Extended self-similarity of atmospheric boundary layer wind fields in mesoscale regime: Is it real?

TL;DR

This study investigates the scaling properties of atmospheric boundary layer wind fields, confirming extended self-similarity in observed data and highlighting discrepancies in model simulations, thus questioning the realism of mesoscale turbulence modeling.

Contribution

It demonstrates the presence of extended self-similarity in observed wind data and compares it with model-generated data, revealing significant differences.

Findings

Observed wind series exhibit extended self-similarity.

Scaling exponents match inertial-range turbulence values.

Model simulations show significant deviations.

Abstract

In this letter, we study the scaling properties of multi-year observed and atmospheric model-generated wind time series. We have found that the extended self-similarity holds for the observed series, and remarkably, the scaling exponents corresponding to the meoscale range closely match the well-accepted inertial-range turbulence values. However, the scaling results from the simulated time series are significantly different.