Fetch and Footprint of Turbulent Fluxes over Vegetative Stands with Elevated Sources

In this study, Raupach's localized near-field (LNF)theory is combined with appropriate parameterizations ofthe turbulence inside a canopy to investigate how airstability and source configuration influence the fluxfootprint and flux adjustment with fetch in theroughness sublayer. The model equations are solvednumerically. The flux footprint from the LNF predictionis in general more contracted than the prediction basedon the inertial sublayer similarity functions. Invery unstable conditions, the near-field effect causes thefootprint of the elevated canopy source to locatefurther upwind than that of the ground-level source, andthe combined footprint can become negative in situationswhere the two sources are of opposite sign. The fluxfootprint and flux adjustment with fetch in theroughness sublayer are sensitive to source configurationand the parameters specifying wind speed and theLagrangian time scale inside the canopy.     

Footprint Analysis For Measurements Over A Heterogeneous Forest

The air flow and vertical distribution of sources/sinks inside aforest canopy have been taken into accountin the analysis of the contribution of sources/sinks to measured fluxes and concentrations above a forest. Thestochastic estimators for concentrations and fluxes are described and their evaluation is performed by simulationof an ensemble of fluid parcel trajectories. The influence of the forest canopy on the footprint is important forobservation levels up to a few times the forest height. The influence of along-wind turbulent diffusion, whichanalytical atmospheric surface layer (ASL) footprint models do not account for, is significant even at higherlevels. The footprint analysis has been performed to deduce the Douglas fir canopy carbon dioxide uptake from eddycovariance flux measurements above a mixed Douglas fir–beech forest during the pre-leaf periods of the beech.The scatter in the results indicates that such an analysis is limited, presumably due to horizontal inhomogenetiesin flow statistics, which were not included in trajectory simulation. The analysis, however, is useful for theestimation of the qualitative effect of the forest canopy on the footprint function.     

Footprint prediction of scalar fluxes using a Markovian analysis

The contribution of upwind sources to measurements of vertical scalar flux density as a function of fetch (footprint) is predicted using a Markovian simulation of fluid particle trajectories. Results suggest that both footprint peak position and magnitude change dramatically with surface roughness, thermal stability and observation levels. Results also indicate that the much used 100 to 1 fetch-to-height ratio grossly underestimates fetch requirements when observations are made above smooth surfaces, in stable conditions or at high observation levels.     

Flux Footprint Simulation Downwind of a Forest Edge

Surface fluxes, originating from forest patches, are commonly calculated from atmospheric flux measurements at some height above that patch using a correction for flux arising from upwind surfaces. Footprint models have been developed to calculate such a correction. These models commonly assume homogeneous turbulence, resulting in a simulated atmospheric flux equal to the average surface flux in the footprint area. However, atmospheric scalar fluxes downwind of a forest edge have been observed to exceed surface fluxes in the footprint area. Variations in atmospheric turbulence downwind of the forest edge, as simulated with an E – model, can explain enhanced atmospheric scalar fluxes. This E – model is used to calculate the footprint of atmospheric measurements downwind of a forest edge. Atmospheric fluxes appear mainly enhanced as a result of a stronger sensitivity to fluxes from the upwind surface. A sensitivity analysis shows that the fetch over forest, necessary to reach equilibrium between atmospheric fluxes and surface fluxes, tends to be longer for scalar fluxes as compared to momentum fluxes. With increasing forest density, atmospheric fluxes deviate even more strongly from surface fluxes, but over shorter fetches. It is concluded that scalar fluxes over forests are commonly affected by inhomogeneous turbulence over large fetches downwind of an edge. It is recommended to take horizontal variations in turbulence into account when the footprint is calculated for atmospheric flux measurements downwind of a forest edge. The spatially integrated footprint is recommended to describe the ratio between the atmospheric flux and the average surface flux in the footprint.     

