On three-dimensionality of shelterbelt structure and its influences on shelter effects

Natural shelterbelts, unlike planar barriers, have a certain width, within which interactions among wind speed, drag force and pressure perturbations create a net sheltering effect. The variations of flow, drag force, permeability, and pressure perturbation for shelterbelts of different widths and different horizontal structures are numerically studied, and their influences on shelter efficiency are discussed. Comparisons are made of fourteen medium-dense shelterbelts, with the same overall leaf-area, that differ only in width or horizontal distribution of leaf-area density. The simulated results are consistent with both field observations and wind-tunnel measurements.The simulations demonstrate that the total drag force of the entire shelterbelt varies little with changes in width and structure. The results also show that shelter distance and the overall average wind speed reduction decrease only by 15–18% as width increases by a factor of 100, and changes even less for different internal structure. However, width greatly affects the location of minimum wind speed, pressure perturbation, and the permeability of shelterbelts. Horizontal changes of wind speed inside the uniform shelterbelts have four different patterns, which depend on shelterbelt width and height. The absolute pressure perturbation significantly decreases with increasing width. A possible cause of the insensitivity of shelter efficiency to width and internal inhomogeneous structure is the compensation between the effects of permeability and pressure perturbation on shelter efficiency.     

A numerical simulation of boundary-layer flows near shelterbelts

We have developed a shelterbelt boundary-layer numerical model to study the patterns and dynamic processes relating to flow interaction with shelterbelts. The model simulates characteristics of all three zones of airflow passing over and through shelterbelts: the windward windspeed-reduction zone, the overspeeding zone above the shelterbelt, and the leeward windspeed-reduction zone. Locations of the maximum windspeed reduction and recirculation zone, as well as the leeward windspeed-recovery rate are well simulated by the model. Where comparisons with field measurements and wind-tunnel experiments were possible, the model demonstrated good performance for flows over and through shelters ranging from almost completely open to almost solid. The dynamic pressure resulting from the convergence and divergence of the flow field alters the perturbation pressure field. The disturbed pressure controls not only the formation of the separated flow but also the location of maximum windspeed reduction, streamline curvature, speed-up over the shelterbelt, and leeward windspeed recovery rate. The interaction of pressure with the flow produces complex flow patterns, the characteristics of which are determined, to a great extent, by shelterbelt structure.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Katabatic Flows

A large-eddy simulation model with rotated coordinates and an open boundary is used to simulate the characteristics of katabatic flows over simple terrain. Experiments examine the effects of cross winds on the development of the slope-flow boundary layer for a steep (20°) slope and the role of drainage winds in preventing turbulence collapse on a gentle slope (1°). For the steep flow cases, comparisons between model average boundary-layer velocity, temperature deficit, and turbulence kinetic energy budget terms and tower observations show reasonable agreement. Results for different cross slope winds show that as the cross slope winds increase, the slope flow deepens faster and behaves more like a weakly stratified, sheared boundary layer. Analysis of the momentum budget shows that near the surface the flow is maintained by a balance between downslope buoyancy forcing and vertical turbulence flux from surface drag. Above the downslope jet, the turbulence vertical momentum flux reverses sign and acceleration of the flow by buoyancy is controlled by horizontal advection of slower moving ambient air. The turbulence budget is dominated by a balance between shear production and eddy dissipation, however, buoyancy and pressure transport both are significant in reducing the strength of turbulence above the jet. Results from the gentle slope case show that even a slight terrain variation can lead to significant drainage winds. Comparison of the gentle slope case with a flat terrain simulation indicates that drainage winds can effectively prevent the formation of very stable boundary layers, at least near the top of sloping terrain.     

