicate that: (1) The statistical probability distribution of GF during the typhoon exhibits a non-Gaussian distribution at all observational heights of the tower. While the generalized extreme value distribution (GEV) can well describe the properties of the probability distribution of GF at different heights. (2) The GF have a weak relationship with the average wind speed. However, GF have a strong relationship with turbulence intensity and increases linearly with the turbulence intensity. Notably, the results from the previous empirical model of the GF do not fully match the parameterised results during typhoons in this study. (3) In the typhoon boundary layer, the bulk wind shear plays a significant role in generating turbulent eddies with scales comparable to the observation height, especially at lower layer. Besides, the strong turbulent fluctuations at near-ground layers may be a result of the coupling of several elements. The turbulent momentum flux transported downward from the upper layers has a significant impact on the peak gust, and the downward transported energy may further enhance the turbulent motion in lower layers, which may lead to a higher gust factor near the surface.

Vertical profiles of temperature, wind, and turbulent fluxes across a deciduous forest over a slope observed with a UAV

To contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of the atmosphere inside and above a forest, vertical profiles are flown with a remotely-controlled multicopter in the Steinkrug forest. This area is located over a slope in the Solling natural area in Lower Saxony (Germany), composed mostly of deciduous trees about 30 m tall. Fifteen vertical flights made near sunset between summer 2019 and spring 2020 were inspected from the surface to 100 m above ground level. These measurements provide information on the vertical structures of wind and temperature within and above the canopy, including the effects of shallow slope flows near the ground. Contrasting measurements downhill outside the forest were also made. The gathered data allow estimated profiles of the turbulent fluxes of sensible heat and momentum to be obtained by computing averages and fluctuations for layers of 5 m depth. A leaf area density profile in both leafy and leafless conditions could also be produced. The presence of a slope flow is inspected at both sites, and the applicability of existing theories is explored.

Improving the Near-Surface Wind and Turbulence at the Edge of the Orographic Drag Gray Zone by Tuning the Roughness Length

Abstract In this paper, we present the implementation and evaluate the impact of the new roughness length configuration in the ALARO canonical model configuration of the ALADIN system at the edge of the orographic gravity wave drag gray zone. As an essential input for turbulence parameterization, the roughness length affects the near-surface turbulent fluxes and the screen-level interpolation of meteorological parameters. We utilize GMTED2010 and ECOCLIMAP-II databases to derive orographic and vegetation components of the effective roughness length and introduce tuning parameters enabling us to optimize predicted near-surface turbulent momentum fluxes and 10-m wind speed. Based on sensitivity tests, we (i) prove the necessity of tuning the roughness length fields, (ii) considerably reduce the RMSE of near-surface turbulent momentum fluxes (6%–7%) and 10-m wind speed for different groups of stations (3%–10%), and (iii) identify the tree height as the most influential input parameter in our computational domain. The RMSE decomposition indicates that the improvement of 10-m wind speed mostly comes from a decrease in the random error and bias of the mean. The variability is slightly underestimated, thus reducing the model accuracy for wind speeds above the 95th percentile but at an acceptable level. We explain that roughness length tuning also compensates for the missing roughness sublayer correction in our system. Finally, we show that, although the impact of the orographic gravity wave drag scheme at a horizontal mesh size of 1.8 km is generally small, it is still beneficial for capturing some finer features observed in atmospheric soundings. Significance Statement Aiming to improve the 10-m wind speed forecast without sacrificing the accuracy of turbulent momentum fluxes in the kilometric resolution numerical weather prediction model, we derived new roughness length fields from high-resolution physiography databases. Therein, we proved the importance of tuning the input orography and vegetation fields and, depending on the time of day and year, reduced the root-mean-square error of 10-m wind speed by 3%–10%. Further, we demonstrated that orographic gravity wave drag parameterization is still needed to predict finer details seen in wind profiles from atmospheric soundings. Finally, we discussed the related simplifications in our model and their implications and proposed steps toward a more consistent and complete treatment of the near-surface turbulence.

