Near-Surface Temperature Inversion Growth Rate during the Onset of the Stable Boundary Layer
| dc.contributor.author | van Hooijdonk, Ivo G. S. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Clercx, Herman J. H. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Abraham, Carsten | |
| dc.contributor.author | Holdsworth, Amber M. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Monahan, Adam H. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Vignon, Etienne | |
| dc.contributor.author | Moene, Arnold F. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Baas, Peter | |
| dc.contributor.author | van de Wiel, Bas J. H. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-01-24T20:21:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-01-24T20:21:58Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2017 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This study aims to find the typical growth rate of the temperature inversion during the onset of the stable boundary layer around sunset. The sunset transition is a very challenging period for numerical weather prediction, since neither accepted theories for the convective boundary layer nor those for the stable boundary layer appear to be applicable. To gain more insight in this period, a systematic investigation of the temperature inversion growth rate is conducted. A statistical procedure is used to analyze almost 16 years of observations from the Cabauw observational tower, supported by observations from two additional sites (Dome C and Karlsruhe). The results show that, on average, the growth rate of the temperature inversion (normalized by the maximum inversion during the night) weakly declines with increasing wind speed. The observed growth rate is quantitatively consistent among the sites, and it appears insensitive to various other parameters. The results were also insensitive to the afternoon decay rate of the net radiation except when this decay rate was very weak. These observations are compared to numerical solutions of three models with increasing complexity: a bulk model, an idealized single-column model (SCM), and an operational-level SCM. It appears only the latter could reproduce qualitative features of the observations using a first-order closure. Moreover, replacing this closure with a prognostic TKE scheme substantially improved the quantitative performance. This suggests that idealized models assuming instantaneous equilibrium flux-profile relations may not aid in understanding this period, since history effects may qualitatively affect the dynamics. | en_US |
| dc.description.reviewstatus | Reviewed | en_US |
| dc.description.scholarlevel | Faculty | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | The authors thank Christoph Genthon for providing the Dome C meteorological data, the French polar institute (IPEV, CALVA program 1013) for the logistical support, and the WRMC-BSRN network, Angelo Lupi, and Christian Lanconelli for dissemination of the Dome C radiation data. We also thank Martin Kohler and the Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for providing the Karlsruhe observations. Fred Bosveld and the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KMNI) are thanked for the freely available Cabauw observations. The following funding agencies are acknowledged for their contribution: IvH is supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO, ALW Grant 832010110); AHM, AH, and CA are supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada; and BvdW and PB are supported by an ERC Consolidator grant (648666). Finally, the University of Victoria is thanked for hosting IvH during several weeks for this research. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Van Hooijdonk, I. G. S.; Clercx, H. J. H.; Abraham, C.; Holdsworth, A. M.; Monahan, A. H.; Vignon, E.; … & van de Wiel, B. J. H. (2017). Near-surface temperature inversion growth rate during the onset of the stable boundary layer. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 74(10), 3433-3449. DOI: 10.1175/JAS-D-17- 0084.1 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-17-0084.1 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1828/10547 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences | en_US |
| dc.subject.department | Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences | |
| dc.subject.department | School of Earth and Ocean Sciences | |
| dc.title | Near-Surface Temperature Inversion Growth Rate during the Onset of the Stable Boundary Layer | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |