no theoretical basis. When the temperature profile is adiabatic, the wind speed should vary logarithmically with height. Measurements over open terrain in 1961 showed good agreement with the logarithmic fit up to 100 m or so (within the surface layer), with near constant average wind speed up through 1000 m. The shearing of the wind is usually three-dimensional, that is, there is also a change in direction between the 'free' pressure gradient-driven geostrophic wind and the wind close to the ground. This is related to the Ekman spiral effect. The cross-isobar angle of the diverted ageostrophic flow near the surface ranges from 10° over open water, to 30° over rough hilly terrain, and can increase to 40°-50° over land at night when the wind speed is very low. After sundown the wind gradient near the surface increases, with the increasing stability. Atmospheric stability occurring at night with radiative cooling tends to vertically constrain turbulent eddies, thus increasing the wind gradient. The magnitude of the wind gradient is largely influenced by the weather, principally atmospheric stability and the height of any convective boundary layer or capping inversion. This effect is even larger over the sea, where there is much less diurnal variation of the height of the boundary layer than over land. In the convective boundary layer, strong mixing diminishes vertical wind gradient. Nocturnal and diurnal conditions The planetary boundary layer is different between day and night. During the day inversion layers formed during the night are broken up as a consequence of the turbulent rise of heated air. The boundary layer stabilises "shortly before sunset" and remains so during the night. All this make up a daily cycle. During winter and cloudy days the breakup of the nighttime layering is incomplete and atmospheric conditions established in previous days can persist. The breakup of the nighttime boundary layer structure is fast on sunny days. The driving force is convective cells with narrow updraft areas and large areas of gentle downdraft. These cells exceed 200–500 m in diameter. Constituent layers As Navier–Stokes equations suggest, the planetary boundary layer turbulence is produced in the layer with the largest velocity gradients that is at the very surface proximity. This layer – conventionally called a surface layer – constitutes about 10% of the total PBL depth. Above the surface layer the PBL turbulence gradually dissipates, losing its kinetic energy to friction as well as converting