Turbulent helium gas cell as a new paradigm of daily meteorological fluctuations?

TL;DR

This study reveals that daily meteorological temperature fluctuations exhibit spectral properties similar to laboratory convection experiments, indicating that atmospheric turbulence governs these fluctuations across scales.

Contribution

It demonstrates the hydrodynamical similarity between atmospheric boundary layer fluctuations and small-scale laboratory convection, providing a new perspective on meteorological variability.

Findings

Daily temperature fluctuations share spectral properties with laboratory convection.

Atmospheric boundary layer dynamics are governed by soft turbulence.

Hydrodynamical similarity explains the statistical properties across scales.

Abstract

We compare the spectral properties of long meteorological temperature records with laboratory measurements in small convection cells. Surprisingly, the atmospheric boundary layer sampled on a daily scale shares the statistical properties of temperature fluctuations in small-scale experiments. This fact can be explained by the hydrodynamical similarity between these seemingly very different systems. The results suggest that the dynamics of daily temperature fluctuations is determined by the soft turbulent state of the atmospheric boundary layer in continental climate.