A note on scalar-gradient sharpening in the stable atmospheric boundary layer
Antoon van Hooft (TU Delft - Atmospheric Remote Sensing)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
The scalar front generated by the horizontal self advection of a dipolar vortex through a mod-est scalar gradient is investigated. This physical scenario is an idealization of the emergenceof strong temperature ramps in the stable atmospheric boundary layer. The proposed mecha-nism is discussed and a two-dimensional analogy is studied in depth using direct numericalsimulation. More specifically, the scalar-gradient sharpening is investigated as a function ofthe Reynolds number. It appears that the process of gradient sharpening at large-eddy scalesmay be challenging for turbulence-resolving methods applied to the stable-boundary-layerregime.
help_outline