What does boundary layer meteorology study?

What does boundary layer meteorology study?

The atmospheric boundary-layer is the layer of air directly influenced by the underlying surface and is up to two kilometers deep under convective conditions. Students in this field are investigating complex interactions between the air and the ground using observational, theoretical and numerical approaches.

Why is boundary layer important to meteorologist?

The structure and dynamics of the lowest layer of the atmosphere which comprises the planetary boundary layer (PBL) are of vital importance for the understanding of weather and climate, the dispersion of pollutants, and the exchange of heat, water vapor, and momentum with the underlying surface.

What is boundary layer process?

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is the part of the lower troposphere that interacts directly with the earth’s surface through turbulent transport processes. A coast separates two drastically different surfaces, and a coastal region has an inhomogeneous boundary layer.

What is atmospheric boundary layer height?

The thickness of the PBL depends on the intensity of this surface heating and the amount of water evaporated into the air from the biosphere. In general, the greater the heating of the surface, the deeper the PBL. Over deserts, the PBL may extend up to 4,000 or 5,000 metres (13,100 or 16,400 feet) in altitude.

What is the ABL atmosphere?

(Abbreviated ABL; also called boundary layer, planetary boundary layer.) The bottom layer of the troposphere that is in contact with the surface of the earth. It is often turbulent and is capped by a statically stable layer of air or temperature inversion.

What kind of instrument do we use today to measure the boundary layer?

Radiometers measuring various quantities including water vapor, temperature, and trace gases are used in boundary layer research.

What are the characteristics of boundary layer?

Boundary layers are thinner at the leading edge of an aircraft wing and thicker toward the trailing edge. The flow in such boundary layers is generally laminar at the leading or upstream portion and turbulent in the trailing or downstream portion.

Why do boundary layers form?

When there is relative motion between a fluid and a solid a boundary layer is formed. A boundary layer can be defined as an imaginary layer of fluid, that is formed when solid and fluid are in relative motion, at a layer where the velocity of the fluid is equal to 99% of free stream velocity.

What affects atmospheric boundary layer?

Other dynamical and thermodynamical processes that affect the atmospheric boundary layer are Coriolis forces produced by the planetary rotation, and factors such as the formation of clouds and radiative heat transfer. The ocean is also mainly statically stable and has boundary layers at its top and bottom.