Minimizing flow distortion errors in a sonic anemometer

This paper describes a simple approach to minimizing probe-induced flow distortion errors in a three-axis sonic anemometer. By separating the three axes, mutual interference between the transducers and supports in the three arrays is reduced. Only a transducer shadow correction determined from wind tunnel tests is needed to obtain measurements that are virtually insensitive to probe orientation relative to the mean flow. Preliminary results from a series of three atmospheric tests verify the effectiveness of this correction.     

Evaluation of Probe-Induced Flow Distortion of Campbell CSAT3 Sonic Anemometers by Numerical Simulation

The Campbell CSAT3 sonic anemometer is one of the most popular instruments for turbulence measurements in basic micrometeorological research and ecological applications. While measurement uncertainty has been characterized by field experiments and wind-tunnel studies in the past, there are conflicting estimates, which motivated us to conduct a numerical experiment using large-eddy simulation to evaluate the probe-induced flow distortion of the CSAT3 anemometer under controlled conditions, and with exact knowledge of the undisturbed flow. As opposed to wind-tunnel studies, we imposed oscillations in both the vertical and horizontal velocity components at the distinct frequencies and amplitudes found in typical turbulence spectra in the surface layer. The resulting flow-distortion errors for the standard deviations of the vertical velocity component range from 3 to 7%, and from 1 to 3% for the horizontal velocity component, depending on the azimuth angle. The magnitude of these errors is almost independent of the frequency of wind speed fluctuations, provided the amplitude is typical for surface-layer turbulence. A comparison of the corrections for transducer shadowing proposed by both Kaimal et al. (Proc Dyn Flow Conf, 551–565, 1978) and Horst et al. (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 155:371–395, 2015) show that both methods compensate for a larger part of the observed error, but do not sufficiently account for the azimuth dependency. Further numerical simulations could be conducted in the future to characterize the flow distortion induced by other existing types of sonic anemometers for the purposes of optimizing their geometry.     

Organized Structure of Active Turbulence Over an Array of Cubes within the Logarithmic Layer of Atmospheric Flow

We investigate the coherent structure of atmosphere turbulence over very large roughness within a fully rough, high Reynolds number turbulent flow. The horizontal distributions of coherent turbulence were determined by multipoint measurements of velocity fluctuations using sonic anemometers in a comprehensive outdoor scale model experiment for urban climate (COSMO). COSMO is made up of 512 cubical obstacles, each 1.5 m on a side, arranged in a rectangular pattern on a flat 50 m × 100 m concrete plate. A total of 15 sets of sonic anemometers were aligned horizontally within the logarithmic layer above this site. The velocity fluctuations observed in COSMO were decomposed into active and inactive contributions by applying a spatial-filtering method, and which used a simple moving average along the spanwise direction of the predominant flow as a filter function. The size of the filter should be between the sizes of the active and inactive fluctuations. This method potentially eliminates the considerable portion of low frequency modes included in the horizontal velocity fluctuation, while preserving well the Reynolds stress. The structural characteristics of the active turbulence were qualitatively similar to those measured over various surface configurations. Overall, the observed structures of the active turbulence are composed of very large streaks of low momentum fluid elongated in the streamwise direction with some sub-structures included in the streaks. The sub-structures were the main cause of the ejections, which accompany horizontal vortices. The active motion, including the streaky structures, did not reproduce the lower frequency peak of the bi-modal distribution of the horizontal velocity spectra, but reproduced the higher frequency mode that robustly follows inner-layer similarity (i.e. Monin–Obukhov similarity).     

Flow over the summit of an isolated hill

Observations of the mean flow and turbulence statistics over the summit of an isolated, roughly circular hill, Nyland hill, are presented, Nyland hill rises 70 m above the surrounding terrain and has a base diameter of about 500 m. The summit of the hill is very smooth and allows representative measurements to be made close to the surface. The flow speed 8 m above the summit is increased by a factor of 2 over the upstream speed 8 m above level terrain, and flow separation occurs in the lee of the hill. The mean velocity profile over the summit shows an increase in velocity with height up to about 2 m and then a near constant velocity between 2 and 16 m. The flow perturbation relative to the upstream profile is thus a maximum at about 2 m. The measurements of turbulence structure show how the influence of the hill depends on the length scale of the turbulent eddies involved. Scales greater than the scale of the hill are modified through the flow speed-up whilst scales shorter than the hill suffer complex changes. The short-scale turbulence over the summit is only in local equilibrium in the lowest fraction of a metre. Above this equilibrium region, there is a complex adjustment towards the rapid distortion dynamics which appear to dominate at heights above about 8 m. The detailed results are compared with previous studies and available theories.     

