100 Years of Progress in Mesoscale Planetary Boundary Layer Meteorological Research

Abstract

This chapter outlines the development of our understanding of several examples of mesoscale atmospheric circulations that are tied directly to surface forcings, starting from thermally driven variations over the ocean and progressing inland to man-made variations in temperature and roughness, and ending with forced boundary layer circulations. Examples include atmospheric responses to 1) overocean temperature variations, 2) coastlines (sea breezes), 3) mesoscale regions of inland water (lake-effect storms), and 4) variations in land-based surface usage (urban land cover). This chapter provides brief summaries of the historical evolution of, and tools for, understanding such mesoscale atmospheric circulations and their importance to the field, as well as physical processes responsible for initiating and determining their evolution. Some avenues of future research we see as critical are provided. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) has played a direct and important role in fostering the development of understanding mesoscale surface-forced circulations. The significance of AMS journal publications and conferences on this and interrelated atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrological fields, as well as those by sister scientific organizations, are demonstrated through extensive relevant citations.

An investigation into the vertical structures of low‐altitude atmosphere over the Central Taklimakan Desert in summer

“…Over the last 100 years, many observational and numerical experiments have been conducted to investigate the boundary layer (Kristovich et al ., 2018). However, much attention has been paid to the boundary layer over urban areas, especially for air pollution.…”

Modeling the Impact of Urbanization on Local Meteorological Conditions in Sofia

“…Most of the earth's resources are consumed in the megacities of today, in which most people live. Numerical modeling techniques are compelling tools that deliver critical data to city planners and stakeholders for decision making [75,76]. The implementation in our calculations of CORINE 2012 Land Cover data, the most recent dataset, ensured a better description of current urban areas.…”

The Need for Urban‐Resolving Climate Modeling Across Scales

“…The thermodynamic, physical, and morphological attributes of cities lead to a range of phenomena across spatiotemporal scales. Cities display unique microclimates (Grimmond, 2007; Kristovich et al, 2019) related to their characteristics (e.g., roughness, emissivity, albedo, and thermal conductivity) and other factors (e.g., concentrated energy use in buildings, transportation, and industry). The complex geometry and properties of cities lead to high turbulence intensities at spatial scale of about an approximately meter for seconds to minutes (Fernando, 2010).…”

“…Over the last century, science has advanced the capability to capture atmospheric flow processes across scales, from approximately mm to tens of km scale to global (Kristovich et al, 2019; Randall et al, 2019). Seamless extension of models across spatial scales is hampered by the perceived inability of conventional closures and parameterizations to represent processes from mesoscale to microscale (e.g., processes related to turbulence and convection) (Emeis, 2015; Rai et al, 2019; Wyngaard, 2004).…”