Ws. Smith et Cyj. Kao, NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF OBSERVED ARCTIC STRATUS CLOUDS USING A 2ND-ORDER TURBULENCE CLOSURE-MODEL, Journal of applied meteorology, 35(1), 1996, pp. 47-59
A high-resolution one-dimensional version of a second-order turbulence
closure radiative-convective model, developed at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, is used to simulate the interactions among turbulence, rad
iation, and bulk cloud parameters in stratiform clouds observed during
the Arctic Stratus Experiment conducted during June 1980 over the Bea
ufort Sea. The fidelity of the model to the underlying physics is asse
ssed by comparing the modeled evolution of the cloud-capped boundary l
ayer against data reported for two particular days of observations. Ov
er the period encompassed by these observations, the boundary layer ev
olved from a well-mixed cloud-capped boundary layer overlying a stable
cloudy surface layer to a shallower well-mixed boundary layer with a
single upper cloud deck and a clear, diminished, stable surface layer.
The model was able to reproduce the observed profiles of the liquid w
ater content, cloud-base height, radiative heating rates, and the mean
and turbulence variables over the period of observation fairly well.
The formation and eventual dissipation of the surface cloud feature ov
er the period of the simulation was found to be caused by the formatio
n of a stable surface layer as the modeled air mass moved over the rel
atively cold Beaufort Sea region. Condensation occurred as heat in the
surface layer was transported downward toward the sea surface. Eventu
al dissipation of the surface cloud layer resulted from the transport
of moisture in the surface layer downward toward the sea surface. The
results show that the subsidence was the major influence on the evolut
ion of the cloud-top height but was not a major factor for dissipation
of either cloud layer during the simulation.