Large-Eddy Simulation of Turbulence in the Free Atmosphere and Behind Aircraft

The method of large-eddy simulation has been used for a wide variety of atmospheric flow problems. This paper gives an overview on recent applications of this method to turbulence in the free atmosphere under stably stratified conditions. In particular, flows in the wake of aircraft are studied in light of the potential impact of aircraft exhausts on the chemical and climatological state of the atmosphere. It is shown that different profiles of heat and moisture in the initial conditions of a jet representing engine exhaust gases may cause larger water saturation and hence earlier contrail formation than assumed up to now. The instability of trailing vortices in the wake of an aircraft is simulated up to the fully turbulent regime. The vertical diffusivity of aircraft exhaust is large in the vortex regime and much smaller than horizontal diffusivities in the later diffusion regime. The three-dimensional formation of a critical layer and breaking of gravity waves is simulated