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Observations of Coherent Turbulence Structures in the Near-Neutral Atmospheric Boundary Layer

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Abstract

Turbulence structures of high Reynolds number flow in the near-neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) are investigated based on observations at Shionomisaki and Shigaraki, Japan. A Doppler sodar measured the vertical profiles of winds in the ABL. Using the integral wavelet transform for the time series of surface wind data, the pattern of a descending high-speed structure with large vertical extent (from the surface to more than 200-m level) is depicted from the Doppler sodar data. Essentially this structure is a specific type of coherent structure that has been previously shown in experiments on turbulent boundary-layer flows. Large-scale high-speed structures in the ABL are extracted using a long time scale (240 s) for the wavelet transform. The non-dimensional interval of time between structures is evaluated as 3.0–6.2 in most cases. These structures make a large contribution to downward momentum transfer in the surface layer. Quadrant analyses of the turbulent motion measured by the sonic anemometer (20-m height) suggest that the sweep motion (high-speed downward motion) plays a substantial role in the downward momentum transfer. In general, the contribution of sweep motions to the momentum flux is nearly equal to that of ejection motions (low-speed upward motions). This contribution of sweep motions is related to the large-scale high-speed structures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Gokanosho, Uji, Kyoto, Japan

    Mitsuaki Horiguchi & Taiichi Hayashi

  2. Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, Japan

    Hiroyuki Hashiguchi

  3. Sonic Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshiki Ito

  4. Japan Environmental Sanitation Center, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan

    Hiromasa Ueda

Authors
  1. Mitsuaki Horiguchi
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  2. Taiichi Hayashi
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  3. Hiroyuki Hashiguchi
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  4. Yoshiki Ito
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  5. Hiromasa Ueda
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Correspondence to Mitsuaki Horiguchi.

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Horiguchi, M., Hayashi, T., Hashiguchi, H. et al. Observations of Coherent Turbulence Structures in the Near-Neutral Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 136, 25–44 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-010-9500-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-010-9500-5

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