Large eddy simulation of boundary-layer turbulence over the heterogeneous surface in the source region of the Yellow River

Abstract

Abstract. Lake breezes are proved by downdrafts and the divergence flows of zonal wind in the source region of the Yellow River (SRYR) in the daytime based on ERA-Interim reanalysis data. In order to depict the effect of the circulations induced by surface anomaly heating (patches) on the boundary-layer turbulence, the UK Met Office Large Eddy Model was used to produce a set of 1D strip-like surface heat flux distributions based on observations, which were obtained by a field campaign in the Ngoring Lake basin in the summer of 2012. The simulations show that for the cases without background wind, patch-induced circulations (SCs) promote the growth of convective boundary layer (CBL), enhance the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and then modify the spatial distribution of TKE. Based on phase-averaged analysis, which separates the attribution from the SCs and the background turbulence, the SCs contribute no more than 10 % to the vertical turbulent intensity, but their contributions to the heat flux can be up to 80 %. The thermal internal boundary layer (TIBL) reduces the wind speed and forms the stable stratification, which produces the obvious change of turbulent momentum flux and heat flux over the heterogeneous surfaces. The increased downdrafts, which mainly occur over the lake patches, carry more warm, dry air down from the free atmosphere. The background wind inhibits the SCs and the development of the CBL; it also weakens the patch-induced turbulent intensity, heat flux, and convective intensity.