16th International Symposium for the Advancement of Boundary-Layer Remote Sensing (ISARS 2012)
Description:
The 16th International Symposium for the Advancement of Boundary-Layer Remote Sensing (ISARS 2012) was held 5-8 June 2012, in Boulder, Colorado, USA. The ISARS 2012 special collection of papers in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology (JAMC) and the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (JTECH) is a selection of extended papers from that symposium.
ISARS was founded in 1981 as the International Society of Acoustic Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Oceans. An ISARS symposium is held every two years, with a particular focus on atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers and related applications. The foci of the special collection are broad and include such topics as: new directions for boundary-layer remote sensing; the physical basis for boundary layer remote sensing; description of boundary layer physics; complex terrain meteorology; new models; operational applications; wind energy; air quality; aviation; urban meteorology; and polar science.
Collection organizer:
Stuart Bradley, University of Auckland, New Zealand
16th International Symposium for the Advancement of Boundary-Layer Remote Sensing (ISARS 2012)
Abstract
Stratocumulus (Sc) clouds occur frequently over the cold waters of the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Data collected during two Pan American Climate Study research cruises in the tropical eastern Pacific illuminate many aspects of this Sc-topped marine boundary layer (MBL). Here the focus is on understanding gaps in detectable wind-profiler reflectivities during two boreal autumn cruises. After rigorous quality control that included applying the Riddle threshold of minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) detectability, there are many instances with no measurable atmospheric signals through a depth of up to several hundred meters, often lasting for an hour or more. Rain gauge data from the autumn 2004 cruise are used to calibrate the profiler, which allows SNR to be converted to both equivalent reflectivity and the structure-function parameter of the index of refraction 
Abstract
Stratocumulus (Sc) clouds occur frequently over the cold waters of the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Data collected during two Pan American Climate Study research cruises in the tropical eastern Pacific illuminate many aspects of this Sc-topped marine boundary layer (MBL). Here the focus is on understanding gaps in detectable wind-profiler reflectivities during two boreal autumn cruises. After rigorous quality control that included applying the Riddle threshold of minimum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) detectability, there are many instances with no measurable atmospheric signals through a depth of up to several hundred meters, often lasting for an hour or more. Rain gauge data from the autumn 2004 cruise are used to calibrate the profiler, which allows SNR to be converted to both equivalent reflectivity and the structure-function parameter of the index of refraction
Abstract
Currently used methods to estimate surface pollutant emissions require a set of specific air-sampling surveys. Data from a network of ground-based sodars and a network of air-quality stations in Moscow, Russia, are used to estimate the emission rates of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO). The sodar network, consisting of three “LATAN-3” Doppler sodars and three “MTP-5” microwave temperature profilers, is used to measure the vertical profiles of vertical and horizontal wind velocity, wind direction, and temperature, which are used to determine the average mixing-layer height. The network of ground-based air-quality stations, consisting of 17 automated stations distributed uniformly across Moscow, continuously measured the CO and NO concentrations. This study focuses on an anticyclonic episode of high surface pressure over Moscow during 30 July–1 August 2012. After sunrise, the solar-induced convection effectively moderated the pollutant levels in the lowest 100–200 m. After sunset, convective mixing stopped and the wind weakened, which allowed CO and NO to reach hazardous levels. With an assumption of an average mixing-layer height of 150 m, the resulting estimate of surface emission of CO is ~6 μg m−2 s−1, whereas that for NO is ~0.6 μg m−2 s−1.
Abstract
Currently used methods to estimate surface pollutant emissions require a set of specific air-sampling surveys. Data from a network of ground-based sodars and a network of air-quality stations in Moscow, Russia, are used to estimate the emission rates of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide (NO). The sodar network, consisting of three “LATAN-3” Doppler sodars and three “MTP-5” microwave temperature profilers, is used to measure the vertical profiles of vertical and horizontal wind velocity, wind direction, and temperature, which are used to determine the average mixing-layer height. The network of ground-based air-quality stations, consisting of 17 automated stations distributed uniformly across Moscow, continuously measured the CO and NO concentrations. This study focuses on an anticyclonic episode of high surface pressure over Moscow during 30 July–1 August 2012. After sunrise, the solar-induced convection effectively moderated the pollutant levels in the lowest 100–200 m. After sunset, convective mixing stopped and the wind weakened, which allowed CO and NO to reach hazardous levels. With an assumption of an average mixing-layer height of 150 m, the resulting estimate of surface emission of CO is ~6 μg m−2 s−1, whereas that for NO is ~0.6 μg m−2 s−1.
