A preliminary investigation of boundary layer effects on daytime atmospheric CO2 concentrations at a mountaintop location in the Rocky Mountains

• Autorzy: De Wekker S.F.J. , Ameen A. , Song G. , Stephens B.B. , Hallar A.G. , McCubbin I.B.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Observations of CO2 concentration at a mountaintop in the Colorado Rockies in summer show a large diurnal variability with minimum CO2 concentrations found between 10:00 and 18:00 MST. Simulations are performed with a mesoscale model to examine the effects of atmospheric structure and large-scale flows on the diurnal variability. In the simulations initialized without large-scale winds, the CO2 minimum occurs earlier compared to the observations. Upslope flows play an important role in the presence of this early (pre-noon) minimum while the timing and magnitude of the minimum depend only weakly on the temperature structure. An increase in large-scale flow has a noticeable impact on the diurnal variability with a more gradual decrease in daytime CO2 concentration, similar to summer-averaged observations. From the idealized simulations and a case study, it is concluded that multi-scale flows and their interactions have a large influence on the observed diurnal variability.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

mesoscale circulations; atmospheric boundary layer; complex terrain; CO2 concentration; mountaintop observatory

• Wydawca: Instytut Geofizyki PAN ; Springer
• Czasopismo: Acta Geophysica
• Rocznik: 2009
• Tom: Vol. 57, no. 4
• Strony: 904--922
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 29 poz.

Twórcy

autor

De Wekker S.F.J.

autor

Ameen A.

autor

Song G.

autor

Stephens B.B.

autor

Hallar A.G.

autor

McCubbin I.B.

• Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USAInstitute, Steamboat Springs, CO, USA,

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