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Bibliography: leaves 201-207. This thesis presents studies of the non-linear mass-transfer kinetics and a linear analysis of the hydrodynamic stability of systems under conditions of intense interfacial mass transfer.

Typescript (photocopy) / ix, 240 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1978

69 leaves : tables, graphs ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied Mathematics, 1978

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The very stable boundary layer is a region of the atmosphere typified by large vertical gradients of temperature and momentum. Analysis of very stable atmospheric flows is complicated by the presence of nonlinear interactions among gravity waves, shear-driven overturning circulations, two-dimensional vortical modes and intermittent turbulence in various stages of development. This study examines the horizontal structure of a very stable atmospheric boundary layer, using data obtained primarily from terrain-following aircraft flights over central Oklahoma. Several diagnostic procedures are applied to the aircraft data, including classical and rotary spectral analysis, principal component analysis, and structure functions. Coherent structures with sharp boundaries are examined with a new conditional sampling technique which requires little a priori specification of sampling criteria. Because the flows involve sharp boundaries, spectral techniques do not provide as much useful information as other more localized procedures. The edges of the coherent structures are regions of significant vertical heat transport, a feature not often emphasized in studies of gravity waves and vortical modes in the stable boundary layer. The presence of significant turbulence even for large stability has implications for modelling of the very stable boundary layer. Forecasts of minimum temperature, boundary layer height, inversion characteristics, and pollutant dispersal are all significantly affected by turbulent mixing. Many models of the stable boundary layer artificially arrest the mixing under stable conditions, resulting in, for example, overestimates of nocturnal cooling. A new parameterization of the stable boundary layer is studied here by incorporating it into an existing model of the planetary boundary layer. The model is then run with one-dimensional sensitivity tests for an idealized atmosphere and with data from Wangara day 33. A simulation over snow cover is also examined. The tests substantiate the role of vertical mixing in ameliorating nocturnal cooling. An additional improvement is a more realistic boundary layer height for moderate wind speeds. / Graduation date: 1988

An analytical two-layer model consisting of a time-dependent stratified boundary layer topped by stratified free flow is developed in order to study atmospheric boundary layer production of vertical motion. To avoid use of a constant eddy viscosity, the boundary layer equations are layer-integrated over a fixed depth, and surface stress is parameterized using a linearized drag law. For flows driven by periodic, differential surface heating, it is found that the influence of accelerations, stratification, and friction are to concentrate the maximum convergence near a preferred latitude. The preferred horizontal length scale for boundary layer production of vertical motion increases with boundary layer stratification and decreases with distance from the preferred latitude. / Graduation date: 1980

The influence of boundary layer pumping on an externally-forced synoptic-scale flow is examined. The results follow earlier theories of stratified incompressible Boussinesq flow. These theories state that the spin-down time scale and the penetration depth of the influence of boundary layer pumping are inversely proportional to the stratification and directly proportional to the horizontal length scale of the flow. However, the present development is performed in isentropic coordinates which allow estimates applicable to the atmosphere, and implicitly includes nonlinear influences due to tilting and vertical advection. This analysis indicates that boundary layer pumping could be important synoptically in the lower troposphere under conditions of significant surface stress and tropospheric stratification. The influence of stratification and accelerations on synoptic-scale, boundary layer production of vertical motion is examined for the case of oscillating boundary-layer flow driven by time-dependent, horizontally- periodic surface temperature perturbations. It is found that only very strong stratification can significantly reduce the boundary layer pumping through pressure adjustments within the boundary layer. As a step in understanding the complicated dynamics of the structure of accelerated stratified boundary layers, order-of-magnitude analyses of variables for each layer are examined. This structure depends on the relative magnitude of the non-dimensional forcing frequency and the product of the stratification parameter and Ekman number. Applications to both synoptic and diurnal atmospheric circulations are considered. / Graduation date: 1978

The numerical modeling of motions in the atmosphere's planetary boundary layer (PBL) is a challenging task. In general, the boundary layer interacts with both the overlying atmosphere and the underlying land or water surface in a complex manner. Random turbulence is also present in the PBL which precludes exact prediction by numerical models. Nonetheless, expensive three-dimensional numerical models have been developed which, with several parameterizations and assumptions, can give a good idea of the PBL structure in many situations. However, on certain occasions, there is strong mixing evident in the PBL which may enable one to describe the structure of the boundary layer in a much-simplified theoretical model. By eliminating the vertical dimension from consideration, this two-dimensional mixed-layer model can be applied to mesoscale phenomena (horizontal length scale < 100 km) at greatly-reduced costs. The equations for motion and mixed-layer height are derived for such a situation and methods appropriate to the numerical modeling of the atmospheric mixed layer are discussed. Using an energy-conserving finite-difference analog of the model equations, the model is integrated in time to simulate the motions which were associated with the atmospheric vortex street observed near Cheju-do, South Korea on 17 February 1975. Experiments were carried out which investigated the effects of lateral diffusion, horizontal resolution, and mixed-layer depth. It is concluded that, given proper representation of prognostic variables on a staggered finite-difference grid, only small, realistic values of eddy diffusivity need be utilized. It also appears evident from the numerical experiments and atmospheric observations that the vortex street will form only when the obstacle which triggers its formation protrudes above the mixed layer. Although the wind fields in the simulations sometimes lack clear, fully rotational cells well downstream of the island, the characteristic sinusoidal pattern observed in laboratory experiments and cloud photographs is explicitly resolved by the model. The simulated vortex street also compares favorably with the observed in that the dimensionless governing parameters of the simulated vortex street (the Reynolds number, Strouhal number, Lin's parameter, the spacing ratio, and the speed ratio) closely match the observed values. / Graduation date: 1981

High resolution data of moisture, temperature and wind velocity collected by aircraft during the 1975 Air Mass Transformation Experiment (ANTEX '75) provide information for detailed investigations of the phenomena occurring at the top of a cloud-topped mixed layer. Joint frequency diagrams of humidity and temperature reveal that for parts of the record the coldest temperatures occur in air near saturation while drier air or air with substantial liquid water is warmer. This suggests the possible occurrence of cloud-top entrainment instability (Deardorff, 1980). Using humidity as an indicator, the flight record is systematically searched for penetrative mixed layer elements and pockets of dry air penetrating into cloudy air (wisps). The separate phenomena are then composited to produce an "average" wisp and penetrating element. The composites show evidence of net cooling due to evaporation downstream from the penetrating element and upstream from the wisps. Sinking motion is associated with the cold temperatures. These results suggest the interaction of shear, penetrating elements and wisps, and the existence of cloud-top entrainment instability. / Graduation date: 1981