Sh. Shen et My. Leclerc, LARGE-EDDY SIMULATION OF SMALL-SCALE SURFACE EFFECTS ON THE CONVECTIVE BOUNDARY-LAYER STRUCTURE, Atmosphere-ocean, 32(4), 1994, pp. 717-731
The effects of small-scale surface inhomogeneities on the turbulence s
tructure in the convective boundary layer are investigated using a hig
h-resolution large-eddy simulation model. Surface heat flux variations
are sinusoidal and two-dimensional, dividing the total domain into a
checkerboard-like pattern of surface hot spots with a 500-m wavelength
in the x and y directions, or 1/4 of the domain size. The selected wi
nd speeds were 1 and 4 m s-1, respectively. As a comparison, a simulat
ion of the turbulence structure was performed over a homogeneous surfa
ce. When the wind speed is light, surface heat flux variations influen
ce the horizontally averaged turbulence statistics, including the high
er moments despite the small characteristic length of the surface pert
urbation. Stronger mean wind speeds weaken the effects of inhomogeneou
s surface conditions on the turbulence structure in the convective bou
ndary layer. Results from conditional sampling show that when the mean
wind speed is small, weak mean circulations occur, with updraft branc
hes above the high heat flux regions and down-draft branches above the
low heat flux regions. The inhomogeneous surface induces significant
differences in the turbulence statistics between the high and low heat
flux regions. However, the effect of the surface perturbations weaken
rapidly when the mean wind speed increases. This research has implica
tions in the explanation of the large-scale variability commonly encou
ntered in aircraft observations of atmospheric turbulence.