Abstract
A parabolic shaped Thermal Internal Boundary Layer (TIBL) develops at the coast because of the temperature discontinuity between land and water. The TIBL is shown to play a significant role in determining where a coastal elevated plume fumigates to the ground. Six TIBL models available in the literature were identified and statistically compared. Two data bases obtained from the TIBL experiments, one at eastern Long Island, the other at the Kashimaura area of Japan, were used for statistical comparisons. Statistical methods of t, F and R were used to determine bias, scatter and correlation. The data were also classified according to wind speed (low and high) and stability (unstable, neutral, isothermal and stable onshore flow) to determine whether some models worked better under certain conditions. These limited data indicated that a formulation which included heat flux and wind speed together with overwater lapse rate, all raised to the half power, performed the best. Classifications according to wind speed and thermal stability also showed that the heat flux type of equation worked reasonably well.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Anthes, R. A.: 1978, ‘The Height of the PBL and the Production of Circulation in a Sea Breeze Model’, J. Atm. Sci. 35, 1231–1239.
Ball, F. K.: 1960, ‘Control of Inversion Height by Surface Heating’, Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 86, 483–494.
Betts, A. K.: 1973, ‘Non Precipitating Cumulus Convection and its Parameterization’, Quart J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 99, 170–196.
Elliott, W. P.: 1958, ‘The Growth of the Atmospheric Internal Boundary Layer’, Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union 39, 1048–1067.
Environmental Protection Agency: 1981, Interim Procedures for Evaluating Air Quality Models, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Durham, NC.
Fox, D. G.: 1981, ‘Judging Air quality Model Performance. A Summary of the AMS Workshop on Dispersion Model Performance’, Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 62, 599–609.
Fritts, T. W., Starheim, F. J., and Deihl, B. J.: 1980, A Formulation for Defining the Development of the TIBL in Sea Breeze Flows, Preprints: Second Conf. on Coastal Meteorology AMS, Los Angeles, 147–150.
Gamo, M. S.: 1981, A Study on the Structure of the Free Convective Internal Boundary Layer During the Sea Breeze. Report of the National Research Institute for Pollution and Resources (Japan) # 19, 89 pp.
Gamo, M., Yamamoto, S., and Yokoyama, O.: 1982, ‘Airborne Measurements of the Free Convective Internal Boundary Layer During the Sea Breeze’, J. Meteorol. Soc. Japan 60, 1284–1298.
Gamo, M., Yamamoto, S., Yokoyama, O., and Yashikado, H.: 1983, ‘Structure of the Free Convective Internal Boundary Layer Above the Coastal Area’. J. Meteorol. Soc. Japan 61, 110–124.
Hanna, S. R.: 1983, A Simplified Scoring System for Air Quality Models. Paper 8336.6. Annual Air Pollution Control Assoc. Meeting, Atlanta, GA June.
Kerman, B. R., Mickle, R. E., Portelli, R. V., and Trivett, N. B.: 1982, ‘The Nanticoke Shoreline Diffusion Experiment, June 1978-II-Internal Boundary Layer Structure’, Atmos. Env. 16, 423–437.
Lui: 1977, A Literature Review of Boundary Layer Models, Report #79573K Ontario Hydro Inc. 26 pp.
Lyons, W. A.: 1975, Turbulent Diffusion and Pollutant Transport in Shoreline Environments. Lectures on Air Pollution and Environmental Impact Analysis, AMSë Boston 136–208.
Lyons, W. A.: 1977, Mesoscale Air Pollution Transport in Southeast Wisconsin, EPA 600/4-77-010. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Lyons, W. A. and Cole, H. S.: ‘Fumigation and Plume Trapping on the Shores of Lake Michigan During Stable Onshore Flow’, J. App. Meteorol. 12, 494–510.
Lyons, W. A., Keen, C. S., and Schuh, J. A.: 1983, Modeling Mesoscale Diffusion and Transport Processes for Releases within Coastal Zones during Land/Sea Breezes. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NUREG/CR3542.
