Development of the Convective Boundary Layer Capping with a Thick Neutral Layer in Badanjilin: Observations and Simulations

In this study, the development of a convective boundary layer (CBL) in the Badanjilin region was investigated by comparing the observation data of two cases. A deep neutral layer capped a CBL that occurred on 30 August 2009. This case was divided into five sublayers from the surface to higher atmospheric elevations: surface layer, mixed layer, inversion layer, neutral layer, and sub-inversion layer. The development process of the CBL was divided into three stages: S1, S2, and S3. This case was quite different from the development of the three-layer CBL observed on 31 August 2009 because the mixed layer of the five-layer CBL (CBL5) eroded the neutral layer during S2. The specific initial structure of the CBL5 was correlated to the synoptic background of atmosphere during nighttime. The three-stage development process of the CBL5 was confirmed by six simulations using National Center for Atmospheric Research (USA) large-eddy simulation (NCAR-LES), and some of its characteristics are presented in detail.