Showing papers in "Boundary-Layer Meteorology in 1993"

Representative roughness parameters for homogeneous terrain

Abstract: Objective requirements are drawn up for experimental determination of the roughness of homogeneous terrain, particularly with respect to matching of the observation array to a terrain situation with given fetch, blending height and displacement length. Some fifty well-documented published experiments over various surfaces, ranging from mobile surfaces (sea, or moving sand or snow) to forests and towns, are shown to meet these criteria and are compiled. It is shown that most presently popular terrain reviews underestimate actual terrain roughness lengths by about a factor two.

Roll vortices in the planetary boundary layer: A review

Abstract: Roll vortices may be loosely defined as quasi two-dimensional organized large eddies with their horizontal axis extending through the whole planetary boundary layer (PBL). Their indirect manifestation is most obvious in so-called cloud streets as can be seen in numerous satellite pictures. Although this phenomenon has been known for more than twenty years and has been treated in a review by one of us (R.A.Brown) in 1980, there has been a recent resurgence in interest and information. The interest in ocena/land-atmosphere interactions in the context of climate modeling has led to detailed observational and modeling efforts on this problem. The presence of rolls can have a large impact on flux modelling in the PBL. Hence, we shall review recent advances in our understanding of organized large eddies in the PBL and on their role in vertical transport of momentum, heat, moisture and chemical trace substances within the lowest part of the atmosphere.

A verification of some methods to determine the fluxes of momentum, sensible heat and water vapour using standard deviation and structure parameter of scalar meteorological quantities.

Abstract: A set of micro-meteorological data collected over a horizontal, uniform terrain (the plain of La Crau, France) in June 1987 is analysed. Conditions were predominantly sunny and arid, while due to the “Mistral” the wind speed could exceed 10 m/s. Verification of several methods to evaluate surface fluxes of heat, momentum and water vapour from the standard deviation of temperature, wind and specific humidity is presented. Also, a similar approach using the structure parameter of temperature is considered. These methods are all based on Monin-Obukhov (M-O) similarity theory. It is found that the standard deviation of temperature, vertical and horizontal wind speed as well as the structure parameter for temperature behave according to M-O similarity. It is shown that the sensible heat flux and friction velocity can be determined from a fast response thermometer and a cup anemometer. Also, it appears that the analytic solution of the set of governing equations as derived by the first author yields good results. M-O theory does not appear to work for the standard deviation of specific humidity. This may be due to the relative importance of large eddies.

Detection of turbulent coherent motions in a forest canopy part I: Wavelet analysis

Abstract: Turbulence measurements performed at high frequencies yield data revealing intermittent and multi-scale processes Analysing time series of turbulent variables thus requires extensive numerical treatment capable, for instance, of performing pattern recognition This is particularly important in the case of the atmospheric surface layer and specifically in the vicinity of plant canopies, where largescale coherent motions play a major role in the dynamics of turbulent transport processes In this paper, we examine the ability of the recently developedwavelet transform to extract information on turbulence structure from time series of wind velocities and scalars It is introduced as a local transform performing a time-frequency representation of a given signal by a specific wavelet function; unlike the Fourier transform, it is well adapted to studying non-stationary signals After the principles and the most relevant mathematical properties of wavelet functions and transform are given, we present various applications of relevance for our purpose: determination of time-scales, data reconstruction and filtering, and jump detection Several wavelet functions are inter-compared, using simple artificially generated data presenting large-scale features similar to those observed over plant canopies Their respective behaviour in the time-frequency domain leads us to assign a specific range of applications for each

Synoptic and mesoscale weather conditions during air pollution episodes in athens, greece

Abstract: Based on regular climatological and air quality data from the Greater Athens Area (GAA), the air pollution episodes observed in Athens during the period 1983–1990 were analysed and classified. The main characteristics of atmospheric conditions during days with high air pollution concentrations are summarized too. Model simulations show that the worst air pollution episodes in Athens occur during days with a critical balance between synoptic and mesoscale circulations and/or during days with warm advection in the lower troposphere.