Townsend's Hypothesis, Coherent Structures And Monin–Obukhov Similarity

Townsend's hypothesis states that turbulence near a wall can be divided into an activepart that transports momentum, and an inactive part that does not, and that these twokinds of turbulence do not interact. Active turbulence is generated by wind shear and has properties that scale on local parameters of the flow, while inactive turbulence isthe product of energetic processes remote from the surface and scales on outer-layerparameters. Both kinds of motion can be observed in the atmospheric surface layer, soMonin–Obukhov similarity theory, which is framed in terms of local parameters only,can apply only to active motions. If Townsend's hypothesis were wrong, so that activeand inactive motions do interact in some significant way, then transport processes nearthe ground would be sensitive to outer-layer parameters such as boundary-layer depth,and Monin–Obukhov theory would fail.Experimental results have shown that heat transport near the ground does depend onprocesses in the outer layer. We propose a mechanism for this whereby inactive motionsinitiate active, coherent ejection/sweep structures that carry much of the momentum andheat. We give evidence that the inactive motions take the form of streak patterns of fasterand slower air, and argue that these are induced by the pressure effects of large eddiespassing overhead. The streak pattern includes regions where faster streams of air overtakeand engulf slower-moving streaks. Transverse vortices form across the spines of the streaksat these places and some of them develop into horseshoe vortices. These horseshoe vorticesgrow rapidly and are rotated forward in the sheared flow so they soon contact the ground,squirting the air confined between the legs of the horseshoe vortex outwards as a forcefulejection. This model is consistent with a wide range of results from the field and laboratoryexperiments. Heat transport is significantly affected, so undermining the dimensionalassumptions of Monin–Obukhov similarity theory.     

日间对流边界层中的非局地动量混合

日间对流边界层最显著的结构特征是在热力作用下所形成的组织化对流。与小尺度湍涡不同的是，组织化对流具有边界层尺度的垂直相干性，可实现垂直贯穿边界层的非局地物质和能量传输。本文针对对流边界层中的动量混合，探究组织化对流对动量输送的贡献。以高精度大涡模拟数据为研究资料，通过傅里叶变换、本征正交分解和经验模态分解3种滤波方法，分离组织化对流和背景湍涡，计算与两者相关的非局地和局地动量通量，发现与组织化对流相关的非局地动量通量是总通量的重要组成部分，并主导混合层中的垂直动量输送。而后，基于协谱和相位谱分析，探究组织化对流的空间结构对动量传输的影响，发现在热力主导的不稳定环境中，单体型环流结构对动量的传输效率较低。而在风切较强的近中性环境中，滚涡型组织化结构可使垂直和水平流向扰动速度的相位差减小，从而提升动量传输效率。研究结果表明，边界层方案需要包含非局地动量通量项，其参数化应考虑整体稳定度对传输效率的影响。     

Shelter effects of vegetation belts — Results of field measurements

The results of full-scale measurements of the wind reduction behind four different types of shelterbelts are reported. Two of the shelterbelts in question were of the single-row type. The remaining two consisted of at least two rows of deciduous trees and in both cases some conifers.Wind measurements were made under various weather conditions, both in winter and in summer. The minimum relative wind speed on the lee side varied from ca 0.1 behind the most dense shelterbelt to 0.4 behind the most porous one when the wind was blowing at right angles in summer. In the winter, the shelter effect was much less than in the summer but the two most dense shelterbelts did reduce the wind speed considerably also then.When the wind was blowing at an angle to the shelterbelt, the lee maximum occurred closer to the belt and the wind speed recovered faster than when it blew at right angles. The wind reduction just behind a shelterbelt always tended to be greater in oblique than in perpendicular wind. The wind reduction behind a leafy vegetation belt decreased as the reference wind speed increased. The approach wind speed affected wind reduction much more at a porous shelterbelt than at a dense one.The difference between reference and local wind directions could be great just behind a shelterbelt but this difference disappeared within a few h downstream of the belt. With further increasing distance (up to 4–11h), the wind continued to veer so that the direction became more parallel with the shelterbelt than in the case of the undisturbed wind. Then the wind slowly veered back to the direction of the approaching wind again.The present data give a good idea of the amount of wind reduction which can be expected in the lee of some common types of shelterbelts.     

Boundary-Layer Similarity Under an Axisymmetric,Gradient Wind Vortex

We present similarity solutions for the mean boundary-layer profiles under an axisymmetric vortex that is in gradient wind balance; the similarity model includes the nonlinear momentum advection and curvature terms. These solutions are a generalization of the Ekman layer mean flow, which is the canonical boundary-layer basic state under a uniform, geostrophically-balanced flow. Near-surface properties such as inflow angle, surface wind factor, diffusive transport of kinetic energy into the surface layer and dissipational heating are calculated and shown to be sensitive to the choice of turbulence parameterization.     

