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In the present work Blackadar's concept of nocturnal inertial oscillations is extended. Blackadar's concept describes frictionless inertial oscillations above the nocturnal inversion layer. The current work includes frictional effects within the nocturnal boundary layer. It is shown that the nocturnal wind speed profile describes an oscillation around the nocturnal equilibrium wind vector, rather than around the geostrophic wind vector (as in the Blackadar case). By using this perspective, continuous time-dependent wind profiles are predicted. As such, information on both the height and the magnitude of the nocturnal low-level jet is available as a function of time. Preliminary analysis shows that the proposed extension performs well in comparison with observations when a simple Ekman model is used to represent the equilibrium state in combination with a realistic initial velocity profile. In addition to jet dynamics, backward inertial oscillations are predicted at lower levels close to the surface, which also appear to be present in observations. The backward oscillation forms an important mechanism behind weakening low-level winds during the afternoon transition. Both observational and theoretical modeling studies are needed to explore this phenomenon further. DOI: 10.1175/2010JAS3289.1

In this paper, the degree of scatter in flux-gradient relationships for stably stratified conditions is analyzed. It is generally found that scatter in the dimensionless lapse rate [[phi].sub.h] is larger than in the dimensionless shear [[phi].sub.m] when plotted versus the stability parameter z/A (where A is the local Obukhov length). Here, this phenomenon is explained to be a result of self-correlation due to the occurrence of the momentum and the heat flux on both axes, measurement uncertainties, and other possibly relevant physical processes left aside. It is shown that the ratio between relative errors in the turbulent fluxes influences the orientation of self-correlation in the flux-gradient relationships. In stable conditions, the scatter in [[phi].sub.m] is largely suppressed by self-correlation while for [[phi].sub.h] this is not the case (vice versa for unstable stratification). An alternative way of plotting is discussed for determining the slope of the linear [[phi].sub.m] function.

The modeling and prediction of the stable boundary layer over land is a persistent, problematic feature in weather, climate, and air quality topics. Here, the performance of a state-of-the-art single-column boundary layer model is evaluated with observations from the 1999 Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99) field experiment. Very high model resolution in the atmosphere and the soil is utilized to represent three different stable boundary layer archetypes, namely, a fully turbulent night, an intermittently turbulent night, and a radiative night with hardly any turbulence (all at clear skies). Each archetype represents a different class of atmospheric stability. In the current model, the atmosphere is fully coupled to a vegetation layer and the underlying soil. In addition, stability functions (local scaling) are utilized based on in situ observations. Overall it is found that the vertical structure, the surface fluxes (apart from the intermittent character) and the surface temperature in the stable boundary layer can be satisfactorily modeled for a broad stability range (at a local scale) with the current understanding of the physics of the stable boundary layer. This can also be achieved by the use of a rather detailed coupling between the atmosphere and the underlying soil and vegetation, together with high resolution in both the atmosphere and the soil. This is especially true for the very stable nights, when longwave radiative cooling is dominant. Both model outcome and observations show that in the latter case the soil heat flux is a dominant term of the surface energy budget.

In this paper a classification of stable boundary layer regimes is presented based on observations of near-surface turbulence during the Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study-1999 (CASES-99). It is found that the different nights can be divided into three subclasses: a turbulent regime, an intermittent regime, and a radiative regime, which confirms the findings of two companion papers that use a simplified theoretical model (it is noted that its simpliflied structure limits the model generality to near-surface flows). The papers predict the occurrence of stable boundary layer regimes in terms of external forcing parameters such as the (effective) pressure gradient and radiative forcing. The classification in the present work supports these predictions and shows that the predictions are robust in a qualitative sense. As such, it is, for example, shown that intermittent turbulence is most likely to occur in clear-sky conditions with a moderately weak effective pressure gradient. The quantitative features of the theoretical classification are, however, rather sensitive to (often uncertain) local parameter estimations, such as the bulk heat conductance of the vegetation layer. This sensitivity limits the current applicability of the theoretical classification in a strict quantitative sense, apart from its conceptual value.

In the stable boundary layer it is often observed that turbulence is not continuous in space and time. This discontinuous, intermittent turbulence causes alterations from the mean evolution of the stratified atmospheric boundary layer, which may result in an oscillatory type of behavior of the near-surface wind speed and temperature. This paper focuses on an intermittency generating mechanism that arises from a direct interaction of the lower atmosphere (first tens of meters) with the vegetation surface, without interaction with the air aloft. This atmosphere-surface intermittency (ASI) is associated with the essential elements of the stable boundary layer (SBL): strong surface cooling, the supply of mechanical energy by the synoptic pressure gradient, and the limiting effect of stratification on mixing efficiency. In Part I it is shown that the essence of ASI can be captured by a system of three coupled nonlinear differential equations. This simplified system shows both intermittent and nonintermittent flow regimes for different circumstances. In the present paper, this system is studied analytically, following a system dynamics approach. The transition between the different flow regimes is identified as a Hopf bifurcation. This property is used to derive a dimensionless parameter, which is a function of external parameters, such as radiative forcing and pressure gradient. With this dimensionless parameter the equilibrium behavior of the system (i.e., intermittent or nonintermittent) can be predicted exactly. As such this parameter is used to classify SBL regimes. It is shown that the proposed classification parameter provides different information about the state of the SBL than other typical SBL classification parameters such as z/L and Ri.

In the stable boundary layer (SBL) it is observed often that turbulence is not continuous in space and time. This discontinuous, intermittent turbulence causes alternations from the mean evolution of the stratified atmospheric boundary layer, which may result in an oscillatory type of behavior of the near-surface wind speed and temperature. It is well known that intermittent turbulence in the SBL can be generated by various mechanisms. This paper focuses on an intermittency generating mechanism that arises from a direct interaction of the lower atmosphere (first tens of meters) with the vegetation surface, without interaction with the air aloft. It is shown that the essence of this mechanism can be captured by a 1D bulk model of three coupled nonlinear differential equations. In the present paper, numerical runs with the model show that intermittent turbulence is most likely to occur over land surfaces with low vegetation during clear-sky conditions in the presence of a moderate to low synoptical pressure gradient. The existence of a vegetation layer has a strong influence on intermittency dynamics. Due to its small heat capacity, the vegetation temperature is able to quickly respond to rapidly changing conditions. This in turn affects the stability of the lower atmosphere, causing an important feedback mechanism. In addition, it was found that intermittent behavior of SBL models occurs for various first-order closure schemes with different stability functions. However, stability functions that allow turbulent transport beyond the critical Richardson number effectively suppress intermittent-oscillatory behavior. Currently, the latter type of formulations is often used in numerical weather prediction to prevent excessive SBL cooling in very stable conditions. The advantage of using a simplified SBL model, as proposed in the present paper, is that it allows an analytical study of the system, which, in turn, allows theoretical predictions about the occurrence of intermittent SBL behavior (see the companion paper).