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Nocturnal low-level jet over a shallow slope

Shapiro A., Fedorovich E.

Acta Geophysica

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2009

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Vol. 57, no. 4

950-980

EN

A simple theory is presented for a nocturnal low-level jet (LLJ) over a planar slope. The theory extends the classical inviscid inertialoscillation model of LLJs to include up and downslope motion in the boundary layer within a stably stratified environment. The particular scenario considered is typical of LLJs over the Great Plains of the United States: southerly geostrophic wind over terrain that gently slopes down toward the east. First, an initial value problem for the coupled equations of motion and thermodynamic energy is solved for air parcels suddenly freed of a frictional constraint near sunset. The solution is an oscillation that takes, on the hodograph plane, the form of an ellipse having an eastward-oriented major axis and an eccentricity that increases with increasing stratification and slope angle. Next, the notion of a tilted residual layer (TRL) is introduced and used to relate initial (sunset) air parcel buoyancy to free-atmosphere stratification and thermal structure of the boundary layer. Application of the TRL-estimated initial buoyancy in the solution of the initial value problem leads to expressions for peak jet strength and the slope angle that maximizes the jet strength. Analytical results are in reasonable qualitative agreement with observational data.

2

Stable-boundary-layer regimes from the perspective of the low-level jet

Banta R.

Acta Geophysica

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2008

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Vol. 56, no. 1

58-87

EN

This paper reviews results from two field studies of the nocturnal stable atmospheric boundary layer (SBL) over the Great Plains of the United States. Data from a scanning remote-sensing system, a High-Resolution Doppler Lidar (HRDL), provided measurements of mean and turbulent wind components at high spatial and temporal resolution through the lowest 500-1000 m of the atmosphere. This data set has allowed the characteristics of the low-level jet (LLJ) maximum (speed, height, direction) to be documented through entire nights. LLJs form after sunset and pro-duce strong shear in the layer below the LLJ maximum or nose, which is a source of turbulence and mixing in the SBL. Simultaneous HRDL measurements of turbulence quantities related to turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) has allowed the turbulence in the subjet layer to be related to LLJ properties. Turbulence structure was found to be a function of the bulk stability of the subjet layer. For the strong-LLJ (> 15 m s-1), weakly stable cases the strength of the turbulence is proportional to the strength of the LLJ. For these cases with nearly continuous turbulence in the subjet layer, low-level jet scaling, in which lengths are scaled by the LLJ height and velocity variables are scaled by the LLJ speed, was found to be appropriate. For the weak-wind (< 5 m s-1 in the lowest 200 m), very stable boundary layer (vSBL), the boundary layer was found to be very shallow (sometimes < 10 m deep), and turbulent fluxes between the earth's surface and the atmosphere were found to be essentially shut down. For more intermediate wind speeds and stabilities, the SBL shows varying degrees of intermittency due to various mechanisms, including shear-instability and other gravity waves, density currents, and other mesoscale disturbances.

3

Nocturnal basin low-level jets: an integrated study

Cuxart J.

Acta Geophysica

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2008

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Vol. 56, no. 1

100-113

EN

Low-level jets (LLJs) are a very common feature in the nocturnal stably stratified boundary layer. Many factors can intervene in their generation, linked basically to effects of baroclinity. A special kind of low-level jets is composed by the nocturnal katabatic and basin flows, generated over terrain slopes. A study of observed LLJs in the Duero Basin is shown here, combining observational data and model-ling experiments. Normalized in respect to the maximum wind height, the dynamic characteristics of the jets are similar: a two-layer system, with a stably stratified layer below the jet maximum and a near neutral layer above, with a very stable layer separating them at the level of the wind maximum. There is vertical mixing above and below the jet, and the connection between these layers takes place occasionally in a very turbulent manner.