Turbulence close to a rough urban surface part I: Reynolds stress

Abstract: The Reynolds stress field of the urban roughness sublayer is studied experimentally at a site in the centre of Zurich (Switzerland). Turbulence observations at various heights within and above a street canyon are used together with profiles of mean variables to determine an average profile of Reynolds stress for the lowest few tens of meters of an urban roughness sublayer.

Bare-ground surface heat and water exchanges under dry conditions: Observations and parameterization

Abstract: A simplified land-surface parameterization is tested against bare-soil data collected during the EFEDA experiment conducted in Spain in June 1991. A complete data set, made up of soil properties as well as hydrological and atmospheric measurements, is described and discussed. The 11-day data set is characterized by very dry conditions and high surface temperatures during the day. Large values of sensible and soil heat fluxes and small values of surface evaporation (≈1 mm/day) were observed. This data set was modelled, leading to the following conclusions:

Accuracy of the relaxed eddy-accumulation technique, evaluated using CO2 flux measurements

Abstract: A system capable of measuring the fluxes of trace gases was developed. It is based on a simpler version of the eddy-accumulation technique (EA), known as the relaxed eddy-accumulation technique (REA). It accumulates air samples associated with updrafts and downdrafts at a constant flow rate in two containers for later analysis of the trace gas mean concentration. The flux integration is based on the durations of updraft and downdraft events, rather than on the vertical wind velocity (W) as is the case for EA and eddy-correlation (EC) techniques. The flux, calculated by the REA technique, is equal to the difference in the mean concentration of the trace gas of interest between the upward and downward moving eddies, multiplied by the standard deviation of the vertical wind velocity and an empirical coefficient. CO2 fluxes measured for 162 half-hour periods over a soybean field by both EC and REA techniques showed excellent agreement (coefficient of determination,R2=0.92). The slope (0.985) and the intercept (−0.042 mg m−2 s−1) were not significantly different from 1 and 0, respectively, at the 5% level; and the standard error of estimate was 0.074 mg m−2 s−1. It is also shown that the empirical coefficient can be calculated from either latent or sensible heat fluxes. A model describing the effect on this empirical coefficient of not sampling aroundW equal to zero is proposed.

Detection of turbulent coherent motions in a forest canopy part II: Time-scales and conditional averages

Abstract: Turbulent exchanges between plant canopies and the atmosphere are known to be strongly affected by intermittent coherent motions, which appear on time traces of turbulent variables as periodic, large-amplitude excursions from the mean. Detecting these features requires objective and powerful signal analysis techniques. We investigate here the possibilities offered by the recently developedwavelet transform, presented in a companion paper. For this purpose, a set of data acquired in a 13.5 m high pine forest in southwestern France was used, which provided time series of wind velocities and air temperature recorded at two levels simultaneously, under moderately unstable conditions. Firstly, a duration scale of the active part of coherent motions was estimated from the wavelet variance. Then, we focused on the detection itself of large-scale features; several wavelet functions were tested, and the results compared with those obtained from more classical conditional sampling methods such as VITA and WAG. A mean time interval Δ=1.8h/u* (h being the canopy height andu* the friction velocity) between contiguous coherent motions was obtained. The features extracted from the various traces and ensemble-averaged over 30 min periods appeared very similar throughout the four hours of data studied. They provided a dynamic description of the ejection-sweep process, readily observable at both levels. An alternate Reynolds decomposition of the instantaneous turbulent fields, using the conditionally averaged signals, allowed the relative importance of large- and small-scale contributions to momentum and heat fluxes to be estimated. The results were found to be in good agreement with comparable studies.

