Turbulence vertical structure of the boundary layer during the afternoon transition

Dense observations of mean and turbulent parameters were acquired during the Boundary Layer Late Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence (BLLAST) field experiment by several meteorological surface stations, sounding balloons, radars, lidars and two aircraft during the afternoon transition.

We analysed a case study based on some of these observations and large-eddy simulation (LES) data focusing on the turbulent vertical structure throughout the afternoon transition. The decay of turbulence is quantified through the temporal and vertical evolution of (1) the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), (2) the characteristic length scales of turbulence and (3) the shape of the turbulence spectra. A spectral analysis of LES data, airborne and surface measurements is performed in order to characterize the variation in the turbulent decay with height and study the distribution of turbulence over eddy size.