Boundary Layer Winds: more of friction's impact on low level winds

Boundary Layer Winds

more of friction's impact on low level winds

Friction's effects on air motion decrease as the altitude increases -- to a point

(usually 1-2 km) where it has no effect at all. The depth of the atmosphere that
friction does play a role in atmospheric motion is referred to as the boundary
layer. Within the boundary layer, this friction plays a role in keeping the wind
from being geostrophic.

If we look at low and high-pressure systems, we can see this mechanism at

work. Here in this exmple below, the winds would, without friction effects, be
moving counter-clockwise around the center of the low in the northern
hemisphere. However, when the surface friction is accounted for, the wind
slows down, and therefore the Coriolis force weakens and the pressure
gradient force becomes dominant, resulting in the spiraling of air into the
center of a low pressure system and away from the center of the high pressure
system. This causes convergence in the center of the low pressure system at
the surface. It is this surface convergence which leads to rising air which can
create clouds and even cause rain and storms to form.

.
At the same time, wind flows around a northern hemisphere high-pressure
system in a clockwise manner, but when frictional effects are introduced the
wind again slows down, and the Coriolis force reduces and the pressure
gradient force becomes dominant. In this case, though, the pressure gradient is
outward from the center of the high, so the result is that surface wind spirals
away from the center. This causes divergence (convergence) in the center of

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Boundary Layer Winds: more of friction's impact on low level winds

the high (low) pressure system at the surface. This surface divergence causes
sinking motion which supresses cloud development and gives us clear skies.

Below is an interactive tool for you to explore how friction affects the wind as
you change the roughness of the terrain and the elevation.

● Does the total wind deflect towards higher or lower pressure in the
boundary layer? (isobars in dark gray).
● What happens to the Coriolis force vector as the total wind changes?
● Compare the strength of the pressure gradient force vector and the
Coriolis force vector. What happens to them as the altitude changes?
● How does the roughness of the terrain affect the surface wind?
● What are the differences between the northern and southern hemisphere
in the example?
● Click the Wind Profile button. A separate window will appear. The red
curve shows a trace of the wind vector from the surface to the top of the
boundary layer. Its spiral-like appearance was first observed by W. F.
Ekman and is called the Ekman spiral. The white line shows the wind
vector along that spiral at the current altitude. Meteorologists call these
diagrams hodographs and use them as a way to simultaneously observe
the wind speed and direction at many altitudes.

Terms for using data resources. CD-ROM

available.
Credits and Acknowledgments for WW2010.
Sea
friction Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at
Breezes
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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