In search of a simple scaling for the height of the stratified atmospheric boundary layer

Abstract

On the basis of observational data of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), a simple scaling framework for the evolving ABL is proposed. The theoretical background is based on a simple parameterization of the vertically-integrated dissipation term in the turbulent kinetic energy equation. The scaling introduces the scaling length L_N = u_*/N where u_* is the friction velocity and N the buoyancy frequency, and it applies to both stable and unstable cases. The scaling fits well 3 different sets of data: the Wangara data, the JASIN data and those from an expedition over the sea ice field of the Baltic Sea. The scaling length related to the rotation appears only as a secondary factor.