Richard J.A.M. Stevens

Physics of Fluids · University of Twente

Publication 121 · Atmospheric turbulence

Mean turbulent momentum fluxes and wind deficits in nocturnal stable atmospheric boundary layers

Z. Shen, L. Liu, X.-Y. Lu, R.J.A.M. Stevens, J. Fluid Mech., 1017, A5 (2025).

Main finding

A reanalysis of 16 nocturnal stable-boundary-layer simulations separates the streamwise and spanwise momentum fluxes and shows how rotation turns the stress vector with height. Total stress alone therefore cannot determine the profile exponent; the result is a model built from an existing simulation database, not an independent validation.

Streamwise and spanwise turbulent momentum flux profiles coloured by stability across sixteen cases
How to read the figure. Streamwise (a) and spanwise (b) turbulent momentum flux through a nocturnal stable boundary layer, coloured by the stability parameter across the tested range, with the simulations, two earlier profile forms and the paper's model. The spanwise stress swings negative and returns with height: rotation turns both wind and stress as height increases. Figure 4, the total stress, hides this, which is why total stress alone cannot identify the exponent. The evidence is a reanalysis of an existing simulation database, not a new replication or an independently validated profile law. Open the full-resolution figure. Figure 5. Z. Shen et al. (2025). No separate licence is stated here; consult the original publication and credited source before reuse.

Why this matters

Shows why rotation makes wind and stress turn with height and why a surface-layer law alone is insufficient.

Research context

Primary dependency: The global properties of nocturnal stable atmospheric boundary layers supplies every present LES case, Table 1 values, the GDL constants, numerical method, wall model, grid, duration, and limitations. The 2025 novelty is the new stress/Richardson construction and the resulting component-stress, deficit, speed, error, and eddy-viscosity analysis.

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