Record Details
Heat Transport in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Heat Transport in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer |
| Names |
Mahrt, L.
(creator) Paumier, J. (creator) |
| Date Issued | 1984-11 (iso8601) |
| Abstract | The structure of turbulence and transport of heat is examined from data obtained from 11 aircraft soundings executed in heated boundary layers during the Air Mass Transformation Experiment. Various influences on the turbulent transport are revealed by analyzing properties of the joint frequency distribution in polar coordinate. Such an analysis allows determination of a correlation coefficient and fluctuation amplitude as a function of properties of different types of motion comprising the total flow. In particular, the contribution of various events to the total flux is revealed without a priori specification of sampling criteria. In the present case, shear generation of turbulence and broken stratocumulus at the boundary layer top modify the profiles of virtual and sensible heat flux. The upward virtual heat flux shows the usual linear decrease with height but vanishes and becomes downward at the relatively low level of 60% of the boundary layer top. The vertical structure of the heat flux is explicitly related to the vertical evolution of the characteristics of thermals. However, the significant downward heat flux is also associated with warm dry sinking motions organized on horizontal scales of 2–3 times the boundary layer depth. |
| Genre | Article |
| Identifier | Mahrt, L., J. Paumier, 1984: Heat Transport in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 41, 3061–3075. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1984)041<3061:HTITAB>2.0.CO;2 |