Atmospheric turbulence within and above a douglas-fir stand. Part II: Eddy fluxes of sensible heat and water vapour

Abstract: This is the second paper describing a study of the turbulence regimes and exchange processes within and above an extensive Douglas-fir stand. The experiment was conducted on Vancouver Island during a two-week rainless period in July and August 1990. Two eddy correlation units were operated in the daytime to measure the fluxes of sensible heat and water vapour and other turbulence statistics at various heights within and above the stand. Net radiation was measured above the overstory using a stationary net radiometer and beneath the overstory using a tram system. Supplementary measurements included soil heat flux, humidity above and beneath the overstory, profiles of wind speed and air temperature, and the spatial variation of sensible heat flux near the forest floor. The sum of sensible and latent heat fluxes above the stand accounted for, on average, 83% of the available energy flux. On some days, energy budget closure was far better than on others. The average value of the Bowen ratio was 2.1 above the stand and 1.4 beneath the overstory. The mid-morning value of the canopy resistance was 150–450 s/m during the experiment and mid-day value of the Omega factor was about 0.20. The daytime mean canopy resistance showed a strong dependence on the mean saturation deficit during the two-week experimental period. The sum of sensible and latent heat fluxes beneath the overstory accounted for 74% of the available energy flux beneath the overstory. One of the reasons for this energy imbalance was that the small number of soil heat flux plates and the short pathway of the radiometer tram system was unable to account for the large horizontal heterogeneity in the available energy flux beneath the overstory. On the other hand, good agreement was obtained among the measurements of sensible heat flux made near the forest floor at four positions 15 m apart. There was a constant flux layer in the trunk space, a large flux divergence in the canopy layer, and a constant flux layer above the stand. Counter-gradient flux of sensible heat constantly occurred at the base of the canopy. The transfer of sensible heat and water vapour was dominated by intermittent cool downdraft and warm updraft events and dry downdraft and moist updraft events, respectively, at all levels. For sensible heat flux, the ratio of the contribution of cool downdrafts to that of warm updrafts was greater than one in the canopy layer and less than one above the stand and near the forest floor.

One-dimensional theory of the wave boundary layer

Abstract: Results obtained in a 2-D modeling of the statistical structure of the wave boundary layer (WBL) are used for elaboration of the general approach to 1-D modeling taking into account the spectral properties of wave drag for an arbitrary wave field. In the case of the wave field described by the JONSWAP spectrum, the momentum and energy spectral density exchange, vertical profiles of the wave-induced momentum flux and dependence of total roughness parameter and drag coefficient on peak frequency are given. The reasons that the total roughness parameter increases with decreasing fetch are explained. The role of wind waves as an active element of the ocean-atmosphere dynamic system is also discussed.

Review of Non-Local Mixing in Turbulent Atmospheres: Transilient Turbulence Theory

Abstract: Some of the larger eddies in a turbulent region can be coherent structures that turbulently advect air parcels across large vertical distances before smaller eddies mix the parcels with the environment. Such a process is nonlocal rather than diffusive. Transilient turbulence theory, named after a Latin word meaning “jump over”, provides a framework for considering the ensemble-averaged effect of many eddies of different sizes on the net nonlocal mixing in the vertical. Nonlocal turbulence statistics can then be examinated, and nonlocal first-order closure can be formulated.

The subsurface transport of heat and moisture and its effect on the environment: a numerical model

Abstract: A numerical model was developed to study the transport of heat and vapor under the surface of bare soil and soil covered by some materials such as asphalt and concrete under no rainfall conditions. The computational results provide a good match with the experimental data. The results show that the transport of water vapor inside the soil has an important effect on the subsurface distribution of temperature, especially for bare soil. Because of evaporation, the temperature of bare soil is much lower than that under covered surfaces throughout the day and the temperature of the surface covered by asphalt is extremely high-higher than the atmospheric temperature even at night. An increase of thickness of the covering material further increases the temperature and heat stored under surfaces. The stored heat is released to the atmosphere at night, contributing to environmental effects such as the urban heat island.

Turbulence close to a rough urban surface part II: Variances and gradients

Abstract: Measurements of the turbulent wind and temperature fluctuations were carried out in the vicinity of the roof level, over an urban surface at a site where mean gradients of wind speed and temperature were also available. The measurement heights were about 23 and 28 m above ground, the local roof level being 18 m. Measurements were taken on top of a building (at (z=23 and 28 m) and over a street canyon (atz=23 m), i.e., fully within the urban roughness sublayer. The scaled variances of temperature and wind velocity, as well as the non-dimensional gradients of wind speed and temperature, are presented and discussed in terms of departures from Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. Local scaling is found to be a useful concept for the description of turbulence within a roughness sublayer. Expressions for the scaled velocity variances are presented that are valid for all measurement positions; they compare well with results from other urban studies. The non-dimensional gradient of mean wind speed is found to be well represented by the semi-empirical functions for the inertial sublayer if locally scaled. At 5 m above roof level, however, the variability due to horizontal inhomogeneity becomes very large. The non-dimensional temperature gradient, on the other hand, is height dependent and not well defined over the present rough urban surface.