Oceanic Frontal Turbulence

Abstract Upper-ocean turbulence results from a complex set of interactions between submesoscale turbulence and local boundary layer processes. The interaction between larger-scale currents and turbulent fluctuations is two-way: large-scale shearing motions generate turbulence, and the resulting coherent turbulent fluxes of momentum and buoyancy feed back onto the larger flow. Here we examine the evolution and role of turbulence in the intensification, instability, arrest, and decay (i.e., the life cycle) of a dense filament undergoing frontogenesis in the upper-ocean boundary layer, i.e., cold filament frontogenesis (CFF). This phenomenon is examined in large-eddy simulations (LES) with resolved turbulent motions in large horizontal domains using 109 grid points. The boundary layer turbulence is generated by surface buoyancy loss (cooling flux) and is allowed to freely interact with an initially imposed cold filament, and the evolution is followed through the frontal life cycle. Two control parameters are explored: the initial frontal strength M2 = ∂xb and the surface flux . The former is more consequent: initially weaker fronts sharpen more slowly and become arrested at a later time with a larger width. This reflects a competition between the frontogenetic rate induced by the secondary circulation associated with vertical momentum mixing by the turbulence and the instability rate for the along-filament shear flow. The frontal turbulence is energized by the shear production of the latter, is nonlocally transported away from the primary production zone at the filament centerline, and cascades to dissipation in a broad region surrounding the filament. The turbulent momentum fluxes arresting the frontogenesis are supported across a wide range of horizontal scales.

Perspectives toward Stochastic and Learned-by-Data Turbulence in Numerical Weather Prediction

Abstract The increased social need for more precise and reliable weather forecasts, especially when focusing on extreme weather events, pushes forward research and development in meteorology toward novel numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems that can provide simulations that resolve atmospheric processes on hectometric scales on demand. Such high-resolution NWP systems require a more detailed representation of the nonresolved processes, i.e., usage of scale-aware schemes for convection and three-dimensional turbulence (and radiation), which would additionally increase the computation needs. Therefore, developing and applying comprehensive, reliable, and computationally acceptable parameterizations in NWP systems is of urgent importance. All operationally used NWP systems are based on averaged Navier–Stokes equations, and thus require an approximation for the small-scale turbulent fluxes of momentum, energy, and matter in the system. The availability of high-fidelity data from turbulence experiments and direct numerical simulations has helped scientists in the past to construct and calibrate a range of turbulence closure approximations (from the relatively simple to more complex), some of which have been adopted and are in use in the current operational NWP systems. The significant development of learned-by-data (LBD) algorithms over the past decade (e.g., artificial intelligence) motivates engineers and researchers in fluid dynamics to explore alternatives for modeling turbulence by directly using turbulence data to quantify and reduce model uncertainties systematically. This review elaborates on the LBD approaches and their use in NWP currently, and also searches for novel data-informed turbulence models that can potentially be used and applied in NWP. Based on this literature analysis, the challenges and perspectives to do so are discussed.

Uncertainties of Drag Coefficient Estimates Above Sea Ice from Field Data

Surface turbulent exchanges play a key role on sea ice dynamics, on ocean and sea ice heat budgets and on the polar atmosphere. Uncertainties in parameterizations of surface turbulent fluxes are mostly held by the transfer coefficients and estimates of those transfer coefficients from field data are required for parameterization development. Measurement errors propagate through the computation of transfer coefficients and contribute to its total error together with the uncertainties in the empirical stability functions used to correct for stability effects. Here we propose a methodology to assess their contributions individually to each coefficient estimate as well as the total drag coefficient uncertainty and we apply this methodology on the example of the SHEBA campaign. We conclude that for most common drag coefficient values (between 1.0×10-3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1.0\ imes 10^{-3}$$\\end{document} and 2.5×10-3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$2.5\ imes 10^{-3}$$\\end{document}), the relative total uncertainty ranges from 25 and 50%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\%$$\\end{document}. For stable or unstable conditions with a stability parameter |ζ|>1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$|\\zeta |>1$$\\end{document} on average, the total uncertainty in the neutral drag coefficient exceeds the neutral drag coefficient value itself, while for |ζ|<1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$|\\zeta |<1$$\\end{document} the total uncertainty is around 25%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\%$$\\end{document} of the drag coefficient. For closer-to-neutral conditions, this uncertainty is dominated by measurement uncertainties in surface turbulent momentum fluxes which should therefore be the target of efforts in uncertainty reduction. We also propose an objective data-screening procedure for field data, which consists of retaining data for which the relative error on neutral drag coefficient does not exceed a given threshold. This method, in addition to the commonly used flux quality control procedure, allows for a reduction of the drag coefficient dispersion compared to other data-screening methods, which we take as an indication of better dataset quality.

