A gust front is generated when the cold downdraft from a thunderstorm reaches the surface, causing the warm air mass at the surface to lift. This is always accompanied by gusts and strong winds, and results in severe destruction of property and loss of life, especially in city areas. Despite the potentially adverse effects associated with this weather phenomenon, the microphysical structure of gust fronts remains unclear, owing to a lack of high temporal–spatial resolution observations, and because research on the thermodynamic structure of gust fronts is insufficient. This study mainly analysed the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) structure before, during, and after the passage of two selected gust fronts, using meteorological data obtained from a 356-m tall meteorology tower located in the eastern Pearl River Estuary area. The thermodynamic structure of the ABL was of particular interest. The results show that meteorological factors fluctuated significantly and simultaneously at the 13 observation altitudes from the bottom to the top of the meteorology tower, and significant changes in the vertical distribution of the analysed parameters were observed during the passage of the gust fronts. The ABL structure transformed from an unstable state before the passage of the gust fronts to a stable state after they had passed, and a ground temperature inversion was evident. Moreover, the temperature inversion lasted for several hours after the dissipation of the gust fronts, and occurred intermittently, with the inversion centre shifting up or down and showing multiple intensity centres. The turbulence also showed a strengthening trend during gust front passage. Furthermore, we determined that the thermal and mechanical turbulence affected the maintenance of the temperature inversion. The results of this study will contribute to our knowledge on the microphysics of the ABL of gust fronts, and will further benefit the correction of numerical modelling of severe weather.

当雷暴的冷气流到达地表时，会产生阵风锋，导致地表的暖气团抬升。这总是伴随着阵风和强风，并导致严重的财产破坏和生命损失，尤其是在城市地区。尽管这种天气现象存在潜在的不利影响，但由于缺乏高时空分辨率观测，以及对阵风锋热力学结构的研究不足，阵风锋的微观物理结构仍不清楚。本研究主要利用位于珠江口东部地区一座 356 米高的气象塔获得的气象数据，分析了两个选定的阵风前沿通过之前、之中和之后的大气边界层 (ABL) 结构。ABL 的热力学结构特别令人感兴趣。结果表明，气象因素在气象塔底部至顶部的13个观测高度同时发生显着波动，在阵风锋通过过程中观测到分析参数的垂直分布发生显着变化。ABL结构从阵风锋通过前的不稳定状态转变为通过后的稳定状态，地温反转明显。此外，阵风锋消散后，气温反转持续数小时，且呈间歇性发生，反转中心上下移动，呈现多个强度中心。在阵风前沿通过期间，湍流也呈现出加强的趋势。此外，我们确定热和机械湍流影响温度反转的维持。本研究结果将有助于加深对阵风锋ABL微物理的认识，并将进一步有利于灾害性天气数值模拟的修正。