Evaluating Scale‐Aware Boundary Layer Similarity Functions and Their Mechanisms in Tropical Cyclone Modeling Using Idealized Large‐Eddy Simulations

Abstract Accurate representation of scale‐aware boundary layer similarity functions at gray‐zone resolutions is crucial for advancing boundary layer schemes. Although these functions have been extensively studied in conventional boundary layers, such as convective and sheared types, their application to tropical cyclone boundary layers (TCBLs) remains both challenging and relatively unexamined. Through large‐eddy simulations, this study assessed how scale‐dependent functions vary between TC and conventional boundary layers. The results demonstrate that the TCBL exhibits substantially different scale‐aware similarity functions compared to conventional boundary layers, with significantly higher proportions of subgrid‐scale turbulent kinetic energy at equivalent scaled resolutions in the gray zone. The differences noted above are mainly attributable to the variations in the intensity and scale of turbulence between the TCBL and conventional boundary layer in different directions. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of TCBL and may offer valuable insights for scale‐aware boundary layer parameterization in TC models.