The impact of logging on the surrounding flow in a managed forest

The influence of a freshly logged area in a managed pine forest on the flow field is investigated by comparing sodar wind profile data over the forest canopy with the synoptic wind field extracted from North American Regional Reanalysis, National Centers for Environmental Prediction. As a consequence of the pressure gradient arising from the sharp temperature difference between the clearcut and the surrounding uncut forests, the local wind direction over the forest measured with the sodar departs dramatically from the prevailing synoptic wind direction when the latter is transverse to the clearcut-sodar direction. Sodar measurements also indicate systematic strong updrafts during daytime followed by nighttime downdrafts with wind coming from the logged area. This suggests the presence of horizontal advection carrying daytime warm air (or nighttime cool air) from the clearcut to the forested area. This paper also examines the influence of wind velocity, clearcut fetch, and solar radiation on locally generated circulations and advection. The presence of local circulations arising from contrasting neighboring surface characteristics well outside the footprint is of particular relevance for atmospheric flux sites where robust surface?Catmosphere exchange values are sought. This study highlights the high level of circumspection required at the time of identifying locations for flux sites. It also suggests vigilant monitoring of the surrounding landscape during eddy?Cflux measurements particularly in actively managed landscapes.     

Using a One-and-a-Half Order Closure Model of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer for Surface Flux Footprint Estimation

A knowledge of the distribution of the contribution of upwind sources to measurements of vertical scalar flux densities is important for the correct interpretation of eddy covariance data. Several approaches have been developed to estimate this so-called footprint function. Here a new approach based on the ensemble-averaged Navier—Stokes equations is presented. Comparisons of numerical results using this approach with results from other studies under a range of environmental conditions show that the model predictions are robust. Moreover, the approach outlined here has the advantage of a potential wide applicability, due to an ability to take into account the heterogeneous nature of underlying surfaces. For example, the model showed that any variations in surface drag, such as must occur in real life heterogeneous canopies, can exert a marked influence of the shape and extent of flux footprints. Indeed, it seems likely that under such circumstances, estimates of surface fluxes will be weighted towards areas of highest foliage density (and therefore quite likely higher photosynthetic rates) close to the measurement sensor. Three-dimensional footprints during the day and night were also determined for a mixed coniferous forest in european Russia. A marked asymmetry of the footprint in the crosswind direction was observed, this being especially pronounced for non-uniform plant distributions involving vegetation types with different morphological and physiological properties. The model also found that, other things being equal, the footprint peak for forest soil respiration is typically over twice the distance from the above canopy measurement sensor compared to that for canopy photosynthesis. This result has important consequences for the interpretation of annual ecosystem carbon balances by the eddy covariance method.     

The Footprint for Estimation of Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Fluxes by Profile Techniques

The flux footprint, that is the contribution per unit emission from each element of the upwind surface area to measurement of the vertical flux of a passive scalar, is calculated for fluxes estimated by micrometeorological profile techniques. It is found that the upwind extent of the footprint for concentration-profile flux estimates is similar to that of the footprint for eddy-covariance flux measurements, when the eddy-covariance measurement is made at a height equal to the arithmetic mean of the highest and lowest profile measurement heights for stable stratification or the geometric mean for unstable stratification. The concentration-profile flux footprint depends on the ratio of the highest to the lowest measurement height, but is insensitive to the number of measurement levels. The concentration-profile flux footprint extends closer to the measurement location than does the 'equivalent eddy-covariance flux footprint, and the difference becomes more pronounced as the ratio of the profile measurement heights increases. The flux footprint for the Bowen-ratio technique is identical to that for a two-level profile measurement only for very limited circumstances. In the more general case, a flux footprint cannot be defined for the Bowen-ratio technique and the uniform upwind fetch required for representative flux measurements depends on the specific spatial distribution of surface fluxes.     

