• \
    Start Submission Become a Reviewer

    Reading: Impact of entrainment from overshooting thermals on land–atmosphere interactions during summ...

    Download

     A- A+
    Alt. Display

    Original Research Papers

    Impact of entrainment from overshooting thermals on land–atmosphere interactions during summer 1999

    Authors:

    Erica L. McGrath-Spangler ,

    Department of Atmospheric Science, 1371 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1371, US
    X close

    A. Scott Denning

    Department of Atmospheric Science, 1371 Campus Delivery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1371, US
    X close

    Abstract

    The depth of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) or mixed layer is important for carbon dioxide source/sink estimation because the response of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration to a given amount of surface flux is inversely proportional to this depth. The PBL depth is affected by entrainment from overshooting thermals that is often underestimated in mesoscale meteorological models. An experiment was performed for the late summer of 1999 that includes a parameterization of PBL top entrainment that is based on a downward buoyancy flux at the top of the PBL. Simulations with this parameterization produce a warmer, drier and deeper boundary layer than a control simulation. The monthly mean diurnal cycle of PBL depth at a location in northernWisconsin is better simulated with this enhanced entrainment when compared to observations. The altered atmospheric conditions cause the vegetation’s stomata to respond and possibly close in an evolved response to limit water loss, thus reducing transpiration and shifting the Bowen ratio. The stomatal closing also reduces carbon assimilation, consequently altering horizontal and vertical carbon gradients. The overall effect of enhanced PBL entrainment is to alter time–mean regional gradients in CO2 mixing ratio by as much as 7 ppmv over 1000 km.

    How to Cite: McGrath-Spangler, E.L. and Denning, A.S., 2010. Impact of entrainment from overshooting thermals on land–atmosphere interactions during summer 1999. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 62(5), pp.441–454. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2010.00482.x
    1
    Views
      Published on 01 Jan 2010
    Peer Reviewed
     CC BY 4.0
     Accepted on 21 Jul 2010            Submitted on 19 Nov 2009

    References

    1. Andres , R. J. , Marland , G. , Fung , I. and Matthews , E . 1996 . A 1° x 10 distribution of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption and cement manufacture, 1950-1990 . Global Biogeochem. Cy . 10 , 419 – 429 .  

    2. Angevine , W. M. , Avery , S. K. , Ecklund , W. L. and Carter , D. A . 1993 . Fluxes of heat and momentum measured with a boundary-layer wind profiler radar-radio acoustic sounding system . J. AppL Meteorol . 32 , 73 – 80 .  

    3. Angevine , W. M. , Doviak R. J. and Sorbjan , Z . 1994a . Remote sensing of vertical velocity variance and surface heat flux in a convective boundary layer . J. AppL Meteorol . 33 , 977 – 983 .  

    4. Angevine , W. M. , White , A. B. and Avery , S. K . 1994b . Boundary-layer depth and entrainment zone characterization with a boundary-layer profiler . Bound. -.Layer Meteorol . 68 , 375 – 385 .  

    5. Angevine , W. M. , Bakwin , P. S. and Davis , K. J . 1998 . Wind profiler and RASS measurements compared with measurements from a 450-m-tall tower . J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol . 15 , 818 – 825 .  

    6. Avissar , R . 1991 . A statistical-dynamical approach to parameterize subgrid-scale land-surface heterogeneity in climate models . Surv. Geophys . 12 , 155 – 178 .  

    7. Avissar , R. and Pielke , R. A . 1989 . A parameterization of heterogeneous land surfaces for atmospheric numerical models and its impacts on regional meteorology . Mon. Weather Rev . 117 , 2113 – 2136 .  

    8. Ayotte , K. W. , Sullivan , P. P. , Andren , A. , Doney , S. C. , Holtslag , A. A. M. and co-authors . 1996 . An evaluation of neutral and convec-tive planetary boundary layer parameterizations relative to large eddy simulation. Bound. -.Layer Meteorol . 79 , 131 - 175 .  

    9. Baker , D. F. , Law , R. M. , Gurney , K. R. , Rayner , P. , Denning , A. S. and co-authors . 2006 . TransCom 3 inversion intercomparison: impact of transport model errors on the interannual variability of regional CO2 fluxes, 1988 - 2003 . Global Biogeochem. Cyc . 20 , GB1002 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GB002439 .  