An Inverse Method for Determining Source Characteristics for Emergency Response Applications

Turbulence above and within canopies has characteristics distinct from that over rough surfaces. The vertical transport of momentum and scalars is dominated by coherent structures whose origin is now thought to be the result of the unstable inflexion in the profile of the mean wind speed established by the application of canopy drag. This distinctive property leads to the failure of the standard Monin–Obukhov flux–profile relationships over homogeneous canopies, relationships that are assumed in many surface exchange schemes within numerical weather prediction and general circulation models. A modification of the flux–profile relationships is presented that incorporates the effects of the canopy turbulence. The subsequent impacts on the evolution of the surface energy balance and boundary-layer state are investigated within a simple numerical model for the evolution of the boundary layer and canopy state. By comparing cases with and without the modification it is shown that canopy-generated turbulence can lead, not only to the alteration of the flux–profile relationships above the canopy, but also to a different evolution of the surface energy balance and differences in near-surface conditions that would be significant in numerical weather prediction. More fundamentally, the modifications to the flux–profile relationships imply that parameters such as the roughness length and displacement height for canopies should not be considered as invariant properties, but rather as properties that depend on the flow and hence vary systematically with the diabatic stability of the boundary layer.     

Large-eddy Simulation of Turbulent Flow across a Forest Edge. Part II: Momentum and Turbulent Kinetic Energy Budgets

Momentum and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budgets across a forest edge have been investigated using large-eddy simulation (LES). Edge effects are observed in the rapid variation of a number of budget terms across this vegetation transition. The enhanced drag force at the forest edge is largely balanced by the pressure gradient force and by streamwise advection of upstream momentum, while vertical turbulent diffusion is relatively insignificant. For variance and TKE budgets, the most important processes at the forest edge are production due to the convergence (or divergence) of the mean flow, streamwise advection, pressure diffusion and enhanced dissipation by canopy drag. Turbulent diffusion, pressure redistribution and vertical shear production, which are characteristic processes in homogeneous canopy flow, are less important at the forest transition. We demonstrate that, in the equilibrated canopy flow, a substantial amount of TKE produced in the streamwise direction by the vertical shear of the mean flow is redistributed in the vertical direction by pressure fluctuations. This redistribution process occurs in the upper canopy layers. Part of the TKE in the vertical velocity component is transferred by turbulent and pressure diffusion to the lower canopy levels, where pressure redistribution takes place again and feeds TKE back to the streamwise direction. In this TKE cycle, the primary source terms are vertical shear production for streamwise velocity variance and pressure redistribution for vertical velocity variance. The evolution of these primary source terms downwind of the forest edge largely controls the adjustment rates of velocity variances.     

Turbulence Structures Over The Marginal Ice Zone Under Flow Parallel To The Ice Edge: Measurements And Parameterizations

Three aircraft-based studies of boundary-layer fronts (BLFs) werecarried out during the experiment KABEG in April 1997 near thesea-ice edge over the Davis Strait. The boundary-layer flow wasparallel to the ice edge and hence two independent turbulent regimescould develop in an identical synoptic framework, separated by thefrontal zone along the ice edge. The zone of strongest crosswindhorizontal gradients was typically 20 km wide, while the downstreamscale of the BLF was observed to be several hundreds of kilometres.For two of the three cases the investigation of turbulence structureswas possible and the results are given herein.Horizontal and vertical profiles of turbulent fluxes and other turbulentquantities are presented. A spectral analysis reveals the coexistence ofsmall-scale turbulence with roll motions. These roll motions can behidden or can be visible as cloud streets. The associated transportmechanisms are highly relevant for the choice of suitable averagingintervals for turbulent flux calculations and model validation.Parameterizations for the vertical velocity variance, countergradienttransport, sea surface roughness and eddy diffusivity are evaluatedand compared for this baroclinic strong-wind convective boundary-layerenvironment. Analogously, drag coefficients and bulk transfer coefficientsare derived from measurements.     

On the Kinetic Energy Budget of the Unstable Atmospheric Surface Layer

We present a new account of the kinetic energy budget within an unstable atmospheric surface layer (ASL) beneath a convective outer layer. It is based on the structural model of turbulence introduced by McNaughton (Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 112: 199–221, 2004). In this model the turbulence is described as a self-organizing system with a highly organized structure that resists change by instability. This system is driven from above, with both the mean motion and the large-scale convective motions of the outer layer creating shear across the surface layer. The outer convective motions thus modulate the turbulence processes in the surface layer, causing variable downwards fluxes of momentum and kinetic energy. The variable components of the momentum flux sum to zero, but the associated energy divergence is cumulative, increasing both the average kinetic energy of the turbulence in the surface layer and the rate at which that energy is dissipated. The tendency of buoyancy to preferentially enhance the vertical motions is opposed by pressure reaction forces, so pressure production, which is the work done against these reaction forces, exactly equals buoyant production of kinetic energy. The pressure potential energy that is produced is then redistributed throughout the layer through many conversions, back and forth, between pressure potential and kinetic energy with zero sums. These exchanges generally increase the kinetic energy of the turbulence, the rate at which turbulence transfers momentum and the rate at which it dissipates energy, but does not alter its overall structure. In this model the velocity scale for turbulent transport processes in the surface layer is (kzɛ)^1/3 rather than the friction velocity, u_*. Here k is the von Kármán constant, z is observation height, ɛ is the dissipation rate. The model agrees very well with published experimental results, and provides the foundation for the new similarity model of the unstable ASL, replacing the older Monin–Obukhov similarity theory, whose assumptions are no longer tenable.     

