ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC BOUNDARY LAYER

GENERIC VELOCITY PROFILES:

POWER LAW AND OTHERS
EXTRAPOLATED WIND VELOCITY

?
LOGARITHMIC WIND PROFILE
u* z
Vx (z) = log( )
κ z0

Roughness length

z0 ≠ 0
MARINE BOUNDARY LAYERS

u* z
Vx (z) = log( ) u*(t) z0=Cst
κ z0
CONVECTIVE BOUNDARY LAYER (CBL)
Cloud signature z

r(z)

Top View Side View r

LOGARITHMIC LAW WITH CONVECTION
Derived from physical basis
Y : Monin-Obukov functions
ARYA, Introduction to micrometeorology (2001).

u $
*
z z '
Vx (z) = &log( ) − Ψ( )) For unstable BL
κ% z0 L ( z 1+ X 1+ X 2 2 π
Ψ( ) = 2 ln( ) + ln( )− +
L 2 2 tan X 2
L : Monin-Obukov length Z
X = (1−15 )1/4
L

Height at which turbulence is generated … QUITE COMPLEX FORM !!

more by buoyancy than by wind shear
empirical power law ?
POWER LAW August 28th (1pm)

Vx (z ) = V1 (
z α
)
a = 0.12
z1

WMO standard
V1 : 10 meter winds (z1=10m)

Wind shear exponent a

Empirical law

Engineering philosophy…
No physical basis…
August 28th (1pm) August 28th (8 pm)

a = 0.12 a = 0.12
a = 0.51
POWER LAW August 28th (1 pm)

Easy to use but

a = 0.12
Wind Shear exponent a
varies with :

- atmospheric stability
- time of day
- seasons
1/7 POWER LAW

Easy to use but

Wind Shear exponent a
varies with : Convectively Neutral Stable
unstable stability and stratified
- atmospheric stability
- time of day a = 0.05-0.15 a = 1/7 ~ 0.143 a = 0.2-0.6
- seasons

standard value for

open land surface
POWER LAW AND BOTTOM ROUGHNESS

Easy to use but

Wind Shear exponent a
varies with : Open water Open land High forest
flat surface buildings
- atmospheric stability
- time of day a = 0. 1 a = 1/7 ~ 0.143 a = 0.25
- Seasons
- Bottom roughness
standard values for neutral stability conditions
EXTRAPOLATE WIND DISTRIBUTION
A steady wind shear exponent a

allow transposition of Weibull

parameters from z1 to z2.

Shape parameter
k 2 = k1 / (1− 0.0881ln(z1 / z 2 ))
Scale parameter
C2 = C1 (z1 / z 2 )α

Justus, C. G., & Mikhail, A. (1976).