The wave-age-dependent stress parameterisation (WASP) for momentum and heat turbulent fluxes at sea in SURFEX v8.1

Abstract. A widely applicable parameterisation of turbulent heat and momentum fluxes at sea has been developed for the SURFEX v8.1 surface model. This wave-age-dependent stress parameterisation (WASP) combines a close fit to available in situ observations at sea up to wind speed of 60 m s−1 with the possibility of activating the impact of wave growth on the wind stress. It aims in particular at representing the effect of surface processes that depend on the surface wind according to the state of the art. It can be used with the different atmospheric models coupled with the surface model SURFEX, including the CNRM-CM climate model, the operational (numerical weather prediction) systems in use at Météo-France, and the research model Meso-NH. Designed to be used in coupled or forced mode with a wave model, it can also be used in an atmosphere-only configuration. It has been validated and tested in several case studies covering different surface conditions known to be sensitive to the representation of surface turbulent fluxes: (i) the impact of a sea surface temperature (SST) front on low-level flow by weak wind, (ii) the simulation of a Mediterranean heavy precipitating event where waves are known to influence the low-level wind and displace precipitation, (iii) several tropical cyclones, and (iv) a climate run over 35 years. It shows skills comparable to or better than the different parameterisations in use in SURFEX v8.1 so far.

Wind waves impact on the velocity in wave boundary layer in the condition of dynamically smooth surface

One of the factors of wind wave impact on vertical distributions in atmosphere surface layer is the flux of momentum produced by the wave-produced fluctuations. Wave surface are supposed to be a dynamically rough and effects of the molecular viscosity are neglected. In this paper impact of wave momentum fluxes with values of wind velocity which lead to dynamically smooth ocean surface is estimated. The well-known theoretical aspects and results of experimental research are applied. Dependence of dimensionless thickness of viscosity layer on dimensionless roughness of smooth surface is analyzed. The equations of motion are formed taking into account the manifestation of three factors: molecular, turbulent and wave momentum flux. The models based on these equations are described.The choice of constant coefficients that are set in calculations with this model is considered. Results of calculations and analysis of vertical profiles of wind speed and the dependence of the drag coefficient on wind velocity under various wave age.

Turbulent boundary layer flow over a three-dimensional sinusoidal surface

The sinusoidal roughness effect is investigated using a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a spatially developing turbulent boundary layer (TBL) over three-dimensional sinusoidal roughness. The validity of Townsend's outer-layer similarity hypothesis is assessed based on comparisons of mean and second-order flow statistics, with a DNS of smooth-wall TBL data set at a similar Reynolds number. The total, Reynolds and dispersive stress tensors are calculated using the double-averaging procedure. The mean and second-order statistical similarities in the outer layer between rough-wall and smooth-wall TBLs are generally observed. The transport between total, turbulent and dispersive kinetic energy is investigated utilising triple-decomposed kinetic energy transports equations. The transport behaviour of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) is significantly affected by the local mean shear induced by the surface roughness. However, the TKE transport shows good collapse with the smooth-wall case in the outer region of the flow. On the other hand, the transport of dispersive kinetic energy, including local production, redistribution and dissipation, are confined within the roughness sublayer. The intercomponent transfer between TKE and dispersive kinetic energy is quantified from the triple-decomposed kinetic energy transport equations. The intercomponent energy transfer is associated with the local spatial gradients of the turbulent momentum fluxes generated near the roughness canopy.