Development of a non-linear mixed spectral finite difference model for turbulent boundary-layer flow over topography

Further development of the non-linear mixed spectral finite difference (NLMSFD) model of turbulent boundary-layer flow over topography is documented. This includes modifications and refinements to the solution procedure, the incorporation of second-order turbulence closures to the model and the three-dimensional extension of the model. Based on these higher order closures, linear limitations, boundary-layer approximation and non-linear effects are discussed. The impact of different turbulence closures on the prediction of the NLMSFD model is also demonstrated. Furthermore, sample results for 3D idealized topography (sinusoidal) are presented. The parameterization of drag over small-scale topography is also addressed.     

A model of the planetary boundary layer over a snow surface

A model of the planetary boundary layer over a snow surface has been developed. It contains the vertical heat exchange processes due to radiation, conduction, and atmospheric turbulence. Parametrization of the boundary layer is based on similarity functions developed by Hoffert and Sud (1976), which involve a dimensionless variable, ζ, dependent on boundary-layer height and a localized Monin-Obukhov length. The model also contains the atmospheric surface layer and the snowpack itself, where snowmelt and snow evaporation are calculated. The results indicate a strong dependence of surface temperatures, especially at night, on the bursts of turbulence which result from the frictional damping of surface-layer winds during periods of high stability, as described by Businger (1973). The model also shows the cooling and drying effect of the snow on the atmosphere, which may be the mechanism for air mass transformation in sub-Arctic regions.     

A Model of the Planetary Boundary Layer Over a Snow Surface

A model of the planetary boundary layer over a snow surface has been developed. It contains the vertical heat exchange processes due to radiation, conduction, and atmospheric turbulence. Parametrization of the boundary layer is based on similarity functions developed by Hoffert and Sud (1976), which involve a dimensionless variable, ζ, dependent on boundary-layer height and a localized Monin-Obukhov length. The model also contains the atmospheric surface layer and the snowpack itself, where snowmelt and snow evaporation are calculated. The results indicate a strong dependence of surface temperatures, especially at night, on the bursts of turbulence which result from the frictional damping of surface-layer winds during periods of high stability, as described by Businger (1973). The model also shows the cooling and drying effect of the snow on the atmosphere, which may be the mechanism for air mass transformation in sub-Arctic regions.     

Resolving the Effects of Aperture and Volume Restriction of the Flow by Semi-Porous Barriers Using Large-Eddy Simulations

The Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS)-based Forest Large-Eddy Simulation (RAFLES) model is used to simulate the effects of large rectangular prism-shaped semi-porous barriers of varying densities under neutrally buoyant conditions. RAFLES model resolves flows inside and above forested canopies and other semi-porous barriers, and it accounts for barrier-induced drag on the flow and surface flux exchange between the barrier and the air. Unlike most other models, RAFLES model also accounts for the barrier-induced volume and aperture restriction via a modified version of the cut-cell coordinate system. We explicitly tested the effects of the numerical representation of volume restriction, independent of the effects of the drag, by comparing drag-only simulations (where we prescribed neither volume nor aperture restrictions to the flow), restriction-only simulations (where we prescribed no drag), and control simulations where both drag and volume plus aperture restrictions were included. Previous modelling and empirical work have revealed the development of important areas of increased uplift upwind of forward-facing steps, and recirculation zones downwind of backward-facing steps. Our simulations show that representation of the effects of the volume and aperture restriction due to the presence of semi-porous barriers leads to differences in the strengths and locations of increased-updraft and recirculation zones, and the length and strength of impact and adjustment zones when compared to simulation solutions with a drag-only representation. These are mostly driven by differences to the momentum budget of the streamwise wind velocity by resolved turbulence and pressure gradient fields around the front and back edges of the barrier. We propose that volume plus aperture restriction is an important component of the flow system in semi-porous environments such as forests and cities and should be considered by large-eddy simulation (LES).     

