Turbulent flux estimation in the atmospheric surface layer through flux-gradient similarity during the ALEX17 field campaign

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén Martí ◽  
Daniel Martínez-Villagrasa ◽  
Joan Cuxart
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Layer ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Friction Velocity ◽  
Turbulent Flux ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Sensible Heat ◽  
Flux Gradient ◽  
Eddy Covariance System ◽  
Flux Estimation

<p>Turbulent flux measurements require high frequency sampling in order to characterize appropriately all the variability scales of the atmosphere. A 3D sonic anemometer coupled with a gas detector allows for applying the eddy-covariance method which has become the standard. However, the high cost of this system often implies to look for alternative methods, specially when multiple stations are required. Turbulent fluxes can also be estimated through the flux-gradient similarity theory, requiring observations of mean quantities of (at least) air temperature and humidity at two levels and wind at one height. This approach is more sensitive to the disturbing influence of heterogeneous and complex surfaces and a comparison between methodologies is required under these conditions.<br><br>The data used in this study is part of the ALaiz EXperiment 2017-2018 (ALEX17). This campaign was the last within the New European Altas project. It had a duration of over a year with measurements in complex terrain. The location of the experiment is a valley bounded by two mountain ranges that rise 150 m north and over 600 m south. A central site in the centre of the valley was instrumented with a sodar-RASS, an 80-m tower, a surface energy balance (SEB) station with an eddy-covariance system and a surface-layer station (SLS) with the necessary measurements to estimate the turbulent fluxes. In addition, eight supplementary SLS were deployed along the longitudinal and transverse valley axes to characterize the surface layer variability within the valley.<br><br>This communication will present a comparison of the friction velocity and sensible heat flux obtained from both the eddy-covariance system and the flux-gradient method at the central site for a time series of 8 months. Friction velocity is highly comparable between methodologies with a correlation of 0.92 and a standard deviation of 0.05. The performance of the sensible heat flux estimation differs between stable and unstable cases, with a correlation of 0.70 and 0.89, respectively, after applying a quality control procedure. The poorer results obtained under stable conditions points out the need for alternative estimations of the sensible heat flux for these cases.</p>

scholarly journals Sensible Heat Flux by Surface Layer Scintillometry and Eddy Covariance over a Mixed Grassland Community as Affected by Bowen Ratio and MOST Formulations for Unstable Conditions

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. O. Odhiambo ◽  
M. J. Savage
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Layer ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Heat Flux Density ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Bowen Ratio ◽  
Sensible Heat ◽  
Grassland Community ◽  
Stability Functions ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Measurements of sensible heat flux for an extended period for unstable conditions using surface layer scintillometry (SLS) and eddy covariance (EC) and supplemented by Bowen ratio measurements for a mixed grassland community on the eastern seaboard of South Africa are presented. Measurements of SLS sensible heat flux density were compared with those obtained using EC for a wide range of Bowen ratio (β). Also presented is an analysis of the different forms of the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) functions used in micrometeorology and suggested by various authors, done by comparing EC sensible heat and measured by SLS through the use of an iterative determination of Monin–Obukhov parameters. A comparison of the SLS-measured structure parameter of air temperature CT2 corrected for β and uncorrected was carried out, with the results showing good correspondence but with a slight bias indicating that not correcting SLS measurements of CT2 for β would also result in a slight bias in H. Eddy covariance estimates of sensible heat flux density (HEC), obtained using averaging periods between 1 and 120 min and compared with scintillometer measurements, demonstrated that short-time averaging periods resulted in underestimated HEC. The EC measurements for 60- and 120-min averaging periods were sometimes inconsistent with SLS measurements. A sensitivity analysis indicates that both the EC and SLS measurements of H are influenced by β. For 0 < β < 0.2, the correction to HSLS amounts to more than 10% compared to more than 20% for HEC, although the magnitude of the differences are small. A comparison of HEC and HSLS measurements for 0.1 intervals of β between 0 and 4.3 shows reasonable correspondence for β > 1. For 0 < β < 1, the HSLS (y) versus HEC (x) scatterplot linear regression slope decreased from 1.25 to close to 1 for β increasing from 0 to 1. A comparison between β-corrected HEC and HSLS measurements—the latter computed using various empirical stability functions used by MOST—shows significant differences compared to HEC ranging from almost 20% overestimation for some methods to 20% underestimation for others. Long-term use of the recommended MOST stability functions for the SLS method is shown to result in reasonable correspondence between SLS and EC sensible heat flux for a wide range in atmospheric conditions, stability, and sensible heat magnitude.

scholarly journals Modeling canopy-induced turbulence in the Earth system: a unified parameterization of turbulent exchange within plant canopies and the roughness sublayer (CLM-ml v0)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon B. Bonan ◽  
Edward G. Patton ◽  
Ian N. Harman ◽  
Keith W. Oleson ◽  
John J. Finnigan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Friction Velocity ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Roughness Sublayer ◽  
Sensible Heat ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Community Land Model ◽  
Diurnal Range ◽  
Radiative Temperature ◽  
Canopy Model

Abstract. Land surface models used in climate models neglect the roughness sublayer and parameterize within-canopy turbulence in an ad hoc manner. We implemented a roughness sublayer turbulence parameterization in a multi-layer canopy model (CLM-ml v0) test if this theory provides a tractable parameterization extending from the ground through the canopy and the roughness sublayer. We compared the canopy model with the Community Land Model (CLM4.5) at 7 forest, 2 grassland, and 3 cropland AmeriFlux sites over a range of canopy height, leaf area index, and climate. The CLM4.5 has pronounced biases during summer months at forest sites in mid-day latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and gross primary production, nighttime friction velocity, and the radiative temperature diurnal range. The new canopy model reduces these biases by introducing new physics. The signature of the roughness sublayer is most evident in sensible heat flux, friction velocity, and the diurnal cycle of radiative temperature. Within-canopy temperature profiles are markedly different compared with profiles obtained using Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, and the roughness sublayer produces cooler daytime and warmer nighttime temperatures. The herbaceous sites also show model improvements, but the improvements are related less systematically to the roughness sublayer parameterization in these short canopies. The multi-layer canopy with the roughness sublayer turbulence improves simulations compared with the CLM4.5 while also advancing the theoretical basis for surface flux parameterizations.

