Exploring the Interface of Land-atmosphere Interactions and Boundary Layer Cloud Physics

Exploring the Interface of Land-atmosphere Interactions and Boundary Layer Cloud Physics PDF Author: Samuel Pennypacker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
Boundary layer clouds are fundamental components of the climate system because of their first order impacts on the global energy balance. While marine boundary layer clouds have received most of the attention in this field because of their connection to global climate sensitivity and radiative forcing, continental boundary layer clouds also play a crucial role in controlling the amount of radiation reaching the land surface. Sitting at the top of the atmospheric boundary layer, these clouds are fundamentally linked to underlying land surface processes. We present three studies that explore the connection between land-atmosphere interactions and shallow clouds with eye toward improving process-based understanding of this system. The first shows that marine boundary layer clouds are an important sink for aerosol particles over the southeast Atlantic Ocean, helping mitigate the impact of continental African biomass burning aerosols transported to the vicinity of these low clouds. Then, we look to ground our mechanistic understanding of the response of continental shallow cumulus clouds to two different land cover changes, boreal forest expansion and tropical deforestation, using an idealized modeling framework. This analysis reveals the importance of environmental context, especially soil moisture availability and background atmospheric humidity, in determining the response of the convective boundary layer and cloud cover to these land surface perturbations. The co-evolution of boundary layer and lifting condensation level heights also emerges as key and should motivate examination of results from models that cannot faithfully represent these parameters. Finally, using a combination of the same idealized modeling system and observations from two ARM sites, we explore the effects of variations in the surface energy budget, in response to both land cover change and natural variability, on boundary layer convective velocities, initial shallow cumulus updraft speeds and the number of aerosol particles activated into cloud droplets. While the simulations and observations show that surface heat fluxes are not likely the dominant driver of changes in shallow cumulus droplet number in most settings, environments with lower evaporative fractions do favor a stronger coupling. We connect each of these studies to larger questions in cloud physics and land-atmosphere interactions, and hope to motivate further work on the detailed properties of this system.

Exploring the Interface of Land-atmosphere Interactions and Boundary Layer Cloud Physics

Exploring the Interface of Land-atmosphere Interactions and Boundary Layer Cloud Physics PDF Author: Samuel Pennypacker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Get Book Here

Book Description
Boundary layer clouds are fundamental components of the climate system because of their first order impacts on the global energy balance. While marine boundary layer clouds have received most of the attention in this field because of their connection to global climate sensitivity and radiative forcing, continental boundary layer clouds also play a crucial role in controlling the amount of radiation reaching the land surface. Sitting at the top of the atmospheric boundary layer, these clouds are fundamentally linked to underlying land surface processes. We present three studies that explore the connection between land-atmosphere interactions and shallow clouds with eye toward improving process-based understanding of this system. The first shows that marine boundary layer clouds are an important sink for aerosol particles over the southeast Atlantic Ocean, helping mitigate the impact of continental African biomass burning aerosols transported to the vicinity of these low clouds. Then, we look to ground our mechanistic understanding of the response of continental shallow cumulus clouds to two different land cover changes, boreal forest expansion and tropical deforestation, using an idealized modeling framework. This analysis reveals the importance of environmental context, especially soil moisture availability and background atmospheric humidity, in determining the response of the convective boundary layer and cloud cover to these land surface perturbations. The co-evolution of boundary layer and lifting condensation level heights also emerges as key and should motivate examination of results from models that cannot faithfully represent these parameters. Finally, using a combination of the same idealized modeling system and observations from two ARM sites, we explore the effects of variations in the surface energy budget, in response to both land cover change and natural variability, on boundary layer convective velocities, initial shallow cumulus updraft speeds and the number of aerosol particles activated into cloud droplets. While the simulations and observations show that surface heat fluxes are not likely the dominant driver of changes in shallow cumulus droplet number in most settings, environments with lower evaporative fractions do favor a stronger coupling. We connect each of these studies to larger questions in cloud physics and land-atmosphere interactions, and hope to motivate further work on the detailed properties of this system.

The Future of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Observing, Understanding, and Modeling

The Future of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Observing, Understanding, and Modeling PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309477239
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 59

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Book Description
Improved observations of the atmospheric boundary layer (BL) and its interactions with the ocean, land, and ice surfaces have great potential to advance science on a number of fronts, from improving forecasts of severe storms and air quality to constraining estimates of trace gas emissions and transport. Understanding the BL is a crucial component of model advancements, and increased societal demands for extended weather impact forecasts (from hours to months and beyond) highlight the need to advance Earth system modeling and prediction. New observing technologies and approaches (including in situ and ground-based, airborne, and satellite remote sensing) have the potential to radically increase the density of observations and allow new types of variables to be measured within the BL, which will have broad scientific and societal benefits. In October 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to explore the future of BL observations and their role in improving modeling and forecasting capabilities. Workshop participants discussed the science and applications drivers for BL observation, emerging technology to improve observation capabilities, and strategies for the future. This publication summarizes presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Land Surface — Atmosphere Interactions for Climate Modeling

Land Surface — Atmosphere Interactions for Climate Modeling PDF Author: E.F. Wood
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400921551
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
It is well known that the interactions between land surfaces and the atmosphere, and the resulting exchanges in water and energy have a tremendous affect on climate. The inadequate representation of land-atmosphere interactions is a major weakness in current climate models, and is providing the motivation for the HAPEX and ISLSCP experiments as well as the proposed Global Energy and Water Experiment (GEWEX) and the Earth Observing System (EOS) mission. The inadequate representation reflects the recognition that the well-known phys ical relationships, which are well described at small scales, result in different relationships when represented at the scales used in climate models. Understanding this transition in the mathematical relationships with increased space-time scales appears to be very difficult, and has led to different approaches; at one extreme, the famous "bucket" model where the land-surface is a simple one layer storage without vegetation; the other extreme may be Seller's Simple Biosphere Model (Sib) where one big leaf covers the climate model grid. Given the heterogeneous nature of landforms, soils and vegetation within a climate model grid, the development of new land surface parameterizations, and their verification through large scale experiments is perceived to be a challenging area of research for the hydrology and meteorology communities. This book evolved from a workshop held at Princeton University to explore the status of land surface parameterizations within climate models, and how observa tional data can be used to assess these parameterizations and improve models.