Analysis of the turbulence structure of a marine low-level jet

Abstract: Four aircraft measurement sets made in late May 1989 within low level jets over the Baltic Sea have been analyzed to estimate the turbulence energy budget. It is concluded that the jets had the same origin as found in an earlier study from the same general area: inertial oscillation caused by frictional decoupling when relatively warm air flows out over much colder water.

Statistical characteristics of concentration fluctuations in dispersing plumes in the atmospheric surface layer

Abstract: Measurements have been made of concentration fluctuations in a dispersing plume from an elevated point source in the atmospheric surface layer using a recently developed fast-response photoionization detector. This detector, which has a frequency response (−6 dB point) of about 100 Hz, is shown to be capable of resolving the fluctuation variance contributed by the energetic subrange and most of the inertial-convective subrange, with a reduction in the fluctuation variance due to instrument smoothing of the finest scales present in the plume of at most 4%. Concentration time series have been analyzed to obtain the statistical characteristics of both the amplitude and temporal structure of the dispersing plume. We present alongwind and crosswind concentration fluctuation profiles of statistics of amplitude structure such as total and conditional fluctuation intensity, skewness and kurtosis, and of temporal structure such as intermittency factor, burst frequency, and mean burst persistence time. Comparisons of empirical concentration probability distributions with a number of model distributions show that our near-neutral data are best represented by the lognormal distribution at shorter ranges, where both plume meandering and fine-scale in-plume mixing are equally important (turbulent-convective regime), and by the gamma distribution at longer ranges, where internal structure or spottiness is becoming dominant (turbulent-diffusive regime). The gamma distribution provides the best model of the concentration pdf over all downwind fetches for data measured under stable stratification. A physical model is developed to explain the mechanism-induced probabilistic schemes in the alongwind development of a dispersing plume, that lead to the observed probability distributions of concentration. Probability distributions of concentration burst length and burst return period have been extracted and are shown to be modelled well with a powerlaw distribution. Power spectra of concentration fluctuations are presented. These spectra exhibit a significant inertial-convective subrange, with the frequency at the spectral peak decreasing with increasing downwind fetch. The Kolmogorov constant for the inertial-convective subrange has been determined from the measured spectra to be 0.17±0.03.

Spatial variability of turbulent fluxes and roughness lengths in HAPEX-MOBILHY

Abstract: Surface-based and aircraft measured fluxes over the heterogeneous surface in HAPEX-MOBILHY are analyzed for the ten flight days when cloud cover above the boundary layer was minimal. The fair-weather climatology of the spatial variation of surface fluxes is estimated to provide an assessment of the generality of previous case studies appearing in the literature. For the 10-day averages, greater heating over the forest generates a forest breeze which leads to rising motion and a modest increase of boundary-layer cloud cover at the forest edge. The exchange coefficients and effective roughness lengths are computed for local averages (15 km scale) and for regional averages (100 km scale) intended to represent a range of grid sizes in numerical models of the atmosphere. The effective roughness length for momentum over the mixed agricultural region for both scales is on the order of 1 m, apparently due to bluff roughness effects associated with scattered trees, edges of small woods and other obstacles. This roughness length value is an order of magnitude larger than values used in numerical models for the same region, which are based on the dominant vegetation type. The spatially varying effective roughness length for heat is computed for use in those models which use surface radiation temperature to estimate surface heat flux. The effective roughness lengths for heat are found to be smaller than those typically used in numerical models of the atmosphere.