Assessing Tower Flux Footprint Climatology and Scaling Between Remotely Sensed and Eddy Covariance Measurements

We describe pragmatic and reliable methods to examine the influence of patch-scale heterogeneities on the uncertainty in long-term eddy-covariance (EC) carbon flux data and to scale between the carbon flux estimates derived from land surface optical remote sensing and directly derived from EC flux measurements on the basis of the assessment of footprint climatology. Three different aged Douglas-fir stands with EC flux towers located on Vancouver Island and part of the Fluxnet Canada Research Network were selected. Monthly, annual and interannual footprint climatologies, unweighted or weighted by carbon fluxes, were produced by a simple model based on an analytical solution of the Eulerian advection-diffusion equation. The dimensions and orientation of the flux footprint depended on the height of the measurement, surface roughness length, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric stability. The weighted footprint climatology varied with the different carbon flux components and was asymmetrically distributed around the tower, and its size and spatial structure significantly varied monthly, seasonally and inter-annually. Gross primary productivity (GPP) maps at 10-m resolution were produced using a tower-mounted multi-angular spectroradiometer, combined with the canopy structural information derived from airborne laser scanning (Lidar) data. The horizontal arrays of footprint climatology were superimposed on the 10-m-resolution GPP maps. Monthly and annual uncertainties in EC flux caused by variations in footprint climatology of the 59-year-old Douglas-fir stand were estimated to be approximately 15–20% based on a comparison of GPP estimates derived from EC and remote sensing measurements, and on sensor location bias analysis. The footprint-variation-induced uncertainty in long-term EC flux measurements was mainly dependent on the site spatial heterogeneity. The bias in carbon flux estimates using spatially-explicit ecological models or tower-based remote sensing at finer scales can be estimated by comparing the footprint-weighted and EC-derived flux estimates. This bias is useful for model parameter optimizing. The optimization of parameters in remote-sensing algorithms or ecosystem models using satellite data will, in turn, increase the accuracy in the upscaled regional carbon flux estimation.     

Observation of organized structure in turbulent flow within and above a forest canopy

Ramp patterns of temperature and humidity occur coherently at several levels within and above a deciduous forest as shown by data gathered with up to seven triaxial sonic anemometer/thermometers and three Lyman-alpha hygrometers at an experimental site in Ontario, Canada. The ramps appear most clearly in the middle and upper portion of the forest. Time/height cross-sections of scalar contours and velocity vectors, developed from both single events and ensemble averages of several events, portray details of the flow structures associated with the scalar ramps. Near the top of the forest they are composed of a weak ejecting motion transporting warm and/or moist air out of the forest followed by strong sweeps of cool and/or dry air penetrating into the canopy. The sweep is separated from the ejecting air by a sharp scalar microfront. At approximately twice the height of the forest, ejections and sweeps are of about equal strength.In the middle and upper parts of the canopy, sweeps conduct a large proportion of the overall transfer between the forest and the lower atmosphere, with a lesser contribution from ejections. Ejections become equally important aloft. During one 30-min run, identified structures were responsible for more than 75% of the total fluxes of heat and momentum at mid-canopy height. Near the canopy top, the transition from ejection of slow moving fluid to sweep bringing fast moving air from above is very rapid but, at both higher and lower levels, brief periods of upward momentum transfer occur at or immediately before the microfront.     

On the effect of clearcuts on turbulence structure above a forest canopy

Summary The modification of the flow structure arising from the removal of large patches of trees in a managed forest plantation near Gainesville, Florida is described. Using wavelet analysis of turbulence measurements taken above a forest canopy hundreds of meters downwind from the forest gap and well outside the footprint, the present paper examines changes in flow characteristics and demonstrates that the presence of the nearby clearcut introduces extraneous coherent events passing by the eddy-covariance flux measurement system.     

