Vertical Heat Fluxes Generated by Mesoscale Atmospheric Flow Induced by Thermal Inhomogeneities in the PBL

An analytical evaluation of the vertical heat fluxes associated with the mesoscale flow generated by thermal inhomogeneities in the PBL in the absence of a synoptic wind is presented. Results show that the mesoscale fluxes are of the same order as the diabatic heat fluxes. In the sea-breeze case results show that in the lower layer of the atmosphere the heat flux is positive over the land and negative over the sea with an overall positive horizontal average. In the free atmosphere above the PBL the mesoscale vertical heat flux is negative over the land and over the sea; that is, the lower atmosphere becomes warmer while the free atmosphere above becomes cooler. As a result the mesoscale flow contributes to the weakening of the atmospheric stability within a region that extends a Rossby radius distance from the coastline, and up to an altitude larger than twice the depth of the convective PBL. The average momentum flux equals zero because the momentum removed over the sea is fed back into the atmo...