The boundary layer evolution of an arid Andes valley

The boundary layer of the Elqui valley in the arid north of Chile exhibits several interesting phenomena, such as a very shallow convective boundary layer (CBL) during the day. In the morning, warming is observed in and above the CBL, while the humidity decreases in the CBL. At midday, in and above the CBL of the valley the temperature stagnates. In the afternoon in the CBL the temperature decreases and humidity increases, although the latent heat flux is very low. Because the characteristic features of the valley atmosphere are hard to interpret by the observations only, model simulations were applied. The simulations indicate that all components of the budget equations, i.e. the turbulent flux divergences, advection via the sea breeze, the up-valley and upslope wind systems, as well as subsidence contribute to the evolution of the valley atmosphere.