北京城市通量足迹及源区分布特征分析

城市下垫面具有不同于其他下垫面的特殊复杂性,通量的源汇分布十分不均,导致直接测量以及定量的描述城市中水汽、二氧化碳等通量变得非常困难。涡动观测系统在城市通量观测中得到广泛应用,但由于涡动协方差观测系统传感器都架设在一定的高度上,其测量结果只反映特定点下垫面或某部分下垫面的物理过程,不能说明观测结果是否具有下垫面属性的代表性,无法反映观测通量的空间变异性。足迹函数(Footprint)的产生就是为了解决这一问题,其又称源权重函数,是描述近地面层表面源或汇的空间分布和仪器观测通量值之间关系的函数。本文采用北京325 m气象塔近1年7层涡动协方差观测数据、超声数据,分析了不同风向、不同稳定度、不同高度下足迹函数所表达的通量贡献区域范围的变化规律。结果表明,在大气稳定条件下时,通量贡献区范围的大小与主风向无显著差异,而不稳定条件下计算结果与主风向无关。在不同高度下所有稳定条件下通量贡献区范围要大于不稳定条件,中性条件则介于两者之间。8 m、16 m高度上的观测结果不能完全代表城市下垫面通量贡献区,47 m以上能够代表城市下垫面通量贡献区,280 m则已经包含了郊区和城区的权重平均。同一大气稳定度条件下,高度越高通量贡献区范围越大,90%通量贡献区范围与观测高度成线性关系,这种线性关系可以预测没有观测高度或者更高处的通量贡献区范围。     

Pseudo-wavelet analysis of turbulence patterns in three vegetation layers

Ramp patterns in scalar traces such as temperature are the signature of coherent structures. A pseudo-wavelet analysis technique was developed in which ideal saw-tooth patterns of varying size were used as basis functions and fitted to temperature and velocity data. Data recorded from three very different vegetation stands were examined in this study. It was found that the most probable structure duration for the forest canopy was in the range 35–40 s, for the orchard canopy it was 20–25 s and for the maize it was 15–20 s. When expressed in non-dimensional form, the structure duration probability distribution for the maize canopy was about a decade larger than for the forest canopy, with the orchard canopy intermediate. The mean eddy duration versus wind shear relation falls on a narrow band for all three canopies, indicating that wind shear at the canopy top is the determining factor for the scale of the coherent eddies. The inverse of duration and intermittency of coherent structures exhibits a tendency of independence from wind shear at higher wind shear values. Coherent structures transport heat in a more efficient way than do smaller scale, less coherent motions. In all the canopies, the heat flux fractions associated with coherent structures are at least 10% higher than the corresponding time fraction.     

应用印痕函数研究测风塔资料代表性

影响测风塔代表性的因素很多,为了合理地确定测风塔观测结果能够代表的区域范围,需要通过适当的方法综合考虑这些因素。湍流通量代表性研究中常用的印痕函数是风速、稳定度、下垫面粗糙度等的函数,可以定量地刻画单点观测结果的代表性。利用印痕函数方法对中国风能资源观测网中来自不同下垫面的44个测风塔2010年的观测结果进行了测风塔资料的代表性分析。首先,根据两层(10、70 m)的风速和温度计算稳定度参数L_p并确定中性层结,粗糙度的计算选取了中性层结条件下满足对数风廓线的资料。然后,利用中性层结下70 m高度主导风向和风向频率较大方位的资料分析了两种印痕函数方法(Schuepp和Hsieh方法)的适用性及代表性范围与粗糙度的关系。两种方法得到的印痕函数对应距离(即代表性范围)比较接近。但是,在复杂山地Schuepp方法已不适用。当粗糙度小于10 m时,粗糙度与印痕函数对应距离的关系可用对数-线性函数描述。根据经验推荐了利用印痕函数积分90%对应的距离以及下垫面显著变化位置来确定测风塔代表范围。但是,印痕函数积分阈值仍需要通过示踪实验或数值模拟检验。     

