Large-Eddy Simulation of Roll Vortices in a Hurricane Boundary Layer

Mikio Nakanishi National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, and Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Japan

Search for other papers by Mikio Nakanishi in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
and
Hiroshi Niino Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan

Search for other papers by Hiroshi Niino in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

Abstract

For the last decade, horizontal roll vortices have been often observed in hurricane boundary layers (HBLs). In this study, a large-eddy simulation is performed to explore the formation mechanism of the horizontal roll vortices and their significance in a near-neutrally stratified HBL at 40 km (R40) and 100 km (R100) from the center of the hurricane. Results are examined through turbulence statistics and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The EOF analysis and budgets of turbulent kinetic energy demonstrate that an inflection-point instability in the radial velocity profile is responsible for the roll vortices with horizontal wavelengths of 1.5–2.4 km in the HBL both for R40 and R100. The roll vortices for R40 are nearly aligned with the gradient wind, while those for R100 are oriented slightly to the left of that wind. Also the horizontal distributions of velocity fluctuations suggest the presence of streaklike structures at horizontal intervals of several hundred meters near the ground surface. Internal gravity waves, Kelvin–Helmholtz waves, and entrainments occur above the HBL and are partly coupled with the roll vortices in the HBL, implying an enhancement of vertical transports of momentum and other quantities between the HBL and the free atmosphere.

Corresponding author address: Mikio Nakanishi, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686, Japan. E-mail: naka@nda.ac.jp

Abstract

For the last decade, horizontal roll vortices have been often observed in hurricane boundary layers (HBLs). In this study, a large-eddy simulation is performed to explore the formation mechanism of the horizontal roll vortices and their significance in a near-neutrally stratified HBL at 40 km (R40) and 100 km (R100) from the center of the hurricane. Results are examined through turbulence statistics and empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The EOF analysis and budgets of turbulent kinetic energy demonstrate that an inflection-point instability in the radial velocity profile is responsible for the roll vortices with horizontal wavelengths of 1.5–2.4 km in the HBL both for R40 and R100. The roll vortices for R40 are nearly aligned with the gradient wind, while those for R100 are oriented slightly to the left of that wind. Also the horizontal distributions of velocity fluctuations suggest the presence of streaklike structures at horizontal intervals of several hundred meters near the ground surface. Internal gravity waves, Kelvin–Helmholtz waves, and entrainments occur above the HBL and are partly coupled with the roll vortices in the HBL, implying an enhancement of vertical transports of momentum and other quantities between the HBL and the free atmosphere.

Corresponding author address: Mikio Nakanishi, Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, National Defense Academy, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8686, Japan. E-mail: naka@nda.ac.jp
Save
  • Businger, J. A., J. C. Wyngaard, Y. Izumi, and E. F. Bradley, 1971: Flux-profile relationships in the atmospheric surface layer. J. Atmos. Sci., 28, 181189.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Clark, T. L., T. Hauf, and J. P. Kuettner, 1986: Convectively forced internal gravity waves: Results from two-dimensional numerical experiments. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 112, 899925.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Drobinski, P., and R. C. Foster, 2003: On the origin of near-surface streaks in the neutrally-stratified planetary boundary layer. Bound.-Layer Meteor., 108, 247256.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Drobinski, P., P. Carlotti, J.-L. Redelsperger, R. M. Banta, V. Masson, and R. K. Newsom, 2007: Numerical and experimental investigation of the neutral atmospheric surface layer. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 137156.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Eliassen, A., 1971: On the Ekman layer in a circular vortex. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 49 (special issue), 784789.

  • Ellis, R., and S. Businger, 2010: Helical circulations in the typhoon boundary layer. J. Geophys. Res., 115, D06205, doi:10.1029/2009JD011819.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Etling, D., and R. A. Brown, 1993: Roll vortices in the planetary boundary layer: A review. Bound.-Layer Meteor., 65, 215248.

  • Foster, R. C., 2005: Why rolls are prevalent in the hurricane boundary layer. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 26472661.

  • Glendening, J. W., 1996: Lineal eddy features under strong shear conditions. J. Atmos. Sci., 53, 34303449.

  • Holloway, G., 1988: The buoyancy flux from internal gravity wave breaking. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans, 12, 107125.