Eddy correlation measurement of CO2 flux using a closed-path sensor: Theory and field tests against an open-path sensor

Abstract: We have examined the potential of using a closed-path sensor to accurately measure eddy fluxes of CO2. Five inlet tubeflow configurations were employed in the experimental setup. The fluxes of CO2 were compared against those measured with an open-path sensor. Sampling air through an intake tube causes a loss of flux, due to the attenuation of CO2 density fluctuations. Adjustments need to be made to correct for this loss and to account for density effects due to the simultaneous transfer of heat and water vapor. Theory quantifying these effects is discussed.

Uncertainties in air quality model predictions

Abstract: As a result of several air quality model evaluation exercises involving a large number of source scenarios and types of models, it is becoming clear that the magnitudes of the uncertainties in model predictions are similar from one application to another. When considering continuous point sources and receptors at distances of about 0.1 km to 1 km downwind, the uncertainties in ground-level concentration predictions lead to typical mean biases of about ±20 to 40% and typical relative root-mean-square errors of about 60 to 80%. In fact, in two otherwise identical model applications at two independent sites, it is not unusual for the same model to overpredict by 50% at one site and underpredict by 50% at the second site. It is concluded that this fundamental level of model uncertainty is likely to exist due to data input errors and stochastic fluctuations, no matter how sophisticated a model becomes. The tracer studies that lead to these conclusions and have been considered in this study include: (1) tests of the Offshore and Coastal Dispersion (OCD) model at four coastal sites; (2) tests of the Hybrid Plume Dispersion Model (HPDM) at five power plants; (3) tests of a similarity model for near-surface point source releases at four sites; and (4) tests of 14 hazardous gas models at eight sites including six sets of experiments where dense gases were released.

The Amazon river breeze and the local boundary layer: I. Observations

Abstract: Observations of the diurnal evolution of the planetary boundary layer over the Amazon rain forest, made at sites close to the confluence of the Solimoes and Negro rivers (approximately at 3°S, 60°W) near Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, show the existence of a diurnal rotation of the wind near the surface and the frequent presence of low-level nocturnal wind maxima. These circulations are shown to be plausibly explained as elements of a river and land breeze circulation induced by the thermal contrast between the rivers and the adjacent forest.

Aerodynamic and canopy resistance of short-rotation forest in relation to leaf area index and climate

Abstract: The aerodynamic and canopy resistances of a willow short-rotation stand were estimated during the course of a growing season on the basis of micrometeorological measurements. The normalized roughness length (z0/h) decreased from about 0.10 at a leaf area index of one to 0.05 at a leaf area index of seven. This implies that the aerodynamic resistance at peak leaf area index is more than twice the value at zero leaf area index, all other variables unchanged. The canopy resistance depended strongly on air water concentration deficit and on leaf area index. The Lohammar equation showed good agreement between estimated and “measured” canopy resistances over the whole course of leaf development. The stand was well-coupled to the atmosphere only for very small values of leaf area indices, less than one, and it was practically de-coupled for leaf area indices above two. From the point of view of factors controlling evaporation, this type of stand acts as a traditional forest at the beginning and end of the season and as an agricultural crop in the middle of the season.

Mean circulations of boundary-layer rolls in lake-effect snow storms

Abstract: An observational study of the roll-average flow fields of boundary-layer rolls is presented. Data used for this purpose were collected by dual-Doppler radar and aircraft measurements taken over southern Lake Michigan during the 1983/1984 field operations of Project Lake Snow. The roll circulations agreed well with findings of past observational, numerical and theoretical studies, with cross-roll components roughly 10% of the convective internal boundary layer (CIBL)-mean wind speeds and weaker vertical components. Along-roll winds were systematically stronger in the rollupdraft regions than in the roll-downdraft regions, probably due to distortion of the along-roll wind profile by the rolls. Comparison of observed wind profiles to those required by roll formation mechanisms found by past numerical and theoretical studies suggested that the observed rolls were formed by the along-roll wind shear (Asai, 1970) or wind shear curvature (Kuettner, 1971) in the lowest 0.2Z i, whereZ i is the height of the top of the CIBL.

