Latent heat

About: Latent heat is a(n) research topic. Over the lifetime, 13503 publication(s) have been published within this topic receiving 302811 citation(s).

On the Assessment of Surface Heat Flux and Evaporation Using Large-Scale Parameters

Abstract: In an introductory review it is reemphasized that the large-scale parameterization of the surface fluxes of sensible and latent heat is properly expressed in terms of energetic considerations over land while formulas of the bulk aerodynamic type are most suitahle over the sea. A general framework is suggested. Data from a number of saturated land sites and open water sites in the absence of advection suggest a widely applicable formula for the relationship between sensible and latent heat fluxes. For drying land surfaces, we assume that the evaporation rate is given by the same formula for evaporation multiplied by a factor. This factor is found to remain at unity while an amount of water, varying from one site to another, is evaporated. Following this a linear decrease sets in, reducing the evaporation rate to zero after a further 5 cm of evaporation, the same at several sites examined.

Correction of flux measurements for density effects due to heat and water vapour transfer

Abstract: When the atmospheric turbulent flux of a minor constituent such as CO2 (or of water vapour as a special case) is measured by either the eddy covariance or the mean gradient technique, account may need to be taken of variations of the constituent's density due to the presence of a flux of heat and/or water vapour. In this paper the basic relationships are discussed in the context of vertical transfer in the lower atmosphere, and the required corrections to the measured flux are derived. If the measurement involves sensing of the fluctuations or mean gradient of the constituent's mixing ratio relative to the dry air component, then no correction is required; while with sensing of the constituent's specific mass content relative to the total moist air, a correction arising from the water vapour flux only is required. Correspondingly, if in mean gradient measurements the constituent's density is measured in air from different heights which has been pre-dried and brought to a common temperature, then again no correction is required; while if the original (moist) air itself is brought to a common temperature, then only a correction arising from the water vapour flux is required. If the constituent's density fluctuations or mean gradients are measured directly in the air in situ, then corrections arising from both heat and water vapour fluxes are required. These corrections will often be very important. That due to the heat flux is about five times as great as that due to an equal latent heat (water vapour) flux. In CO2 flux measurements the magnitude of the correction will commonly exceed that of the flux itself. The correction to measurements of water vapour flux will often be only a few per cent but will sometimes exceed 10 per cent.

A simple hydrologically based model of land surface water and energy fluxes for general circulation models

Abstract: A generalization of the single soil layer variable infiltration capacity (VIC) land surface hydrological model previously implemented in the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) general circulation model (GCM) is described. The new model is comprised of a two-layer characterization of the soil column, and uses an aerodynamic representation of the latent and sensible heat fluxes at the land surface. The infiltration algorithm for the upper layer is essentially the same as for the single layer VIC model, while the lower layer drainage formulation is of the form previously implemented in the Max-Planck-Institut GCM. The model partitions the area of interest (e.g., grid cell) into multiple land surface cover types; for each land cover type the fraction of roots in the upper and lower zone is specified. Evapotranspiration consists of three components: canopy evaporation, evaporation from bare soils, and transpiration, which is represented using a canopy and architectural resistance formulation. Once the latent heat flux has been computed, the surface energy balance is iterated to solve for the land surface temperature at each time step. The model was tested using long-term hydrologic and climatological data for Kings Creek, Kansas to estimate and validate the hydrological parameters, and surface flux data from three First International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project Field Experiment (FIFE) intensive field campaigns in the summer-fall of 1987 to validate the surface energy fluxes.

Moisture movement in porous materials under temperature gradients

Abstract: A theory of moisture movement in porous, materials under temperature gradients is developed which explains apparently discordant experimental information, including (a) the large value of the apparent vapor transfer, (b) effect of moisture content on net moisture transfer, and (c) the transfer of latent heat by distillation. The previous simple theory of water vapor diffusion in porous media under temperature gradients neglected the interaction of vapor, liquid and solid phases, and the difference between average temperature gradient in the air-filled pores and in the soil as a whole. With these factors taken into account, an (admittedly approximate) analysis is developed which predicts orders of magnitude and general behavior in satisfactory agreement with the experimental facts. An important implication of the present approach is that experimental methods used to distinguish between liquid and vapor transfer have not done so, since what has been supposed to be vapor transfer has actually been series-parallel flow through liquid ‘islands’ located in a vapor continuum. Equations describing moisture and heat transfer in porous materials under combined moisture and temperature gradients are developed. Four moisture-dependent diffusivities arising in this connection are discussed briefly.

Energy balance closure at FLUXNET sites

Abstract: A comprehensive evaluation of energy balance closure is performed across 22 sites and 50 site-years in FLUXNET, a network of eddy covariance sites measuring long-term carbon and energy fluxes in contrasting ecosystems and climates. Energy balance closure was evaluated by statistical regression of turbulent energy fluxes (sensible and latent heat (LE)) against available energy (net radiation, less the energy stored) and by solving for the energy balance ratio, the ratio of turbulent energy fluxes to available energy. These methods indicate a general lack of closure at most sites, with a mean imbalance in the order of 20%. The imbalance was prevalent in all measured vegetation types and in climates ranging from Mediterranean to temperate and arctic. There were no clear differences between sites using open and closed path infrared gas analyzers. At a majority of sites closure improved with turbulent intensity (friction velocity), but lack of total closure was still prevalent under most conditions. The imbalance was greatest during nocturnal periods. The results suggest that estimates of the scalar turbulent fluxes of sensible and LE are underestimated and/or that available energy is overestimated. The implications on interpreting long-term CO2 fluxes at FLUXNET sites depends on whether the imbalance results primarily from general errors associated