Understanding and Modeling the Role of Horizontal Heterogeneity on the Dynamics of the Nocturnal Boundary Layer Across Scales

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the role of surface differences in determining average surface fluxes in the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL). Insights will be used to develop new physically-based models and parameterizations that can properly account for the interaction between natural land surface differences and turbulence in the lowest layer of the atmosphere near the surface. This study will incorporate a numerical weather prediction (NWP) module as part of a summer camp called Hi-GEAR (Girls Engineering Abilities Realized) and an outreach program called Discover Engineering. The key hypothesis of this study is that under the stratified conditions characteristic of the NBL, surface heterogeneity will localize turbulent fluxes horizontally and vertically, and will enhance the flux contrast between regions with different surface states, such as temperature. The uniqueness of the proposed research rests with the fact that current surface flux parameterizations in models do not account for these interactions.