The role of the nonlocal transport in modeling the shear-driven atmospheric boundary layer

Abstract In this work the role played by the transport equations including nonlocal terms in simulating the atmospheric turbulence is investigated. Two different models are compared: the first one is a standard E–e model solving two dynamical equations for turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation rate, while the second solves dynamical equations for second- and third-order moments. Flow and turbulence in a shear-driven atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) are simulated and the results, in term of mean velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, and Reynolds stress components vertical profiles, are compared with the data measured in a wind tunnel experiment. The abilities of the different models in predicting the ABL height are compared and discussed, with particular attention paid to the effects due to the transport term and the higher-order moments.

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