On the Correlation between Convective Plume Updrafts and Downdrafts,Lidar Reflectivity and Depolarization Ratio     

Fabien Gibert  Juan Cuesta  Jun-Ichi Yano  Nicolas Arnault  Pierre H. Flamant 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》2007,125(3):553-573

We question the correlation between vertical velocity (w) on the one hand and the occurrence of convective plumes in lidar reflectivity (i.e. range corrected backscatter signal Pz ²) and depolarization ratio (Δ) on the other hand in the convective boundary layer (CBL). Thermal vertical motion is directly investigated using vertical velocities measured by a ground-based Doppler lidar operating at 2 μm. This lidar provides also simultaneous measurements of lidar reflectivity. In addition, a second lidar 200 m away provides reflectivities at 0.53 and 1 μm and depolarization ratio at 0.53 μm. The time series from the two lidars are analyzed in terms of linear correlation coefficient (ρ). The main result is that the plume-like structures provided by lidar reflectivity within the CBL as well as the CBL height are not a clear signature of updrafts. It is shown that the lidar reflectivity within the CBL is frequently anti-correlated (ρ (w, Pz ² )) with the vertical velocity. On the contrary, the correlation coefficient between the depolarization ratio and the vertical velocity ρ (w, Δ ) is always positive, showing that the depolarization ratio is a fair tracer of updrafts. The importance of relative humidity on the correlation coefficient is discussed. An erratum to this article can be found at  相似文献   

A Case Study of Rayleigh-Bénard Convection with Clouds     

Rolf Cieszelski 《Boundary-Layer Meteorology》1998,88(2):211-237

A turbulence data set collected by the research aircraft Hercules and Falcon in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over the North Sea during Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC) is analysed. Altogether nearly three hundred cell passages at different levels and in two different flight directions were sampled.The convective boundary-layer height (H) was about 1 km, and the RBC cells had a diameter D of roughly 2–3 km, resulting in an aspect ratio A = D/H 2–3. This value is also found in the case of RBC in laboratory-scale flows, whereas most of the recent PBL experimental work reports convection PBL rolls with A 3 and mesoscale cellular convection (MCC) with A 10–40 over the oceans.The large number of RBC cell passages made it possible to composite their average structure. Due to the more complex three-dimensional structure and the importance of thermals to the RBC dynamics, spectral, temporal and spatial decompositions and model calculations were necessary to illuminate structure, dynamics, energetics and organisation. The final impression is that the structure of RBC in the PBL is given by a honeycomb-like arrangement of short-lived mixed-layer thermals with more passive downward motions in between. The regularity of the Cu-cloud cover results partly from the more stationary flow in the cloud-free cell centres. On the other hand it is shown that active as well as inactive clouds contribute to the cloud cover. Thus, the PBL flow and the cloud cover are decoupled, at least temporarily and locally.Due to sparse observational and measured information about RBC occurrence and structure in the PBL, additional material was gathered, resulting in the impression that RBC is one additional realised mode of organised convection in the PBL, as has already been clarified for PBL rolls and MCC by recent investigations.  相似文献