Numerical analysis of flux footprints for different landscapes

Summary A model for the canopy – planetary boundary layer flow and scalar transport based on E- closure was applied to estimate footprint for CO₂ fluxes over different inhomogeneous landscapes. Hypothetical heterogeneous vegetation patterns – forest with clear-cuts as well as hypothetical heterogeneous relief – a bell-shaped valley and a ridge covered by forest were considered. The distortions of airflow caused by these heterogeneities are shown – the upwind deceleration of the flow at the ridge foot and above valley, acceleration at the crest and the flow separation with the reversed flow pattern at lee slopes of ridge and valley. The disturbances induce changes in scalar flux fields within the atmospheric surface layer comparing to fluxes for homogeneous conditions: at a fixed height the fluxes vary as a function of distance to disturbance. Correspondingly, the flux footprint estimated from model data depends on the location of the point of interest (flux measurement point) and may significantly deviate from that for a flat terrain. It is shown that proposed method could be used for the choice of optimal sensor position for flux measurements over complex terrain as well as for the interpretation of data for existing measurement sites. To illustrate the latter the method was applied for experimental site in Solling, Germany, taking into account the complex topography and vegetation heterogeneities. Results show that in certain situations (summer, neutral stratification, south or north wind) and for a certain sensor location the assumptions of idealized air flow structure could be used for measurement interpretation at this site, though in general, extreme caution should be applied when analytical footprint models are used in the interpretation of flux measurements over complex sites.     

Coherent eddies and temperature structure functions for three contrasting surfaces. Part I: Ramp model with finite microfront time

Air temperature time series within and above canopies reveal ramp patternsassociated with coherent eddies that are responsible for most of thevertical transport of sensible heat. Van Atta used a simple step-changeramp model to analyse the coherent part of air temperature structurefunctions. However, his ocean data, and our own measurements for aDouglas-fir forest, straw mulch, and bare soil, reveal that even withoutlinearization his model cannot account for the observed decrease of thecubic structure function for small time lag. We found that a ramp model inwhich the rapid change at the end of the ramp occurs in a finite microfronttime can describe this decrease very well, and predict at least relativemagnitudes of microfront times between different surfaces. Averagerecurrence time for ramps, determined by analysis of the cubic structurefunction with the new ramp model, agreed well with values determined usingthe Mexican Hat wavelet transform, except at lower levels within theforest. Ramp frequency above the forest and mulch scaled very well withwind speed at the canopy top divided by canopy height. Within the forest,ramp frequency did not vary systematically with height. This is inaccordance with the idea that large-scale canopy turbulence is mostlygenerated by instability of the mean canopy wind profile, similar to aplane mixing layer. The straw mulch and bare soil experiments uniquelyextend measurements of temperature structure functions and ramp frequencyto the smallest scales possible in the field.     

Geometry of the hemispherical radiometric footprint over plant canopies

Radiometric measurements of hemispherical surface reflectance and long-wave irradiance are required to quantify the broadband albedo and the outgoing thermal radiation. These observations are typically integrated with eddy covariance measurements of sensible and latent heat fluxes to characterize the surface energy budget. While the aerodynamic footprint has been widely investigated, the geometry of the hemispherical radiometric footprint over plant canopies has been rarely tackled. In the present work, the size and shape of the hemispherical radiometric footprint are formalized for a bare surface and in presence of a vegetation cover. For this purpose, four idealized canopies are analyzed and the dependency of the radiometric footprint on leaf area index and canopy height is explored. Besides, the radiometric footprint is compared with the aerodynamic footprint in conditions of neutral stability. It was observed that almost 100% of the hemispherical radiometric signal originates within a distance of a few radiometer heights, while only about 50–80% of the cumulative aerodynamic signal is generated within a distance of about 20 sensor heights. In order to achieve comparable extensions of the footprint areas, hemispherical radiometric measurements should therefore be taken about 6–15 times higher than turbulent flux ones, depending on the vegetation type. The analysis also highlights that the size of the radiative footprint decreases at increasing leaf area index, whereas the aerodynamic footprint shows an opposite behavior. For the abovementioned reasons, this work may support the interpretation of energy flux measurements and the optimal design of eddy covariance stations located in heterogeneous sites.     

