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Longitudinal instabilities and secondary flows in the planetary boundary layer: A review
Author(s) -
Brown R. A.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
reviews of geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.087
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1944-9208
pISSN - 8755-1209
DOI - 10.1029/rg018i003p00683
Subject(s) - boundary layer , inflection point , ekman number , ekman layer , geology , planetary boundary layer , flow (mathematics) , mechanics , convection , shear flow , physics , geophysics , meteorology , geometry , mathematics
Within the past decade, satellite pictures have shown persistent cloud patterns which indicate that the flow in the atmospheric planetary boundary layer is often organized into helical secondary circulations aligned parallel to the mean flow. Theory and observation agree that both convection in the presence of shear and the dynamic inflection point instabilities of the Ekman layer lead to these flow patterns. The observations and theory are reviewed with emphasis on the dynamics‐dominated flow.