Editorial Type:
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Article Type:
Research Article

A Large-Eddy Simulation Study of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Influence on Stratified Flows over Terrain

Jeremy A. Sauer Computer, Computational, and Statistical Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

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Domingo Muñoz-Esparza Research Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

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Jesse M. Canfield Computational Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

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Keeley R. Costigan Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

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Rodman R. Linn Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

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Young-Joon Kim Earth and Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

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Print Publication:
01 Jul 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-15-0282.1
Page(s):
2615–2632
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Abstract

The impact of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) interactions with large-scale stably stratified flow over an isolated, two-dimensional hill is investigated using turbulence-resolving large-eddy simulations. The onset of internal gravity wave breaking and leeside flow response regimes of trapped lee waves and nonlinear breakdown (or hydraulic-jump-like state) as they depend on the classical inverse Froude number, Fr−1 = Nh/Ug, is explored in detail. Here, N is the Brunt–Väisälä frequency, h is the hill height, and Ug is the geostrophic wind. The results here demonstrate that the presence of a turbulent ABL influences mountain wave (MW) development in critical aspects, such as dissipation of trapped lee waves and amplified stagnation zone turbulence through Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. It is shown that the nature of interactions between the large-scale flow and the ABL is better characterized by a proposed inverse compensated Froude number, = N(h − zi)/Ug, where zi is the ABL height. In addition, it is found that the onset of the nonlinear-breakdown regime, ≈ 1.0, is initiated when the vertical wavelength becomes comparable to the sufficiently energetic scales of turbulence in the stagnation zone and ABL, yielding an abrupt change in leeside flow response. Finally, energy spectra are presented in the context of MW flows, supporting the existence of a clear transition in leeside flow response, and illustrating two distinct energy distribution states for the trapped-lee-wave and the nonlinear-breakdown regimes.

Corresponding author address: Jeremy A. Sauer, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87544. E-mail: jsauer@lanl.gov

Abstract

The impact of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) interactions with large-scale stably stratified flow over an isolated, two-dimensional hill is investigated using turbulence-resolving large-eddy simulations. The onset of internal gravity wave breaking and leeside flow response regimes of trapped lee waves and nonlinear breakdown (or hydraulic-jump-like state) as they depend on the classical inverse Froude number, Fr−1 = Nh/Ug, is explored in detail. Here, N is the Brunt–Väisälä frequency, h is the hill height, and Ug is the geostrophic wind. The results here demonstrate that the presence of a turbulent ABL influences mountain wave (MW) development in critical aspects, such as dissipation of trapped lee waves and amplified stagnation zone turbulence through Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. It is shown that the nature of interactions between the large-scale flow and the ABL is better characterized by a proposed inverse compensated Froude number, = N(h − zi)/Ug, where zi is the ABL height. In addition, it is found that the onset of the nonlinear-breakdown regime, ≈ 1.0, is initiated when the vertical wavelength becomes comparable to the sufficiently energetic scales of turbulence in the stagnation zone and ABL, yielding an abrupt change in leeside flow response. Finally, energy spectra are presented in the context of MW flows, supporting the existence of a clear transition in leeside flow response, and illustrating two distinct energy distribution states for the trapped-lee-wave and the nonlinear-breakdown regimes.

Corresponding author address: Jeremy A. Sauer, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87544. E-mail: jsauer@lanl.gov
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