scholarly journals Multi-season eddy covariance observations of energy, water and carbon fluxes over a suburban area in Swindon, UK

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4645-4666 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Ward ◽  
J. G. Evans ◽  
C. S. B. Grimmond
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Suburban Area ◽  
Anthropogenic Heat ◽  
Surface Conductance ◽  
Sensible Heat ◽  
Anthropogenic Heat Flux

Abstract. Eddy covariance measurements of the turbulent sensible heat, latent heat and carbon dioxide fluxes for 12 months (2011–2012) are reported for the first time for a suburban area in the UK. The results from Swindon are comparable to suburban studies of similar surface cover elsewhere but reveal large seasonal variability. Energy partitioning favours turbulent sensible heat during summer (midday Bowen ratio 1.4–1.6) and latent heat in winter (0.05–0.7). A significant proportion of energy is stored (and released) by the urban fabric and the estimated anthropogenic heat flux is small but non-negligible (0.5–0.9 MJ m−2 day−1). The sensible heat flux is negative at night and for much of winter daytimes, reflecting the suburban nature of the site (44% vegetation) and relatively low built fraction (16%). Latent heat fluxes appear to be water limited during a dry spring in both 2011 and 2012, when the response of the surface to moisture availability can be seen on a daily timescale. Energy and other factors are more relevant controls at other times; at night the wind speed is important. On average, surface conductance follows a smooth, asymmetrical diurnal course peaking at around 6–9 mm s−1, but values are larger and highly variable in wet conditions. The combination of natural (vegetative) and anthropogenic (emission) processes is most evident in the temporal variation of the carbon flux: significant photosynthetic uptake is seen during summer, whilst traffic and building emissions explain peak release in winter (9.5 g C m−2 day−1). The area is a net source of CO2 annually. Analysis by wind direction highlights the role of urban vegetation in promoting evapotranspiration and offsetting CO2 emissions, especially when contrasted against peak traffic emissions from sectors with more roads. Given the extent of suburban land use, these results have important implications for understanding urban energy, water and carbon dynamics.

scholarly journals Improving Computation of Sensible Heat Flux over a Water Surface Using the Variational Method

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 678-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuohao Cao ◽  
Jianmin Ma ◽  
Wayne R. Rouse
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Variational Method ◽  
Gradient Method ◽  
Similarity Theory ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Eddy Correlation ◽  
Sensible Heat ◽  
Flux Gradient

Abstract In this study, the authors have performed the variational computations for surface sensible heat fluxes over a large northern lake using observed wind, temperature gradient, and moisture gradient. In contrast with the conventional (Monin–Obukhov similarity theory) MOST-based flux-gradient method, the variational approach sufficiently utilizes observational meteorological conditions over the lake, where the conventional flux-gradient method performs poorly. Verifications using direct eddy-correlation measurements over Great Slave Lake, the fifth largest lake in North America in terms of surface area, during the open water period of 1999 demonstrate that the variational method yields good agreements between the computed and the measured sensible heat fluxes. It is also demonstrated that the variational method is more accurate than the flux-gradient method in computations of sensible heat flux across the air–water interface.

scholarly journals Fetch Effect on Flux-Variance Estimations of Sensible and Latent Heat Fluxes of Camellia Sinensis

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 299
Author(s):  
Noman Ali Buttar ◽  
Hu Yongguang ◽  
Josef Tanny ◽  
M Waqar Akram ◽  
Abdul Shabbir
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Soil Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Sensible Heat ◽  
Fine Wire

Precise estimation of surface-atmosphere exchange is a major challenge in micrometeorology. Previous literature presented the eddy covariance (EC) as the most reliable method for the measurements of such fluxes. Nevertheless, the EC technique is quite expensive and complex, hence other simpler methods are sought. One of these methods is Flux-Variance (FV). The FV method estimates sensible heat flux (H) using high frequency (~10Hz) air temperature measurements by a fine wire thermocouple. Additional measurements of net radiation (Rn) and soil heat flux (G) allow the derivation of latent heat flux (LE) as the residual of the energy balance equation. In this study, the Flux Variance method was investigated, and the results were compared against eddy covariance measurements. The specific goal of the present study was to assess the performance of the FV method for the estimation of surface fluxes along a variable fetch. Experiment was carried out in a tea garden; an EC system measured latent and sensible heat fluxes and five fine-wire thermocouples were installed towards the wind dominant direction at different distances (fetch) of TC1 = 170 m, TC2 = 165 m, TC3 = 160 m, TC4 = 155 m and TC5 = 150 m from the field edge. Footprint analysis was employed to examine the effect of temperature measurement position on the ratio between 90% footprint and measurement height. Results showed a good agreement between FV and EC measurements of sensible heat flux, with all regression coefficients (R2) larger than 0.6; the sensor at 170 m (TC1), nearest to the EC system, had highest R2 = 0.86 and lowest root mean square error (RMSE = 25 Wm−2). The estimation of LE at TC1 was also in best agreement with eddy covariance, with the highest R2 = 0.90. The FV similarity constant varied along the fetch within the range 2.2–2.4.

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