Forests at the Land-atmosphere Interface

Forests at the Land-atmosphere Interface PDF Author: J. Grace
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 9780851998695
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Annotation. Forest ecosystems exist at the interface between the land and the atmosphere. Understanding the properties of this planetary boundary layer is very important for a number of related disciplines. This book presents an overview of topics that are of significance at this interface, starting at the scale of intra-leaf organelles, ranging to higher levels of organisation such as communities and ecosystems. It covers topics such as stomatal functioning, large scale processes, radiation modelling, forest meteorology and carbon sequestration. Based on proceedings of a conference to mark the retirement of Professor Paul Jarvis from the University of Edinburgh, the book contains contributions from leading international scientists. It will be of significant interest to researchers in forestry, ecology, environmental sciences and natural resources.

Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Atmospheric Boundary Layer PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description


Ideal and Real Atmospheric Boundary Layers

Ideal and Real Atmospheric Boundary Layers PDF Author: Mathias W. Rotach
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 032395958X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Ideal and Real Atmospheric Boundary Layers is based on the notion that classical books of Boundary Layer Meteorology largely focus on ideal surface conditions, while the actual real circumstances often address situations that are more complex, like over heterogeneous land and in urban and mountain areas. Ideal and Real Atmospheric Boundary Layers starts by covering the basic physical principles used in atmospheric boundary layer meteorology, including atmospheric turbulence, observing and modeling atmospheric boundary layers, and neutral, convective, and stable boundary layers over different types of land surfaces. The second part of the book describes the applications and extension of these principles for real-world circumstances. The book will be of interest to researchers and students in atmospheric science, climate science, and meteorology. Covers state of current research into ideal and real boundary layers Includes methods and applications of the principles covered in the book Features highly visual content, including infographics to further exemplify principles and applications covered in the text

The Physics of the Mechanically-driven Atmospheric Boundary Layer as an Example of Air-sea Ice Interactions

The Physics of the Mechanically-driven Atmospheric Boundary Layer as an Example of Air-sea Ice Interactions PDF Author: Sylvain M. Joffre
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789514524899
Category : Planetary boundary layer
Languages : en
Pages : 75

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Book Description


Amazonia and Global Change

Amazonia and Global Change PDF Author: Michael Keller
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118671511
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1472

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Book Description
Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 186. Amazonia and Global Change synthesizes results of the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) for scientists and students of Earth system science and global environmental change. LBA, led by Brazil, asks how Amazonia currently functions in the global climate and biogeochemical systems and how the functioning of Amazonia will respond to the combined pressures of climate and land use change, such as Wet season and dry season aerosol concentrations and their effects on diffuse radiation and photosynthesis Increasing greenhouse gas concentration, deforestation, widespread biomass burning and changes in the Amazonian water cycle Drought effects and simulated drought through rainfall exclusion experiments The net flux of carbon between Amazonia and the atmosphere Floodplains as an important regulator of the basin carbon balance including serving as a major source of methane to the troposphere The impact of the likely increased profitability of cattle ranching. The book will serve a broad community of scientists and policy makers interested in global change and environmental issues with high-quality scientific syntheses accessible to nonspecialists in a wide community of social scientists, ecologists, atmospheric chemists, climatologists, and hydrologists.

Principles of Environmental Physics

Principles of Environmental Physics PDF Author: John Monteith
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
ISBN: 9780713129311
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Thoroughly revised and up-dated edition of a highly successful textbook.

An Empirical Investigation of Relationships and Interactions Between the Convective Planetary Boundary Layer and the Land Surface

An Empirical Investigation of Relationships and Interactions Between the Convective Planetary Boundary Layer and the Land Surface PDF Author: Joseph Anthony Santanello
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Abstract: The convective planetary boundary layer (PBL) integrates land-atmosphere interactions over regional spatial scales and diurnal temporal scales. Previous attempts to infer surface energy and water budgets from observations of the PBL have been constrained by difficulties in monitoring and estimating the processes that control PBL evolution. This research presents an empirical and modeling investigation of land-atmosphere interactions focusing on the utility of remote sensing of the PBL. An energy conservation approach applied to 132 sets of daily PBL and land surface observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Cloud and Radiation Test Bed in the Southern Great Plains (ARM-SGP) reveals limitations to using energy budget methods to estimate surface fluxes on diurnal time scales. At the same time, statistical analyses demonstrate that observable properties of the PBL are directly related to land surface conditions and a methodology is established to estimate surface fluxes and moisture conditions that does not require detailed land surface models or parameterizations. These relationships vary as a function of surface properties and atmospheric conditions and are examined in detail using a coupled PBL/land-surface model in association with observational data. More importantly, the results from these analyses identify feedbacks in the land-atmosphere system that are not included in current models of the PBL. The feedbacks and relationships also provide insight regarding the link between surface fluxes and PBL structure, and can be used to estimate surface conditions from routine observations of the PBL.