On the Depth of the Nocturnal Boundary Layer

Abstract

The depth of the nocturnal boundary layer, modeled by diagnostic functions of surface fluxes, is only weakly related to ?observed? depths estimated from observed profiles of either wind or temperature as has been shown in previous studies. This is partly due to influences of nonstationarity and large errors in the estimate of the small surface fluxes. However, the weak relationship between the modeled and profile-derived depths also is due to the inability of the profile-derived depths to represent the actual depth of the turbulence. The diagnostic models perform significantly better when tested against an improved estimate of the actual depth of the turbulence as computed from profiles of the Richardson number.