User talk:Liz.Baldo/Mountain planetary boundary layer

Comments from imaleaper

Lead Section

Consider rephrasing first sentence.

• The behavior of the planetary boundary layer over flat terrain...
• However should be followed by comma.
• Reference 1: Unsure of reference for fire weather and thunderstorms.
• Last sentence of lead section is somewhat of a runon.
  • Consider: While some processes, such as Mountain Waves, have been well studied in the mountain PBL, most of the behaviors of the PBL are relative unknown.

Wind Systems

• Reference 2: Lidar reference has missing link.
• You should mention why height of the PBL can be detected from using backscatter from aerosols.
• In general I feel there should be added in line citation for the wind system section

Mountain-Plain winds

• What does this refer to in the first sentence? Mountain-plain winds?
• Rephrase 'winds are coming into mountains'
  • Maybe: Winds blow towards the mountain on all sides, flow up the slope and converge at the top.
• Perhaps similar rephrasing for the opposite case.
• Unnecessary 'of course'

Valley Winds

• Valley is warmer than the flat terrain
• (it contains a smaller volume....)
• The figure accompanying the up valley winds and down valley winds might need depiction of where the plains would be in relation to the valley.
• This is the least detailed section and could use some more explanation/references. What are the main differences between upvalley winds and down valley winds?

Slope Winds

• Why is air above the valley warmer?
• ...leading to down-slope motion.
• describe sky view factor
• Connection between necessity of slope winds and valley winds unclear.
• Would you consider adding a portion or link to Santa Ana winds when describing down slope wind?

Diurnal PBL variations due to wind systems

Mountain venting should probably be considered a subsection of the diurnal PBL as it relates to the change of PBL height.

• No need to capitalize east facing slope.
• Last sentence: At nighttime, there is a limited residual layer since advection by the mountain synoptic wind system dominates.

Mountain Venting

• The daytime increase of the PBL from up-slope winds...

Impact of landcover

• You have stated that bare soil is not the only landcover type, despite the fact that you haven't mentioned that bare soil is a land type. Perhaps it should be stated in one of wind sections.

• This section is more disconnected than others. There should be some connector between this section and the previous sections.
• In addition to the localized wind systems, the PBL height can also be impacted by the surface landcover.

• Are there other surfaces that might be important for BL? Is there any literature on rocky soil vs bare soil?

Snow

• You should add the degree symbol when distinguishing degrees C (°)
• For wikipedia, it is probably best to describe the energy budget as a radiation energy budget for clarity.

Vegetation

• ...covered by snow during winter time or at very high 'elevations' ...
• 'However,'
• The 'turbulence'
• The top of the canopy has a tendency to warm up faster than the air at the bottom of the valley creating upslope wind conditions just from the presence of vegetation. (Maybe not the best wording, but this sentence should be rephrased somehow).

References

You have 4 references at the bottom of the page that don't appear to be cited within the article.

imaleaper (talk) 16:34, 1 June 2014 (UTC)