Atmospheric turbulence within and above a Douglas-fir stand. Part I: Statistical properties of the velocity field

Abstract: This is the first of two papers reporting the results of a study of the turbulence regimes and exchange processes within and above an extensive Douglas-fir stand. The experiment was conducted on Vancouver Island during a two-week rainless period in July and August 1990. The experimental site was located on a 5o slope. The stand, which was planted in 1962, and thinned and pruned uniformly in 1988, had a (projected) leaf area index of 5.4 and a heighth=16.7 m. Two eddy correlation units were operated in the daytime to measure the fluctuations in the three velocity components, air temperature and water vapour density, with one mounted permanently at a height of 23.0m (z/h=1.38) and the other at various heights in the stand with two to three 8-hour periods of measurement at each level. Humidity and radiation regimes both above and beneath the overstory and profiles of wind speed and air temperature were also measured. The most important findings are: (1) A marked secondary maximum in the wind speed profile occurred in the middle of the trunk space (aroundz/h=0.12). The turbulence intensities for the longitudinal and lateral velocity components increased with decreasing height, but the intensity for the vertical velocity component had a maximum atz/h=0.60 (middle of the canopy layer). Magnitudes of the higher order moments (skewness and kurtosis) for the three velocity components were higher in the canopy layer than in the trunk space and above the stand. (2) There was a 20% reduction in Reynolds stress fromz/h=1.00 to 1.38. Negative Reynolds stress or upward momentum flux perisistently occurred atz/h=0.12 and 0.42 (base of the canopy), and was correlated with negative wind speed gradients at the two heights. The longitudinal pressure gradient due to the land-sea/upslope-downslope circulations was believed to be the main factor responsible for the negative Reynolds stress. (3) Momentum transfer was highly intermittent. Sweep and ejection events dominated the transfer atz/h=0.60, 1.00 and 1.38, with sweeps playing the more important role of the two atz/h=0.60 and 1.00 and the less important role atz/h=1.38. But interaction events were of greater magnitude than sweep and ejection events atz/h=0.12 and 0.42.

Reduction of horizontal wind speed in a boundary layer with obstacles

Abstract: The reduction of horizontal wind speed at hub height in an infinite cluster of wind turbines is computed from a balance between a loss of horizontal momentum due to the drag and replenishment from above by turbulent fluxes. This reduction is derived without assumptions concerning the vertical wind profile above or below hub height, only some basic assumptions on turbulent exchange have been made. Two applications of the result are presented, one considering wind turbines and one pressure drag on orographic obstacles in the atmospheric boundary layer. Both applications are basically governed by the same kind of momentum balance.

Estimation of the sensible heat flux of a semi-arid area using surface radiative temperature measurements

Abstract: In the framework of an international field program for the study of semi-arid areas, observations were done in the region called ‘La Crau’ in southern France. In this paper, the use of the surface radiative temperature for the determination of the sensible heat flux is addressed. We found that, once proper values of the roughness length of momentum (z0) and heat (z0h) are set, the sensible heat flux can be reliably predicted with a one-layer resistance model using standard observations of wind speed and air temperature, together with the surface temperature. The latter quantity has to be known with a precision better than ±2°C. From our observations, the value of the parameterB−1≡k−1 In (z0z0h) was found to be 9.2, which falls between values quoted by Brutsaert (1982) for grass and bluff bodies.

Regional shear stress of broken forest from radiosonde wind profiles in the unstable surface layer

Abstract: Mean wind speed profiles were measured by tracking radiosondes in the unstable atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over the forested Landes region in southwestern France. New Monin-Obukhov stability correction functions, recently proposed following an, analysis by Kader and Yaglom, as well as the Businger-Dyer stability formulation were tested, with wind speeds in the surface sublayer to calculate the regional shear stress. These profile-derived shear stresses were compared with eddy correlation measurements gathered above a mature forest stand, at a location roughly, 4.5 km from the radiosonde launch site. The shear stress values obtained by means of the newly proposed stability function were in slightly better agreement with the eddy correlation values than those obtained by means of a Businger-Dyer type stability function. The general robustness of the profile method can be attributed in part to prior knowledge of the regional surface roughness (z0=1.2 m) and the momentum displacement height (d0=6.0 m), which were determined from neutral wind profile analysis. The 100 m drag coefficient for the unstable conditions above this broken forest surface was found to beu*2/V1002=0.0173.