    10. Baker , I. , Denning , A. S. , Hanan , N. , Prihodko , L. , Uliasz , M. and co-authors . 2003 . Simulated and observed fluxes of sensible and latent heat and CO2 at the WLEF-TV tower using SiB2.5. Glob. Change Biol . 9 , 1262 - 1277 .  

    11. Bakwin , P. S. , Tans , P. P. , Hurst , D. F. and Zhao , C . 1998 . Measurements of carbon dioxide on very tall towers: results of the NOAA/CMDL program . Tellus 50B , 401 – 415 .  

    12. Ball , J. T. , Woodrow , I. E. and Berry , J. A . 1987 . A model predicting stomatal conductance and its contribution to the control of photo-synthesis under different environmental conditions. In: Progress in Photosynthesis Research (ed. J. Biggens ). Martinus-Nijhoff Publish-ers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands 221-224.  

    13. Beljaars , A. C. M and Betts , A. K . 1992 . Validation of the boundary layer representation in the ECMWF model. In: ECMWF Seminar Proceedings, 7-11 September 1992, Validation over Europe, Vol II, Reading, 159 - 195 .  

    14. Berger , B. W. , Davis , K. J. , Yi , C. , Bakwin , P. S. and Zhao C. L . 2001 . Long-term carbon dioxide fluxes from a very tall tower in a northern forest: flux measurement methodology . J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech . 18 , 529 – 542 .  

    15. Betts , A. K . 1973 . Non-precipitating cumulus convection and its param-eterization . Q. J. Roy. Meteor Soc . 99 , 178 – 196 .  

    16. Bonan , G. B. , Lewis , S. , Kergoat , L. and Oleson , K. W . 2002 . Landscapes as patches of plant functional types: an integrating concept for climate and ecosystem models . Global Biogeochem. Cy . 16 , 5.1 - 5.23 .  

    17. Carson, D. J. 1973. The development of a dry inversion-capped con-vectively unstable boundary layer . Q. J. Roy. Meteor Soc . 100 , 450 – 467 .  

    18. Collatz , G. J. , Ball , J. T. , Grivet , C. and Berry , J. A. 1991. Physiological and environmental regulation of stomatal conductance, photosynthe-sis and transpiration: a model that includes a laminar boundary layer. Agric. Forest Meteorol . 54 , 107 - 136 .  

    19. Corbin , K. D. , Denning , A. S. , Lu , L. , Wang , J.-W. and Baker , I. T . 2008 . Possible representation errors in inversions of satellite CO2 retrieval . J. Geophys. Res . 113 , D02301 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD008716 .  

    20. Davis , K. J. , Lenschow , D H. , Oncley , S. P. , Kiemle , C. , Ehret , G. and co-authors . 1997 . Role of entrainment in surface-atmosphere interactions over the boreal forest. J. Geophys. Res . 102 , D24 , 29219 - 29230 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/97JDO2236 .  

    21. Davis , K. J. , Bakwin , P. S. , Yi , C. , Berger , B. W. , Zhao , C. and co-authors . 2003 . The annual cycles of CO2 and H20 exchange over a northern mixed forest as observed from a very tall tower. Glob. Change Biol . 9 , 1278 - 1293 .  

    22. Deardorff , J. W . 1974 . Three-dimensional numerical study of the height and mean structure of a heated planetary boundary layer . Bound -.Layer Meteorol . 7 , 81 – 106 .  

    23. Denning , A. S. , Fung , I. Y. and Randall , D. A . 1995 . Latitudinal gradient of atmospheric CO2 due to seasonal exchange with land biota . Nature 376 , 240 – 243 .  

    24. Denning , A. S. , Collatz , J. G. , Zhang , C. , Randall , D. A. , Berry , J. A. and co-authors . 1996a . Simulations of terrestrial carbon metabolism and atmospheric CO2 in a general circulation model. Part 1: Surface carbon fluxes. Tellus 48B , 521 - 542 .  

    25. Denning , A. S. , Randall , D. A. , Collatz , G. J. and Sellers, P. J. 1996b. Simulations of terrestrial carbon metabolism and atmospheric CO2 in a general circulation model. Part 2: Spatial and temporal variations of atmospheric CO2. Tellus 48B , 543 - 567 .  

    26. Denning , A. S. , Takahashi , T. and Friedlingstein P. 1999. Can a strong atmospheric CO2 rectifier effect be reconciled with a “reasonable carbon budget? Tellus 51B , 249 - 253 .  

