The presence of shallow cold flows in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) instigates changes in the turbulent regime of the atmospheric surface layer (ASL). This small scale flow circulation introduces radiative cooling controls over large areas in polar latitudes during winter. In this study, microscale dynamic and turbulent variables have been obtained in the framework of the Winter Boundary Layer Experiment in Fairbanks, Alaska, developed during the winters of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011. Multiscale surface turbulence observations based on Eddy covariance and laser scintillometry were combined with Doppler acoustic sounding to document simultaneous changes in the ABL flow and ASL turbulence. We computed changes in momentum and heat fluxes characterizing intermittent and persistent modes of the drainage flow over three study cases. On the basis of laser scintillometry observations, we argue that a significant source of turbulence aiming at the surface fluxes has origins in the upper level shear-induced thermal turbulence at the top of the ABL.
Part of the book: Turbulence and Related Phenomena