The Decay of Convective Turbulence

Abstract

Using simulations with a large-eddy model we have studied the decay of convective turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer when the upward surface sensible heat flux is suddenly stopped. The decay of turbulent kinetic energy and temperature variance scales with the dimensionless time tw*/h. The temperature fluctuations start to decrease almost immediately after the forcing has been removed, whereas the turbulent kinetic energy stays constant for a time t ≈ h/w*. Vertical velocity fluctuations decay faster than horizontal fluctuations. Entrainment persists well into the decay process and may explain departures from similarity. Some evidence suggests a decoupling of large and small scales during the decay.