    27. Denning , A. S. , Nicholls , M. , Prihodko , L. , Baker , I. , Vidale , P.L. and co-authors . 2003 . Simulated variations in atmospheric CO2 over a Wisconsin forest using a coupled ecosystem-atmosphere model. Glob. Change Biol . 9 , 1241 - 1250 .  

    28. Denning , A. S. , Zhang , N. , Yi , C. , Branson , M. , Davis , K. and co-authors . 2008 . Evaluation of modeled atmospheric boundary layer depth at the WLEF tower. Agric. Forest Meteorol . 148 , 206 - 215 .  

    29. Ecklund , W. L. , Carter , D. A. and Balsley , B. B . 1988 . A UHF wind profiler for the boundary layer: brief description and initial results . J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech . 5 , 432 – 441 .  

    30. Freitas , S. R. , Longo , K. , Silva Dias , M. , Silva Dias , P. , Chatfield , R. and co-authors . 2006 . The coupled aerosol and tracer transport model to the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Mod-eling System: validation using direct and remote sensing observa-tions. International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorol-ogy and Oceanography (ICSHMO , Volume8 , 101 - 107 . CD-ROM. ISBN 85-17-00023-4 .  

    31. Gerbig , C. , Lin , J. C. , Wofsy , S. C. , Daube , B. C. , Andrews , A. E. and co-authors . 2003 . Toward constraining regional-scale fluxes of CO2 with atmospheric observations over a continent: 1. Observed spatial variability from airborne platforms. J. Geophys. Res . 108 , D24 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD003018 .  

    32. Gurney , K. R. , Law , R. M. , Denning , A. S. , Rayner , P. J. , Baker , D. and co-authors . 2002 . Towards robust regional estimates of CO2 sources and sinks using atmospheric transport models. Nature 415 , 626 - 630 .  

    33. Gurney , K. R. , Law , R. M. , Denning , A. S. , Rayner , P. J. , Baker , D. and co-authors . 2003 . TransCom 3 CO2 inversion intercomparison: 1. Annual mean control results and sensitivity to transport and prior flux information. Tellus 55B , 555 - 579 .  

    34. Hansen , M. , DeFries , R. , Townshend , J. R. G. and Sohlberg , R . 2000 . Global land cover classification at lkm resolution using a decision tree classifier . Int. J. Remote Sens . 21 , 1331 – 1365 .  

    35. Kama , S. R. , EricksonDI, D. J. , Pawson , S. and Zhu , Z. 2004. Global CO2 transport simulations using meteorological data from the NASA data assimilation system. J. Geophys. Res . 109 , D18312 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004554 .  

    36. Liu , Y. , Weaver , C. P. and Avissar , R . 1999 . Toward a parameteriza-tion of mesoscale fluxes and moist convection induced by landscape heterogeneity . J. Geophys. Res . 104 ( D16 ), 19515 – 19533 .  

    37. Marland , G. , Boden , T. A. and Andres , R. J . 2005 . Global, regional and national CO2 emissions, In: Trends: A compendium of Data on Global Change . Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge Na-tional Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN. Avail-able from http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/em_cont.htm. Accessed 3 April 2008.  

    38. McGrath-Spangler , E. L. , Denning , A. S. , Corbin , K. D. and Baker , I. T . 2009 . Sensitivity of land-atmosphere exchanges to overshooting PBL thermals in an idealized coupled model. J. Adv. Model. Earth SysL 1(14) , doi: https://doi.org/10.3894/JAMES.2009.1.14 .  

    39. Mesinger , E , DiMego , G. , Kalnay , E. , Mitchell , K. , Shafran , P. C. and co-authors . 2006 . North American regional reanalysis. B. Am. MeteoroL Soc . 87 ( 3 ), 343 - 360 .  

    40. Nicholls , M. E. , Denning , A. S. , Prihodko , L. , Vidale , P. L. , Baker, I. and co-authors . 2004 . A multiple-scale simulation of variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide using a coupled-biosphere-atmospheric model. J. Geophys. Res . 109 , D18117 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JDO04482 .  

    41. Parazoo , N. C. , Denning , A. S. , Kawa , S. R. , Corbin , K. D. , Lokupitiya , R. S. and co-authors . 2008 . Mechanisms for synoptic variations of atmospheric CO2 in North America, South America, and Europe. Atmos. Chem. Phys . 8 , 7239 - 7254 .  

