Meteorological Models For Optical Properties In The Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer

C. W. Fairall; K. L. Davidson; G. E. Schacher

doi:10.1117/12.932716

30 December 1981 Meteorological Models For Optical Properties In The Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer

C. W. Fairall, K. L. Davidson, G. E. Schacher

Proceedings Volume 0305, Atmospheric Effects on Electro-Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave Systems Performance; (1981) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.932716
Event: 25th Annual Technical Symposium, 1981, San Diego, United States

Abstract

Observational experiments on turbulent intensities and aerosol distributions in the marine boundary layer (MBL) have been performed over several years. Observations have been made with ship-mounted and airplane-mounted sensors. Objectives have been to relate optical properties to meteorological descriptions which utilize scaling laws for the MBL. The approach has been to incorporate in the descriptions the surface fluxes of momentum, heat, and moisture, the processes at the inversion and the profiles within the intervening convectively mixed layer. We have found that optical turbulence parameters (C_N² and 10) can be readily estimated using measured mean values of wind, temperature, and humidity with recent bulk formulae to derive the surface fluxes. These estimates appear to be more reliable than values obtained from direct (but difficult to perform) turbulence measurements. The model for obtaining the estimates was evaluated on the basis of optical C_N² values with good agreement. Good comparisons have been observed between extinction values obtained from transmission measurements and those obtained from calculations on measured aerosol distributions. Existing empirical formulations which related the latter to wind speed and relative humidity appear to be inadequate except for climatological purposes. This is because other influences on equilibrium aerosol distribution are not included. Reformulation of these expressions is being performed to include the height of the inversion (mixing volume) and surface fluxes (aerosol generation and transport).

Citation Download Citation

C. W. Fairall, K. L. Davidson, and G. E. Schacher "Meteorological Models For Optical Properties In The Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer", Proc. SPIE 0305, Atmospheric Effects on Electro-Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave Systems Performance, (30 December 1981); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.932716

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