Turbulence Statistics Measurements in a Northern Hardwood Forest

Tower-based turbulence measurements were collected in and over a mixed hardwood forest at the University of Michigan BiologicalStation (UMBS) UMBSflux site in the northern summerof 2000. Velocity and temperature fluctuations were measured at five levels within the canopy (up to the canopy height, H = 21.4 m), using one- and three-dimensional sonic anemometers and fine-wire thermocouples. Six additional thermocouples were distributed over the canopy-layer depth. Three-dimensional velocities and sonic temperatures were also measured above the canopy at 1.6H and at 2.15H on the AmeriFlux tower located at the UMBSflux site. Vertical profiles of buoyancy flux, mean horizontal velocity, Reynolds stress, and standard deviation and skewness of velocity components were calculated. The analysis of these measurements aims at a multi-layer parameterization framework of turbulence statistics forimplementation in Lagrangian stochastic models. Turbulence profiles and power spectra above the canopy were analyzed in the context of Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST) and Kolmogorov theory, as determined by stability at the top level (2.15H), to assess the extent to which surface scaling is valid as the canopy top is approached. Velocity spectra were computed to explore the potential of estimating the viscous dissipation rate, and results show that the high frequency range of the spectra above the canopy exhibits the roll-off predicted by Kolmogorov theory. Similarly, velocity standard deviations above the canopy converge to MOST predicted values toward the top level, and spectral peaks shift with stability, as expected. Within the canopy, both turbulence statistics profiles and spectral distributions follow the general known characteristics inside forests.     

The Høvsøre Tall Wind-Profile Experiment: A Description of Wind Profile Observations in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

We present an analysis of data from a nearly 1-year measurement campaign performed at Høvsøre, Denmark, a coastal farmland area where the terrain is flat. Within the easterly sector upstream of the site, the terrain is nearly homogenous. This topography and conditions provide a good basis for the analysis of vertical wind-speed profiles under a wide range of atmospheric stability, turbulence, and forcing conditions. One of the objectives of the campaign was to serve as a benchmark for flow over flat terrain models. The observations consist of combined wind lidar and sonic anemometer measurements at a meteorological mast. The sonic measurements cover the first 100 m and the wind lidar measures above 100 m every 50 m in the vertical. Results of the analysis of observations of the horizontal wind-speed components in the range 10–1200 m and surface turbulence fluxes are illustrated in detail, combined with forcing conditions derived from mesoscale model simulations. Ten different cases are presented. The observed wind profiles approach well the simulated gradient and geostrophic winds close to the simulated boundary-layer height during both barotropic and baroclinic conditions, respectively, except for a low-level jet case, as expected. The simulated winds are also presented for completeness and show good agreement with the measurements, generally underpredicting the turning of the wind in both barotropic and baroclinic cases.     

Flow distortion errors caused by rigid obstacles in dry deposition measurement systems

Flow distortion errors on wind and friction velocity induced by a box simulating the housing of a gas analyzer used in dry deposition eddy correlation measurements were determined in a field experiment. ‘Undisturbed’ and ‘disturbed’ wind and friction velocities, measured with two dry deposition monitoring systems run simultaneously, were compared, one to the other. In the ‘disturbed’ case the box was mounted below the 3-component probe of the sonic anemometer of one of these systems, while in the ‘undisturbed’ case the box was removed. When the probe was located on the upstream side of the box, the results showed satisfactory agreement with theoretical estimates using Wyngaard’s potential-flow approach and a spherical model for the box. This model can be applied to obtain first-order corrections for flow distortion errors induced by cubic-like (or spherical) obstacles such as a gas analyzer housing used in dry deposition research systems, or to determine the optimal location of this housing relative to the sonic probe in such systems. When the probe was located halfway downstream and halfway to the side of the box, the experimental flow distortion errors did not exceed those for the upstream case. This implies that to keep flow distortion errors in dry deposition systems as small as possible the sonic probe can be placed upstream but also to the side of the gas analyzer housing. The results of our experiments also confirmed that correcting for flow distortion with the commonly used tilt equations yields underestimated values.     