Winds and eddy dynamics in the urban canopy layer over a city: A parameterization based on the mixing-layer analogy

Urban atmospheric flows are vital to the global ecology. This study characterizes urban canopy layer (UCL) dynamics and parameterizes the flows in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) over heterogeneous urban surfaces. Large-eddy simulations (LESs) are used to transiently calculate the winds over a real, dense city. A linear function of eddy diffusivity of momentum KM is applied to the lower UCL. Analogous to its mixing-layer counterpart, the strong UCL top shear manifests an inflected mean wind speed profile which aligns well with the exponential law. The solutions to the mixing length lm and the turbulent momentum flux are analytically derived by consolidating the mixing-layer type shear and the form drag from the explicitly resolved roughness elements. The behavior of lm in the lower UCL, especially its peaked level, is captured well. Based on the balance between shear and form drag, an aerodynamic effective roof level Hae is designated where the ground effect is alleviated under shear dominance. Results reveal that a rougher urban surface generates eddies with a larger shear length scale, thus enhancing momentum transport. In-canopy turbulence mixing, which slows down wind decay, is also enhanced, resulting in stronger street-level breezes. The newly developed ASL flow model will be beneficial to urban planning by offering reliable predictions, effectuating the management of urban sustainability.

Coherent structures detection within a dense Alpine forest

The influence of coherent vortices on the turbulence structure above and below a dense plant canopy is investigated using turbulence measurements collected at five levels on top and inside a coniferous forest on an Alpine Plateau. Five different stability regimes, from free convection to very stable stratification, were identified and considered in the analysis. Coherent structures are detected by fitting the vertical velocity auto-correlation functions with a theoretical oscillating function. This allowed to evaluate the coherent vortices characteristic timescales and to discriminate between turbulent data subsets characterized by fine-scale turbulence and subsets in which turbulence is dominated by coherent structures generated at the canopy top. An original methodology to fit cross-correlation function and to single out the most energetic frequency in presence of periodic behaviour is presented and applied to the turbulent momentum flux. The analysis shows how not far from neutral conditions the dominant time scale of the momentum flux is mainly determined by the longitudinal wind velocity component, rather than vertical one, while in free convection and very stable conditions coherent vortices do not seem to influence the momentum transport, dominated by large-scale structures. This is confirmed by the fine-scale turbulence and coherent structures efficiency in turbulence transport throughout the stability regimes.

Representing the effects of building height variability on urban canopy flow

AbstractWe conducted large‐eddy simulations over 98 urban arrays with varying building densities and height distributions. Compared with uniform‐height urban arrays, the influence of height variability on urban flow is pronounced and acts differently in two idealized urban configurations: the low buildings induce higher wind speed and stronger turbulence over staggered arrays but act inversely over aligned building configurations. The flow motions around tall buildings generate strong dispersive fluxes, which are sometimes of similar magnitude to the turbulent momentum flux and responsible for a persistent isolated roughness flow pattern in the upper canopy regardless of the urban density. Tall buildings further contribute disproportionately to the form drag of the urban surface, reaching up to 3.9 times the form drag induced by buildings of height equal to the average building height, in dense layouts. The flow inflection points—that is, the largest wind‐speed gradient that defines the aerodynamic interface between the urban canopy flow and the surface layer flow above—are found to be displaced to the maximum building height if less than 25% of buildings are below the mean building height. These findings provide critical insight for the development of urban canopy models, where the impacts of height variability on flow are often linked to the vertical variation in urban density alone. To address this deficiency, we provide a case study that considers the drag amplification due to the impact of vertical urban structures in the urban canopy model, enabling high‐resolution regional climate models to reproduce urban air flows better.

Modulation of Turbulence Flux Budgets by Varying Fluid Properties in Heated High Prandtl Number Flow

The accurate computational modelling of momentum and heat transfer in turbulent wall-bounded flow is still a challenging task, especially for fluids with high molecular Prandtl numbers. Due to the steep temperature gradients, the strong variation of fluid properties becomes an additional important issue. The present Direct Numerical Simulation study specially addresses this problem considering a representative working fluid in terms of a real heat transfer oil with temperature-dependent material properties. Near the heated wall, the increase in molecular viscosity significantly attenuates the turbulent convective fluxes of both momentum and heat, despite the markedly increased enthalpy fluctuations. As the thermal conductivity decreases markedly less with temperature than the viscosity, the dampened turbulent mixing significantly reduces the Nusselt number, whereas the skin friction coefficient only marginally differs from the constant fluid property case. The attenuation of the radial velocity fluctuation consistently reduces the production terms in the budgets of the turbulent momentum and heat fluxes, while the production of the enthalpy fluctuations is only shifted away from the wall without significant change in peak level. The also attenuated redistribution in the turbulent axial stress budget reduces the pressure-strain based steering of turbulence towards isotropy. Facing a consequently more anisotropic turbulent motion poses a further difficulty to standard turbulence modelling mostly developed for isotropic turbulence.