  • Kepert, J. D., 2001: The dynamics of boundary layer jets within the tropical cyclone core. Part I: Linear theory. J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 24692484.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Khanna, S., and J. G. Brasseur, 1998: Three-dimensional buoyancy- and shear-induced local structure of the atmospheric boundary layer. J. Atmos. Sci., 55, 710743.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Kim, S.-W., S.-U. Park, and C.-H. Moeng, 2003: Entrainment processes in the convective boundary layer with varing wind shear. Bound.-Layer Meteor., 108, 221245.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Kuettner, J. P., P. A. Hildebrand, and T. L. Clark, 1987: Convection waves: Observations of gravity wave systems over convectively active boundary layers. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 113, 445467.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lilly, D. K., 1966: On the application of the eddy-viscosity concept in the inertial subrange of turbulence. National Center for Atmospheric Research Manuscript 123, 19 pp.

  • Lorsolo, S., J. L. Schroeder, P. Dodge, and F. Marks, 2008: An observational study of hurricane boundary layer small-scale coherent structures. Mon. Wea. Rev., 136, 28712893.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Lumley, J. L., 1970: Stochastic Tools in Turbulence. Academic Press, 194 pp.

  • Moeng, C.-H., and P. P. Sullivan, 1994: A comparison of shear- and buoyancy-driven planetary boundary layer flows. J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 9991022.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Morrison, I., S. Businger, F. Marks, P. Dodge, and J. Businger, 2005: An observational case for the prevalence of roll vortices in the hurricane boundary layer. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 26622673.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Nakanishi, M., 2000: Large-eddy simulation of radiation fog. Bound.-Layer Meteor., 94, 461493.

  • Nakanishi, M., and H. Niino, 2009: Development of an improved turbulence closure model for the atmospheric boundary layer. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 87, 895912.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Nolan, D. S., 2005: Instabilities in hurricane-like boundary layers. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans, 40, 209236.

  • Nolan, D. S., J. A. Zhang, and D. P. Stern, 2009a: Evaluation of planetary boundary layer parameterizations in tropical cyclones by comparison of in situ observations and high-resolution simulations of Hurricane Isabel (2003). Part I: Initialization, maximum winds, and the outer-core boundary layer. Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 36513674.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Nolan, D. S., D. P. Stern, and J. A. Zhang, 2009b: Evaluation of planetary boundary layer parameterizations in tropical cyclones by comparison of in situ observations and high-resolution simulations of Hurricane Isabel (2003). Part II: Inner-core boundary layer and eyewall structure. Mon. Wea. Rev., 137, 36753698.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Schoppa, W., and F. Hussain, 2002: Coherent structure generation in near-wall turbulence. J. Fluid Mech., 453, 57108.

  • Smagorinsky, J. S., 1963: General circulation experiments with the primitive equations: I. The basic experiment. Mon. Wea. Rev., 91, 99164.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Smedman, A.-S., 1988: Observations of a multi-level turbulence structure in a very stable atmospheric boundary layer. Bound.-Layer Meteor., 44, 231253.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Sullivan, P. P., J. C. McWilliams, and C.-H. Moeng, 1994: A subgrid-scale model for large-eddy simulation of planetary boundary-layer flows. Bound.-Layer Meteor., 71, 247276.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Wakimoto, R. M., and P. G. Black, 1994: Damage survey of Hurricane Andrew and its relationship to the eyewall. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 75, 189200.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Wilson, D. K., 1996: Empirical orthogonal function analysis of the weakly convective atmospheric boundary layer. Part I: Eddy structures. J. Atmos. Sci., 53, 801823.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Wilson, D. K., and J. C. Wyngaard, 1996: Empirical orthogonal function analysis of the weakly convective atmospheric boundary layer. Part II: Eddy energetics. J. Atmos. Sci., 53, 824841.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Wurman, J., and J. Winslow, 1998: Intense sub-kilometer-scale boundary layer rolls observed in Hurricane Fran. Science, 280, 555557.

  • Young, G. S., D. A. R. Kristovich, M. R. Hjelmfelt, and R. C. Foster, 2002: Rolls, streets, waves, and more: A review of quasi-two-dimensional structures in the atmospheric boundary layer. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 83, 9971001.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Zhang, J. A., R. F. Rogers, D. S. Nolan, and F. D. Marks Jr., 2011: On the characteristic height scales of the hurricane boundary layer. Mon. Wea. Rev., 139, 25232535.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
  • Zhu, P., 2008: Simulation and parameterization of the turbulent transport in the hurricane boundary layer by large eddies. J. Geophys. Res., 113, D17104, doi:10.1029/2007JD009643.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 1038 616 163
PDF Downloads 572 102 6