A Second-Order Closure Turbulence Model: New Heat Flux Equations and No Critical Richardson Number

We formulate a new second-order closure turbulence model by employing a recent closure for the pressure-temperature correlation at the equation level. As a result, we obtain new heat flux equations that avoid the long-standing issue of a finite critical Richardson number. The new, structurally simpl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the atmospheric sciences Vol. 77; no. 8; pp. 2743 - 2759
Main Authors Cheng, Y., Canuto, V. M., Howard, A. M., Ackerman, A. S., Kelley, M., Fridlind, A. M., Schmidt, G. A., Yao, M. S., Elsaesser, G. S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Goddard Space Flight Center American Meteorological Society 01.08.2020
Subjects
Boundary layer height
Boundary layers
Closures
General circulation models
Heat flux
Heat transfer
Meteorology And Climatology
Planetary boundary layer
Richardson number
Temperature
Turbulence
Turbulence models
Heat Flux Equations
Second-Order Closure Turbulence Model
Finite Critical Richardson 29 Number
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:We formulate a new second-order closure turbulence model by employing a recent closure for the pressure-temperature correlation at the equation level. As a result, we obtain new heat flux equations that avoid the long-standing issue of a finite critical Richardson number. The new, structurally simpler model improves on the Mellor-Yamada 1982 and Galperin et al. 1988 models; key feature includes enhanced mixing under stable conditions facilitating agreement with observational, experimental and high-resolution numerical data sets. The model predicts a planetary boundary layer height deeper than predicted by models with low critical Richardson numbers, as demonstrated in single column model runs of the GISS ModelE general circulation model.
Bibliography:GSFC
Goddard Space Flight Center
ISSN:0022-4928
1520-0469
DOI:10.1175/JAS-D-19-0240.1