Preferred Label : boundary layer;
Detailed label : boundary layer in atmospheric chemistry;
IUPAC definition : That well-mixed region of the lower atmosphere in which the turbulence is maintained
largely by convective buoyancy induced by the upward heat flux originating from the
solar-heated surface of the earth. During the afternoon this often extends from 1
km to 5 km in height. The surface boundary layer is that region of the lower atmosphere
where the shearing stress is constant. It is separated by the Ekman layer from the
free atmosphere, where the behaviour of the atmosphere approaches that of an ideal
fluid in approximate geostrophic equilibrium (horizontal coriolis force balances the
horizontal pressure force at all points in the field).;
Origin ID : B00717;
See also
That well-mixed region of the lower atmosphere in which the turbulence is maintained
largely by convective buoyancy induced by the upward heat flux originating from the
solar-heated surface of the earth. During the afternoon this often extends from 1
km to 5 km in height. The surface boundary layer is that region of the lower atmosphere
where the shearing stress is constant. It is separated by the Ekman layer from the
free atmosphere, where the behaviour of the atmosphere approaches that of an ideal
fluid in approximate geostrophic equilibrium (horizontal coriolis force balances the
horizontal pressure force at all points in the field).
