Data · dataset · 2026
The effect of mesh resolution on convective boundary layer statistics and structures generated by large-eddy simulation
Listed in National Center for Atmospheric Research
A massively parallel large-eddy simulation (LES) code for planetary boundary layers (PBLs) that utilizes pseudospectral differencing in horizontal planes and solves an elliptic pressure equation is described.
Description
As an application, this code is used to examine the numerical convergence of the three-dimensional time-dependent simulations of a weakly sheared daytime convective PBL on meshes varying from 32(3) to 1024(3) grid points.
Based on the variation of the second-order statistics, energy spectra, and entrainment statistics, LES solutions converge provided there is adequate separation between the energy-containing eddies and those near the filter cutoff scale. For the convective PBL studied, the majority of the low-order moment statistics (means, variances, and fluxes) become grid independent when the ratio z(i)/(C-s Delta(f)) > 310, where z(i) is the boundary layer height, Delta(f) is the filter cutoff scale, and C-s is the Smagorinsky constant.
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In this regime, the spectra show clear Kolmogorov inertial subrange scaling. The bulk entrainment rate determined from the time variation of the boundary layer height w(e) = dz(i)/dt is a sensitive measure of the LES solution convergence; w(e) becomes grid independent when the vertical grid resolution is able to capture both the mean structure of the overlying inversion and the turbulence. For all mesh resolutions used, the vertical temperature flux profile varies linearly over the interior of the boundary layer and the minimum temperature flux is approximately -0.2 of the surface heat flux.
Thus, these metrics are inadequate measures of solution convergence. The variation of the vertical velocity skewness and third-order moments expose the LES's sensitivity to grid resolution.
Links
Get the data
- Publisher page n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7x35081 ↗
documentation · download · from data ucar edu
Where it is published
- data.ucar.edu /dataset/the-effect-of-mesh-resolution-on-convective-boundary-l… ↗
National Center for Atmospheric Research dataset page
landing page · from data ucar edu
Catalogue records · 1
- CKAN API data.ucar.edu/api/3/action/package_show?id=e82616cd-49c8-4ad7-89e0-634b3ffa1… ↗
metadata API · from data ucar edu
Topics
- From keywords
- Earth & Environmental Science · Ocean & Atmospheric Science
- Inferred from text
- Simulation 75%
Provenance · 1 source records, 8 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Center for Atmospheric Research | e82616cd-49c8-4ad7-89e0-634b3ffa14d7 | 10 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:ocean-atmospheric | mapping · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[method].local:method:simulation | enrichment · data ucar edu | keyword-concept-rules@1.0.0 | title+description (75%) |
| created_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /notes |
| publication_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 | /title |
| updated_date | source · data ucar edu | connector:data_ucar_edu@1.0.0 |