Assessment of Five Wind-Farm Parameterizations in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model: A Case Study of Wind Farms in the North Sea

Abstract To simulate the large-scale impacts of wind farms, wind turbines are parameterized within mesoscale models in which grid sizes are typically much larger than turbine scales. Five wind-farm parameterizations were implemented in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model v4.3.3 to simulate multiple operational wind farms in the North Sea, which were verified against a satellite image, airborne measurements, and the FINO-1 meteorological mast data on 14 October 2017. The parameterization by Volker et al. underestimated the turbulence and wind speed deficit compared to measurements and to the parameterization of Fitch et al., which is the default in WRF. The Abkar and Porté-Agel parameterization gave close predictions of wind speed to that of Fitch et al. with a lower magnitude of predicted turbulence, although the parameterization was sensitive to a tunable constant. The parameterization by Pan and Archer resulted in turbine-induced thrust and turbulence that were slightly less than that of Fitch et al., but resulted in a substantial drop in power generation due to the magnification of wind speed differences in the power calculation. The parameterization by Redfern et al. was not substantially different from Fitch et al. in the absence of conditions such as strong wind veer. The simulations indicated the need for a turbine-induced turbulence source within a wind-farm parameterization for improved prediction of near-surface wind speed, near-surface temperature, and turbulence. The induced turbulence was responsible for enhancing turbulent momentum flux near the surface, causing a local speed-up of near-surface wind speed inside a wind farm. Our findings highlighted that wakes from large offshore wind farms could extend 100 km downwind, reducing downwind power production as in the case of the 400-MW Bard Offshore 1 wind farm whose power output was reduced by the wakes of the 402-MW Veja Mate wind farm for this case study. Significance Statement Because wind farms are smaller than the common grid spacing of numerical weather prediction models, the impacts of wind farms on the weather have to be indirectly incorporated through parameterizations. Several approaches to parameterization are available and the most appropriate scheme is not always clear. The absence of a turbulence source in a parameterization leads to substantial inaccuracies in predicting near-surface wind speed and turbulence over a wind farm. The impact of large clusters of offshore wind turbines in the wind field can exceed 100 km downwind, resulting in a substantial loss of power for downwind turbines. The prediction of this power loss can be sensitive to the chosen parameterization, contributing to uncertainty in wind-farm economic planning.

Large-scale coherent structure and canopy-level turbulence in the convective boundary layer over urban areas

Thermally unstable stratification alters the winds over urban areas and excites organized, large-scale motions (LSMs) in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The current understanding of the interaction between urban turbulence and buoyancy-induced coherent structures is rather limited due to their multiscale, multiphysics nature. Nine sets of large-eddy simulation (LES) are performed to critically examine the influence of atmospheric instability on turbulent boundary layers (TBLs) interacting with idealized urban roughness elements. Varying the stratification from neutral to almost free convective conditions enables the coherent structures to transit from horizontal rolls to open cellular patterns. The aerodynamic roughness parameters tend to decrease in more unstable stratification, potentially a result of buoyancy effects that might enhance organized ejections and suppress energetic sweeps within the roughness sublayers (RSLs). Unexpectedly, roughness-induced sweeps dominate the vertical momentum fluxes within urban canopies even under the most convective condition. However, decoupling the momentum and heat transports in highly convective states results in a subtle influence of urban roughness on the vertical heat fluxes therein. The spatial distribution of canopy-level turbulent momentum fluxes is found to be strongly modulated by the overlying large-scale coherent structures. The modulation is enhanced with increasing instability. In addition, urban-like surfaces elevate the large-scale rolls and assist them in forming under a weaker stratification than in canonical settings.

The Surprising Roles of Turbulence in Tropical Cyclone Physics

Tropical cyclones have long been known to be powered by turbulent enthalpy fluxes from the ocean’s surface and slowed by turbulent momentum fluxes into the surface. Here, we review evidence that the development and structure of these storms are also partially controlled by turbulence in the outflow near the storm’s top. Finally, we present new research that shows that tropical cyclone-like, low-aspect-ratio vortices are most likely in systems in which the bottom heat flux is controlled by mechanical turbulence, and the top boundary is insulating.