100 Years of Progress in Mesoscale Planetary Boundary Layer Meteorological Research

Spatial variations in the earth’s surface of appropriate size scales give rise to varying planetary boundary layer characteristics that can drive important mesoscale circulation features. This presentation will focus on progress made in mesoscale atmospheric circulations that are tied directly to surface forcings during the last 100 years, during which the American Meteorological Society played a critical role in fostering atmospheric research. The growth in understanding of such mesoscale circulations is outlined through highlighting several examples, from atmospheric circulations driven by thermally-driven variations in sea surface temperatures, to coastlines (sea breezes) and inland large water bodies (lake-effect snow storms), to man-made urban land cover and finally forced circulations due to wind turbine fields. This presentation will focus on those relatively few studies that have provided leaps in understanding these boundary layer circulation systems, as evidenced by later growth of the field building on their work. Their timing and innovative topics and methods have been found over time to act as guideposts to scientific development and understanding of these mesoscale surface-based phenomena.