Abstract
Boundary layer conditions in polar regions have been shown to have a significant impact on the levels of trace gases in the lower atmosphere. The ability to properly describe boundary layer characteristics (e.g., stability, depth, and variations on diurnal and seasonal scales) is essential to understanding the processes that control chemical budgets and surface fluxes in these regions. Surface turbulence data measured from 3D sonic anemometers on an 8-m tower at Summit Station, Greenland, were used for estimating boundary layer depths (BLD) in stable to weakly stable conditions. The turbulence-derived BLD estimates were evaluated for June 2010 using direct BLD measurements from an acoustic sounder located approximately 50 m away from the tower. BLDs during this period varied diurnally; minimum values were less than 10 m, and maximum values were greater than 150 m. BLD estimates provided a better comparison with sodar observations during stable conditions. Ozone and nitrogen oxides were also measured at the meteorological tower and investigated for their dependency on boundary layer structure. These analyses, in contrast to observations from South Pole, Antarctica, did not show a clear relation between surface-layer atmospheric trace-gas levels and the stable boundary layer.
Abstract
Boundary layer conditions in polar regions have been shown to have a significant impact on the levels of trace gases in the lower atmosphere. The ability to properly describe boundary layer characteristics (e.g., stability, depth, and variations on diurnal and seasonal scales) is essential to understanding the processes that control chemical budgets and surface fluxes in these regions. Surface turbulence data measured from 3D sonic anemometers on an 8-m tower at Summit Station, Greenland, were used for estimating boundary layer depths (BLD) in stable to weakly stable conditions. The turbulence-derived BLD estimates were evaluated for June 2010 using direct BLD measurements from an acoustic sounder located approximately 50 m away from the tower. BLDs during this period varied diurnally; minimum values were less than 10 m, and maximum values were greater than 150 m. BLD estimates provided a better comparison with sodar observations during stable conditions. Ozone and nitrogen oxides were also measured at the meteorological tower and investigated for their dependency on boundary layer structure. These analyses, in contrast to observations from South Pole, Antarctica, did not show a clear relation between surface-layer atmospheric trace-gas levels and the stable boundary layer.
Abstract
One challenge with wind-power forecasts is the accurate prediction of rapid changes in wind speed (ramps). To evaluate the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model's ability to predict such events, model simulations, conducted over an area of complex terrain in May 2011, are used. The sensitivity of the model's performance to the choice among three planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes [Mellor–Yamada–Janjić (MYJ), University of Washington (UW), and Yonsei University (YSU)] is investigated. The simulated near-hub-height winds (62 m), vertical wind speed profiles, and ramps are evaluated against measurements obtained from tower-mounted anemometers, a Doppler sodar, and a radar wind profiler deployed during the Columbia Basin Wind Energy Study (CBWES). The predicted winds at near–hub height have nonnegligible biases in monthly mean under stable conditions. Under stable conditions, the simulation with the UW scheme better predicts upward ramps and the MYJ scheme is the most successful in simulating downward ramps. Under unstable conditions, simulations using the YSU and UW schemes show good performance in predicting upward ramps and downward ramps, with the YSU scheme being slightly better at predicting ramps with durations longer than 1 h. The largest differences in mean wind speed profiles among simulations using the three PBL schemes occur during upward ramps under stable conditions, which were frequently associated with low-level jets. The UW scheme has the best overall performance in ramp prediction over the CBWES site when evaluated using prediction accuracy and capture-rate statistics, but no single PBL parameterization is clearly superior to the others when all atmospheric conditions are considered.
Abstract
One challenge with wind-power forecasts is the accurate prediction of rapid changes in wind speed (ramps). To evaluate the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model's ability to predict such events, model simulations, conducted over an area of complex terrain in May 2011, are used. The sensitivity of the model's performance to the choice among three planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes [Mellor–Yamada–Janjić (MYJ), University of Washington (UW), and Yonsei University (YSU)] is investigated. The simulated near-hub-height winds (62 m), vertical wind speed profiles, and ramps are evaluated against measurements obtained from tower-mounted anemometers, a Doppler sodar, and a radar wind profiler deployed during the Columbia Basin Wind Energy Study (CBWES). The predicted winds at near–hub height have nonnegligible biases in monthly mean under stable conditions. Under stable conditions, the simulation with the UW scheme better predicts upward ramps and the MYJ scheme is the most successful in simulating downward ramps. Under unstable conditions, simulations using the YSU and UW schemes show good performance in predicting upward ramps and downward ramps, with the YSU scheme being slightly better at predicting ramps with durations longer than 1 h. The largest differences in mean wind speed profiles among simulations using the three PBL schemes occur during upward ramps under stable conditions, which were frequently associated with low-level jets. The UW scheme has the best overall performance in ramp prediction over the CBWES site when evaluated using prediction accuracy and capture-rate statistics, but no single PBL parameterization is clearly superior to the others when all atmospheric conditions are considered.
