ATM S 547, Spring Quarter 2006
Boundary Layer
Meteorology
Instructor: Professor Chris Bretherton
710
Atmospheric Sciences Bldg., 685-7414
breth@atmos.washington.edu
(office hours 12:30-1:30 MW or by appointment)
Lectures: MWF, 11:30-12:20PM; ATG 406
Prerequisites: 505 (fluids) or permission of instructor
Textbook: The Atmospheric Boundary Layer, by J. R.
Garratt, 1992, Cambridge University Press, 316 pp.(available at
University Bookstore)
Course Description:
Turbulence and turbulent fluxes, averaging. Convection and shear
instability. Monin-Obukhov similarity theory, surface roughness. Wind
profiles. Organized large eddies. Convective and stably stratified boundary layers. Energy fluxes at ocean and land surfaces,
diurnal cycle. Cloud-topped
boundary layers. Measurement technologies. Boundary layer modelling and
parameterization.
Grading
- Homework (65%): you may collaborate on this, though I ask that
you write your own Matlab scripts and description of results.
- Term project (35%) on some topic of your choice related to the
class (please see me for approval of your proposed topic). Each
student will do a 15-20 minute oral presentation on their topic in the last two days of
class (1-2 Jun) , and hand in a 5-10 page written
report, due at my office or in my mailbox by 5 pm on Th 8 Jun.
Lecture notes (pdf). These notes were written for
80 min rather than 50 min classes, so we will be covering
approximately 2 lectures a week. I may also make some changes and
updates to the notes as we go along, so you might not want to print
them out more than 1-2 days in advance.
- Lecture 1
Introduction; instabilities
- Lecture 2
Turbulent flow
- Lecture 3
Turbulent fluxes and TKE budgets
- Lecture 4
Boundary layer turbulence and mean wind profiles
- Lecture 5
Surface roughness and the logarithmic sublayer
- Lecture 6
Monin-Obuhkov similarity theory
- Lecture 7
BL wind profiles and large eddy structure in convective and neutral BLs
- Lecture 8
K-theory parameterizations of BL turbulence
- Lecture 9
Nonlocal parameterizations of BL turbulence
- Lecture 10
Surface energy balance
- Lecture 11
Surface evaporation and soil moisture
- Lecture 12
Diurnal cycle over land
- Lecture 13
Stable boundary layers
- Lecture 14
Oceanic and cloud-topped BLs - observations
- Lecture 15
Cloud-topped mixed-layers I
- Lecture 16
Cloud-topped mixed-layers II
- Lecture 17
Shallow cumulus convection
- Student presentations We 31 May and Fr 2 Jun.
Class Schedule Notes
- No class 27-29 Mar, 7-14 Apr, 22-24 May - Instructor travel.
- No class Mo 29 May - Memorial Day
- Thursday 10:30-11:20 makeup classes 20, 27 Apr, 4, 11, 18,
25 May, and 1 Jun in ATG 406.
- Last day of class: Fri 2 June.
Handout: Stull, Ch. 10:
Measurement and Simulation Techniques
Homeworks (pdf)
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