The Atmospheric Boundary Layer

By Stull Roland. Wind Effects on Structures, 2019

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This chapter explores the fascinating behavior of the boundary layer and the turbulent motions within it. The Earth's surface is the bottom boundary of the atmosphere. The portion of the atmosphere most affected by that boundary is called the atmospheric boundary layer or boundary layer for short. The thickness of the boundary layer is quite variable in space and time. Turbulence and static stability conspire to sandwich a strong stable layer called a capping inversion between the boundary layer below and the rest of the troposphere above called the free atmosphere. This stable layer traps turbulence, pollutants, and moisture below it and prevents most of the surface friction from being felt by the free atmosphere. Turbulence is ubiquitous within the boundary layer and is responsible for efficiently dispersing the pollutants that accompany modern life. Turbulent communication between the surface and the air is quite rapid, allowing the air to quickly take on characteristics of the underlying surface. In fact, one definition of the boundary layer is that portion of the lower troposphere that feels the effects of the underlying surface within about 30 min or less. Turbulence is inspiringly complex, consisting of a superposition of swirls called “eddies” that interact nonlinearly to create quasi-random, chaotic motions. An infinite number of equations are required to fully describe these motions. Hence, a complete solution has not been found.

Subfields: Earth-Surface Processes

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/6b7437086d4058adb33a97ffa6e37111b15e1f32

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In Earth-Surface Processes

  1. Johan Meyers
  2. Dries Allaerts

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