Abstract
By use of 1 yr of measurements performed with a wind lidar up to 600-m height, in combination with a tall meteorological tower, the impact of nudging on the simulated wind profile at a flat coastal site (Høvsøre) in western Denmark using the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) is studied. It was found that the mean wind speed, the wind direction change with height, and the wind power density profiles are underestimated with the configuration of WRF used and that the impact of nudging on the simulated mean values was minor. Nudging was found to reduce the scatter between the simulated and measured wind speeds, expressed by the root-mean-square error, by about 20% between altitudes of 100 and 500 m. The root-mean-square error was nearly constant with height for the nudged case (~2.2 m s−1) and slightly increased with height for the nonnudged one, reaching 2.8 m s−1 at 300 and 500 m. In studying the long-term wind speed variability with the Weibull distribution, it was found that nudging had a minor effect on the scale parameter profile, which is closely connected to the mean wind speed. Improvement by nudging was seen on the profile of the shape parameter. Without nudging, the shape parameter was underestimated at all heights; with nudging, the agreement was good up to about 100 m and above that height the shape parameter was underestimated.
Abstract
By use of 1 yr of measurements performed with a wind lidar up to 600-m height, in combination with a tall meteorological tower, the impact of nudging on the simulated wind profile at a flat coastal site (Høvsøre) in western Denmark using the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) is studied. It was found that the mean wind speed, the wind direction change with height, and the wind power density profiles are underestimated with the configuration of WRF used and that the impact of nudging on the simulated mean values was minor. Nudging was found to reduce the scatter between the simulated and measured wind speeds, expressed by the root-mean-square error, by about 20% between altitudes of 100 and 500 m. The root-mean-square error was nearly constant with height for the nudged case (~2.2 m s−1) and slightly increased with height for the nonnudged one, reaching 2.8 m s−1 at 300 and 500 m. In studying the long-term wind speed variability with the Weibull distribution, it was found that nudging had a minor effect on the scale parameter profile, which is closely connected to the mean wind speed. Improvement by nudging was seen on the profile of the shape parameter. Without nudging, the shape parameter was underestimated at all heights; with nudging, the agreement was good up to about 100 m and above that height the shape parameter was underestimated.
Abstract
The three-axis “Latan-3” Doppler sodar was operated near the Finnish Antarctic station Aboa in Dronning Maud Land (73.04°S, 13.40°W) in the austral summer of 2010/11. The measuring site is located at a practically flat, slightly sloped (about 1%) surface of the glacier. The sodar was operated in multiple-frequency parallel mode with 20–800-m sounding range, 20-m vertical resolution, and 10-s temporal resolution. To reveal the wind and temperature profiles below the sounding range as well as turbulent fluxes at 2 and 10 m, the data from a 10-m meteorological mast were used. During the measurements, the atmospheric boundary layer was within the sounding range of the sodar most of the time. Despite a large variety of observed sodar echo patterns and wind speed profiles, several cases of clear steady katabatic flows were observed. Practically all of them were easterly, whereas the uphill direction is southern. The thickness of the katabatic flow varied from a few tens to several hundreds of meters; the wind speed maximum could be as low as 5 m. Thin katabatic flows had lower wind speed and much stronger temperature gradients (up to 1 K m−1) but had smaller surface heat flux than did the thicker ones.
Abstract
The three-axis “Latan-3” Doppler sodar was operated near the Finnish Antarctic station Aboa in Dronning Maud Land (73.04°S, 13.40°W) in the austral summer of 2010/11. The measuring site is located at a practically flat, slightly sloped (about 1%) surface of the glacier. The sodar was operated in multiple-frequency parallel mode with 20–800-m sounding range, 20-m vertical resolution, and 10-s temporal resolution. To reveal the wind and temperature profiles below the sounding range as well as turbulent fluxes at 2 and 10 m, the data from a 10-m meteorological mast were used. During the measurements, the atmospheric boundary layer was within the sounding range of the sodar most of the time. Despite a large variety of observed sodar echo patterns and wind speed profiles, several cases of clear steady katabatic flows were observed. Practically all of them were easterly, whereas the uphill direction is southern. The thickness of the katabatic flow varied from a few tens to several hundreds of meters; the wind speed maximum could be as low as 5 m. Thin katabatic flows had lower wind speed and much stronger temperature gradients (up to 1 K m−1) but had smaller surface heat flux than did the thicker ones.