Effects of Fetch on Turbulent Flow and Pollutant Dispersion Within a Cubical Canopy

The effects of fetch on turbulent flow and pollutant dispersion within a canopy formed by regularly-spaced cubical objects is investigated using large-eddy simulation. Six tracer gases are simultaneously released from a ground-level continuous pollutant line source placed parallel to the spanwise axis at the first, second, third, fifth, seventh and tenth rows. Beyond the seventh row, the standard deviations of the fluctuations in the velocity components and the Reynolds shear stresses reach nearly equivalent states. Low-frequency turbulent flow is generated near the bottom surface around the first row and develops as the fetch increases. The turbulent flow eventually passes through the canopy at a near-constant interval. The mean concentration within the canopy reaches a near-constant value beyond the seventh row. In the first and second rows, narrow coherent structures frequently affect the pollutant escape from the top of the canopy. These structures increase in width as the fetch increases, and they mainly affect the removal of pollutants from the canopy.     

Experiments on scalar dispersion within a model plant canopy part I: The turbulence structure

This is the first of a series of three papers describing experiments on the dispersion of trace heat from elevated line and plane sources within a model plant canopy in a wind tunnel. Here we consider the wind field and turbulence structure. The model canopy consisted of bluff elements 60 mm high and 10 mm wide in a diamond array with frontal area index 0.23; streamwise and vertical velocity components were measured with a special three-hot-wire anemometer designed for optimum performance in flows of high turbulence intensity. We found that:

1. The momentum flux due to spatial correlations between time-averaged streamwise and vertical velocity components (the dispersive flux) was negligible, at heights near and above the top of the canopy.
2. In the turbulent energy budget, turbulent transport was a major loss (of about one-third of local production) near the top of the canopy, and was the principal gain mechanism lower down. Wake production was greater than shear production throughout the canopy. Pressure transport just above the canopy, inferred by difference, appeared to be a gain in approximate balance with the turbulent transport loss.
3. In the shear stress budget, wake production was negligible. The role of turbulent transport was equivalent to that in the turbulent energy budget, though smaller.
4. Velocity spectra above and within the canopy showed the dominance of large eddies occupying much of the boundary layer and moving downstream with a height-independent convection velocity. Within the canopy, much of the vertical but relatively little of the streamwise variance occurred at frequencies characteristic of wake turbulence.
5. Quadrant analysis of the shear stress showed only a slight excess of sweeps over ejections near the top of the canopy, in contrast with previous studies. This is a result of improved measurement techniques; it suggests some reappraisal of inferences previously drawn from quadrant analysis.

     

Pine forest microclimate simulation using different diffusivities

Proper understanding of, e.g., evaporation from a forest requires an understanding of its microclimate. A well established, steady-state model was used to simulate microclimate and evaporation of a sparse pine forest in central Sweden. Model input included profiles of turbulent diffusivity, boundary-layer resistance, stomatal resistance, wind speed, net and global radiation and needle area density. Momentum balance, energy balance and exponentially decreasing diffusivities were used to study the sensitivity of the evaporation rates and of the temperature and humidity profiles. Model output proved to be unreliable when measured temperature and humidity at the bottom of the stand were used instead of a measured ground heat flux as the lower boundary condition. Energy balance diffusivity was usually larger than momentum balance diffusivity at the canopy top but decreased rapidly to a minimum at approximately the height where the momentum balance diffusivity had its maximum. Energy balance diffusivity commonly showed a secondary maximum below the height of the maximum needle area density. Profiles of Richardson number showed that thermal effects became important just below the canopy top. Bluff-body effects distinguished the energy balance from the momentum balance diffusivity and both were subject to shelter effects. Total evaporation was not very sensitive to the choice of diffusivity when soil heat flux was given as the lower boundary condition.