Turbulent transport processes of momentum and sensible heat in the surface layer over a paddy field

A sonic anemometer-thermometer was used to measure turbulent fluxes of momentum and sensible heat and related turbulence statistics just above plant canopies in unstable conditions. The stability dependence of transport processes is presented, using observational data in a wide range of instability. The analysis of joint probability distributions of w – u, w – T, w – wu, and w – wT confirmed that just above plant canopies, downdrafts were remarkably efficient for vertical transport of momentum and scalar quantities in near neutral conditions. Furthermore, it was shown that updrafts became more efficient than downdrafts for vertical transport, especially of scalar quantities, in very unstable conditions.     

Characteristics of canopy turbulence over a deciduous forest on complex terrain

Canopy turbulence plays an important role in mass and energy exchanges at the canopy-atmosphere interface. Despite extensive studies on canopy turbulence over a flat terrain, less attention has been given to canopy turbulence in a complex terrain. The purpose of this study is to scrutinize characteristics of canopy turbulence in roughness sublayer over a hilly forest terrain. We investigated basic turbulence statistics, conditionally sampled statistics, and turbulence spectrum in terms of different atmospheric stabilities, wind direction and vertical structures of momentum fluxes. Similarly to canopy turbulence over a homogeneous terrain, turbulence statistics showed coherent structure. Both quadrant and spectrum analysis corroborated the role of intermittent and energetic eddies with length scale of the order of canopy height, regardless of wind direction except for shift of peak in vertical wind spectrum to relatively high frequency in the down-valley wind. However, the magnitude of the momentum correlation coefficient in a neutral condition was smaller than typical value over a flat terrain. Further scrutiny manifested that, in the up-valley flow, temperature skewness was larger and the contribution of ejection to both momentum and heat fluxes was larger compared to the downvalley flow, indicating that thermal instability and weaker wind shear in up-valley flow asymmetrically affect turbulent transport within the canopy.     

“天气-风障-产量”系统中林带结构的马氏决策

“天气-风障-产量”是一个复杂巨系统, 若想通过该系统取得最佳效益, 必须对林带结构做出优化决策。该文论述了马尔可夫决策过程 (MDP) 在该决策中的应用问题。利用在沈阳市康平县对农田防护林带考察中所取得的资料, 依据概率论的基本原理, 计算出不同结构林带对玉米气象产量影响这一生态控制系统中有关状态的转移概率; 用MDP折扣模型计算出折扣率β=0.9条件下的最优策略并加以改进。结果表明:在当地天气、作物状况下所形成的复杂系统中, 采用透风系数为0.35的疏透结构农田防护林带具有最优决策结果。     

Long-term study of coherent structures in the atmospheric surface layer

A long-term study of coherent turbulence structures in the atmospheric surface layer has been carried out using 10 months of turbulence data taken on a 30-m tower under varying meteorological conditions. We use an objective detection technique based on wavelet transforms. The applied technique permits the isolation of the coherent structures from small-scale background fluctuations which is necessary for the development of dynamical models describing the evolution and properties of these phenomena. It was observed that coherent structures occupied 36% of the total time with mean turbulent flux contributions of 44% for momentum and 48% for heat. The calculation of a transport efficiency parameter indicates that coherent structures transport heat more efficiently than momentum. Furthermore, the transport efficiency increases with increasing contribution of the structures to the overall transport.     

Theory And Measurements For Turbulence Spectra And Variances In The Atmospheric Neutral Surface Layer

Predictions from a new theory for high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers during near-neutral conditions are shown to agree well with measurements of atmospheric surface-layer variances and spectra. The theory suggests surface-layer turbulence is determined by detached eddies that largely originate in the shearing motion immediately above the surface layer; as they descend into this layer, they are strongly distorted by the local shear and impinge onto the surface. Because the origin of these eddies is non-local, they are similar to those described in previous studies as `inactive' turbulence. However, they are, in fact, dynamically highly active, supplying the major mechanism for the momentum transport, including upward bursting on the time scale of the larger eddies. The vertical velocity results show that the variance and the low frequency parts of spectra increase with height in the surface layer, while in the self similar (k₁ ^-1) range the streamwise low frequency components are approximately constant with height. These large-scale longitudinal eddies extend to a length _s, which is equal to the boundary-layer height near the surface andincreases linearly to a maximum of about three times the boundary-layer height at roughly 15 m and decreases in the upper parts of the surface layer. This lower part of the surface layer, the eddy surface layer, is the region in which the eddies impinging from layers above are strongly distorted. This new result for the atmospheric boundary layer has practical application for calculating fluctuating wind loads on structures and lateral dispersion of pollution from local sources.