Some aspects of determining the stable boundary layer depth from sodar data

Abstract: The question of estimating the height of the stable boundary layer (SBL) based on digitalized vertical profiles of sodar signal intensity has been re-examined. A simple one-dimensional numerical boundary-layer model is used to compute vertical profiles of the temperature structure parameterC T 2 . It is shown that especially at the beginning of the night (when stratification is weak) one can not expect any significant profile structure in the upper part of the SBL if its depth is determined in terms of common turbulent height scales. From this it is concluded that the SBL-height will be underestimated early in the night when derived from the maximum gradient in the signal intensity profiles. Later in the night in contrast, the computations often show elevated maxima or even zones with reduced, and above them enhanced, vertical gradients ofC T 2 , from which a SBL-height can be deduced that compares well with other common height scales. The computed profiles ofC T 2 are shown to be in qualitative agreement with observed profiles of sodar signal intensity for several analysed cases from the HAPEX-MOBILHY experiment. Comparing different SBL-depth scales with sodar observations, it is demonstrated that most of them are often closely related to a sodar-derived SBL-height only during certain phases of the night. Thus the ‘sodar-SBL-height’ can, after a transition period, be perhaps associated with the lower turbulent layer of the growing surface inversion during the first part and with the height of the low-level wind maximum during the second part of the night.

Recent developments in the Lagrangian stochastic theory of turbulent dispersion

Abstract: In this paper some fundamental aspects of the Lagrangian stochastic theory of turbulent dispersion are discussed Because of their similar mathematical form, the one- and two-particle theories are treated in parallel Particular issues identified and discussed include the lack of uniqueness and universality, the role of Reynolds number and intermittency, the importance of two-particle acceleration correlations in relative dispersion and the imposition of consistency constraints between one- and two-particle models

Intermittent wind close to the ground within a grass canopy

Abstract: Wind speed was measured at a height of 1 cm above the ground and at several other heights in and above a canopy of tall fescue grass (Festuca arundinacea) using single hot-wire and triple hot-film anemometers. The plant area density in the canopy was concentrated close to the ground, with ∼75% of the plant area standing belowz=15 cm, wherez is height above the ground. The frequency distributions of horizontal wind speeds,s, were sharply skewed towards positive values at all measurement heights, but were most highly skewed near the ground where the coefficient of skewness ranged from 1.6 to 2.9. Above mid-canopy height, the frequency distribution ofs was described reasonably well by a Gumbel extreme value distribution. Average wind speed,S, decreased exponentially with depth into the canopy with an exponential scale length of abouth/2.8, whereh is the height of the canopy. Atz=1 cm, the value ofS was about 11% of the surface-layeru *. The standard deviation of the fluctuations of the vertical and horizontal components of the wind speed also decreased exponentially with depth inside the canopy with a scale length of abouth/2.5. Inside the canopy, the Eulerian integral time scales for the vertical (Γ w ) and horizontal (Γ u ) components of wind speed were about 0.1 s and 1.0 s, respectively, and were approximately constant with height. Above the canopy, these time scales increased sharply and, atz=2.25h, Γ w and Γ u were approximately 1.0 and 3.0s, respectively. Turbulence length scales in the vertical and downwind directions, Γ u and Γ w ·U, respectively, were approximately 1 cm for heights between 1 to 10 cm above the ground inside the canopy, while atz=2.25h, they were about 55 cm and 277 cm. Relatively quiescent periods (lulls) in the air close to the ground were interrupted frequently by gusts. The frequency of occurrence of gusts appears to be correlated with the value of the local shear near the top of the canopy.

Estimation of sector roughness lengths and the effect on prediction of the vertical wind speed profile

Abstract: An estimate of roughness length is required by some atmospheric models and is also used in the logarithmic profile to determine the increase of wind speed with height under neutral conditions. The choice of technique for determining roughness lengths is generally constrained by the available input data. Here, we compare sets of roughness lengths derived by different methods for the same site and evaluate their impact on the prediction of the vertical wind speed profile.