Working group on Mountain Boundary Layer

The TEAMx working group on the Mountain Boundary Layer is led by Sebastian Hoch (University of Utah), Manuela Lehner (University of Innsbruck) and Stefano Serafin (University of Vienna).

Before the prospective TEAMx field campaign, the MoBL working group concentrates on two areas of collaborative process-oriented research:

1) Multi-model intercomparison studies, to evaluate quantitatively the ability of numerical weather prediction codes to reproduce the characteristics of prototypical complex-terrain circulations. These studies will be based on a combination of idealized simulations and reduced-complexity realistic simulations, and will foresee verification against existing observational datasets (especially turbulence measurements). We are going to work initially on katabatic and anabatic winds, and later on the formation and breakup of diurnal cold air pools. Further phenomena will be considered at a later stage. The objectives are: Defining the overall simulation design, determining the most appropriate observation references, identifing appropriate diagnostics and running model simulations.

2) Development of an optimal observation strategy to document the evolution of the vertical structure of the valley atmosphere and of the three-dimensional distribution of turbulence, in connection with surface fluxes, cross-valley circulations, entrainment of free-atmospheric air, elevated inversions, cloudiness, and precipitation. The objectives are: Defining the measurement requirements (parameters and desired level of accuracy; density, spatial coverage and temporal continuity of the measurements), both for in-situ and remote-sensing measurements; and developing and/or testing new technology in order to meet the measurement requirements during the planned campaign.