    42. Pielke , R. A. and Avissar , R . 1990 . Influence of landscape structure on local and regional climate . Landscape EcoL 4 , 133 – 155 .  

    43. Rayment , R. and Readings , C. J . 1974 . A case study of the structure and energetics of an inversion . Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc . 100 , 221 – 233 .  

    44. Sellers , P. J. , Mintz , Y. , Sud , Y. C. and Dalcher , A . 1986 . A simple biosphere model (SiB) for use within general circulation models . J. Atmos. Sci . 43 , 505 – 531 .  

    45. Sellers , P. J. , Los , S O. , Tucker , C. J. , Justice , C. O. , Dazlich , D. A. and co-authors . 1996b . A revised land surface parameterization (SiB2) for atmospheric GCMs. PartThe generation of global fields ofterrestrial biophysical parameters from satellite data. J. Climate 9 , 706 - 737 .  

    46. Sellers , P. J. , Randall , D. A. , Collatz , G. J. , Berry , J. A. , Field , C. B. and co-authors . 1996a . A revised land surface parameterization (SiB2) for atmospheric GCMs, Part 1: Model formulation. J. Climate 9 , 676 - 705 .  

    47. Sellers , P. J. , Dickinson , R. E. , Randall , D. A. , Betts , A. K. , Hall , F. G. and co-authors . 1997 . Modeling the exchanges of energy, water, and carbon between continents and the atmosphere. Science 275 , 502 - 509 .  

    48. Stull , R. B . 1976 . The energetics of entrainment across a density inter-face . J. Atmos. Sci . 33 , 1260 – 1267 .  

    49. Stull , R. B . 1988 . An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology . Kluwer Academic Publishers , Norwell , MA , 666pp .  

    50. Sullivan , P. P. , Moeng , C.-H. , Stevens , B. , Lenschow , D. H. and Mayer , S. D . 1998 . Structure of the entrainment zone capping the convective atmospheric boundary layer . J. Atmos. Sci . 55 , 3042 – 3064 .  

    51. Takahashi , T. , Sutherland , S. C. , Sweeney , C. , Poisson , A. , Metzl , N. and co-authors . 2002 . Global sea-air CO2 flux based on climatological surface ocean pCO2, and seasonal, biological, and temperature effects. Deep-Sea Res. Part 11 49 , 1601 - 1622 .  

    52. Wang , J.-W. , Denning , A. S. , Lu , L. , Baker , I. T. , Corbin , K. D. and co-authors . 2007 . Observations and simulations of synoptic, regional, and local variations in atmospheric CO2. J. Geophys. Res . 112 , D04108 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JDO07410 .  

    53. Weaver , C. P. and Avissar , R . 2001 . Atmospheric disturbance caused by human modification of the landscape . B. Am. MeteoroL Soc . 82 ( 2 ), 269 – 281 .  

    54. White , A. B. , Fairall , C. W. and Thompson , D. W . 1991 . Radar obser-vations of humidity variability in and above the marine atmospheric boundary layer . J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech . 8 , 639 – 658 .  

    55. Willis , G. E. and Deardorff , J. W . 1974 . A laboratory model of the unstable planetary boundary layer . J. Atmos. Sci . 31 , 1297 – 1307 .  

    56. Yi , C. , Davis , K. J. , Berger , B. W. and Balcwin , P. S . 2001 . Long-term observations of the dynamics of the continental planetary boundary layer . J. Atmos. Sci . 58 , 1288 – 1299 .  

    57. Yi , C. , Davis , K. J. , Bakwin , P. S. , Denning , A. S. , Zhang , N. and co-authors . 2004 . Observed covariance between ecosystem carbon exchange and atmospheric boundary layer dynamics at a site in northern Wisconsin. J. Geophys. Res . 109 , D08302 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JDO04164 .  

    58. Zhang , N . 2002 . Observations and simulations of the planetary boundary layer at a tall tower in northern Wisconsin . KS. thesis. Colorado State University , Fort Collins , 71 .  

    59. Zupanski , D. , Denning , A. S. , Uliasz , M. , Zupanski , M. , Schuh , A. E. and co-authors . 2007 . Carbon flux bias estimation employing Maximum Likelihood Ensemble Filter (MLEF). J. Geophys. Res . 112 , D17107 , doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD008371 .  

    Jump to Discussions Related content
    comments powered by Disqus