Misra, P. K.: 1980, ‘Dispersion From Tall Stacks Into a Shoreline Environment’, Atmos. Env. 14, 396–400.
Misra, P. K. and Onlock: 1982, ‘Modelling Continuous Fumigation of the Nanticoke Generating Station Plume’, Atmos. Env. 16, 479–489.
Neville, A. M. and Kennedy, J. B.: 1964, Basic Statistical Methods for Engineers and Scientists, International Company, 325 pp.
Panofsky, H. A. and Brier, G. W.: 1968, Some Applications of Statistics to Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, 224 pp.
Peters, L. K.: 1975, ‘On the Criteria for the Occurrence of Fumigation Inland From a Large Lake’, Atmos. Env. 9, 809–816.
Plate, E. J.: 1971, Aerodynamic Characteristics of Atmospheric Boundary Layers, United State Atomic Energy Commission, 190 pp.
Portelli, R. B.: 1982, ‘The Nanticoke Shoreline Diffusion Experiment, June 1978 1, Experimental Design and Program Overview’, Atmos. Env. 16, 413–421.
Prophet, D. T.: 1961, ‘Survey of the Available Information Pertaining to the Transport and Diffusion of Airborne Material Over Ocean and Shoreline Complexes’, Tech. Rep. No. 89, Aerosol Lab, Stanford Univ. CA.
Raynor, G. S., Michael, P., Brown, R. M., and SethuRaman, S.: 1975, ‘Studies of Atmospheric Diffusion From a Nearshore Oceanic Site’, J. App. Meteorol. 14, 1080–1094.
Raynor, G. S., SethuRaman, S., and Brown, R. M.: 1979, ‘Formation and Characteristics of Coastal Internal Boundary Layers During Onshore Flows’, Boundary Layer Meteorol. 16, 487–514.
Schuh, J. A.: 1975, ‘A Mesoscale Model of Continuous Shoreline Fumigation and Lid Trapping in a Wisconsin Shoreline Environment’, Rep. No. 27, Center for Gr. Lakes Studies, Univ. of Wisconsin-Mil.
SethuRaman, S. and Brinkman, D.: 1983, On the Variation of Turbulence Within the TIBL, Preprints: Sixth Symposium on Turbulence and Diffusion, AMS, Boston, March, 287–289.
SethuRaman, S.: 1982, Observations of the Boundary Layer Wind Structure Near the Land-Sea Interface, Prepints: First International Conference on Meteorology and Air-Sea Interaction of the Coastal Zone, May 10–14, 1982, The Hague, Netherlands.
SethuRaman, S., Raynor, G. S., and Brown, R. M.: 1982, Variation of Turbulence in a Coastal Thermal Internal Boundary Layer, Prepints: Third Joint Conference on the Applications of Air Pollution Meteorology, American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA.
Snedecor, G. W. and Cochran, W. G.: 1971, Statistical Methods, Sixth Edition. Iowa State Press, 593 pp.
Van der Hoven, I.: 1967, ‘Atmospheric Transport and Diffusion at Coastal Sites’, Nuc. Safety 8, 490–499.
Van Dop, H., Steenkist, R., and Nieuwstadt, F. T. M.: 1979, ‘Revised Estimates for Continuous Shoreline Fumigation’, J. App. Meteorol. 18, 133–137.
Venkatram, A.: 1977, ‘A Model of Internal Boundary Layer Development’, Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 11, 419–437.
Weisman, B.: 1976, ‘On the Criteria for the Occurrence of Fumigation Inland From a Large Lake — A Reply’, Atmos. Env. 12, 172–173.
Willmott, C.: 1982, ‘Some Comments on the Evaluation of Model Performance’, Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc. 63, 1309–1313.
Willmott, C.: 1984, ‘On the Evaluation of Model Performance in Physical Geography in Spatial Statistics and Models’, in G. Gaile and C. Willmott (eds.), Spatial Statistics and Models, D. Reidel, pp. 443–460.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stunder, M., Sethuraman, S. A comparative evaluation of the coastal internal boundary-layer height equations. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 32, 177–204 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120934
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120934