A wind tunnel study of turbulent flow over model hills

Detailed wind tunnel measurements have been made of mean flow and turbulence over a two-dimensional ridge and a circular hill, both having cosine-squared cross-section and maximum slope about 15 °. The measurements were made in an artificially thickened neutrally stratified boundary layer, and have been compared with results from linear models and rapid distortion theory as appropriate.Our study shows that linear theory gives generally good predictions of the mean flow on the upwind side of the hills, and especially of the flow speedup at the hill top, but that the turbulence is less well predicted. In particular, the measurements show a major increase in the vertical component of turbulence and in the shear stress on the upwind slope of both the two- and three-dimensional hills which is not predicted by either equilibrium or isotropic rapid-distortion theories, although this may be partly due to the effect of streamline curvature. Rapid-distortion theory is successful only in describing the streamwise component of turbulence in the outer region of the flow, while in the upper part of the inner region of the flow, the turbulence measurements show disagreement with both the equilibrium and the rapid-distortion theories. Our experiments also confirm that the equilibrium region is a very thin layer close to the surface, while above this region and below the outer region, there is a transitional region where all terms in the stress equation are important.The measurements over the three-dimensional hill suggest that the mean flow and turbulence are broadly similar to those over the two-dimensional ridge, but with reduced perturbation amplitudes. The major differences between the two cases are found on the upwind slope and in the wake where, respectively, horizontal divergence and convergence of the three-dimensional flow are most pronounced.     

Detection of Flow Distortions and Systematic Errors in Sonic Anemometry Using the Planar Fit Method

We describe the coordinate transformations that can be used to convert the velocity components measured by a set of sonic anemometers with time-dependent tilt fluctuations into a single, time-independent coordinate system. By applying the planar fit method (PFM) to each anemometer dataset, it is possible, for planar flows, to locate the flow plane at each measurement point and compare its orientation with the topography. Installation on a ship is also considered. An application of this method to intercomparison data has led to the detection of an instrument error due to a misalignment between the assembly of the sonic transducers and the anemometer pedestal. If this error occurs, pedestal levelling does not guarantee that measurements are unbiased. A correction method is proposed and the results of two experiments are shown. Flow planarity at different levels and flow distortion caused by the mast are highlighted. The influence of the error on the evaluation of the Reynolds stresses using PFM or the double rotation method and the triple rotation method is discussed and the tilt corrected stresses calculated using the three methods compared.     

Wind Gust and Turbulence Statistics of Typhoons in South China

The wind data of four typhoons were obtained and analyzed. The wind speeds were measured by sonic anemometers at four observation sites in Guangdong and Hainan provinces. Detailed analysis of the wind data was conducted to investigate the turbulence characteristics of the typhoons. Characteristics of the gust factor and the turbulence integral scale of the typhoons were concluded with high confidence. The relationships among the gust factor, gust duration time, mean wind speed, roughness length, and turbulence intensity were described. The turbulence integral scale was found to be closely related to the segment length and turbulence intensity.     

高风速相干结构对通量输送影响的实验研究

切变湍流的相干结构是湍流研究中的重大发现,它表明湍流运动并非完全随机,其中具有可检测的有序结构.本文通过处理南京浦口地区大气边界层观测数据,来分析不稳定层结中高风速相干结构特征.本次观测项目包括对场地中央的气象铁塔上2 m和40 m高度上超声风速仪的脉动速度、温度测量以及风廓线雷达对边界层风速廓线的测量.对超声水平风速时间序列数据进行小波变换 (时间尺度400 s),通过阈值来识别这种高风速相干结构.与多普勒风廓线雷达测量结果对比后发现,这种方法确定的相干结构符合常规的认识,具有较长的时间尺度和较大的垂直尺度 (接近边界层厚度).分析三天相干结构特性得到无量纲空间间隔约为6,即每隔6个边界层厚度的水平位置出现一个高速相干结构.通过与垂直风速小波系数的比较,发现高风速相干结构与向下垂直风速之间有较好相关,这与湍流中 “阵风” 现象的研究结论相似.使用四象限分析方法分类得到两种动量通量输送为负的运动:较小水平风速的上扬 (ejection) 运动 (简称为上扬运动) 和较大水平风速的下扫 (sweep) 运动 (简称为下扫运动),这两种运动在整个湍流活动中处于主导地位.高风速相干结构通过促进下扫运动和抑制上扬运动来影响动量通量的输送.     

Turbulence Structure in the Wake Region of a Meteorological Tower

A meteorological tower significantly modifies the air flow, the mean windspeed and wind direction as well as the turbulencestructure of the air. Suchchanges can be noticed in particular in the wake region of the tower.Measurementson the 200 m tower ofForschungszentrum Karlsruhewere carried outusing Solent sonic anemometers in the lee of the towerand cup anemometers on both sides.In the wake region, spectral energydensity is increased in the high-frequency range. Superposition of this disturbance spectrum on the undisturbedspectrum yields a `knee' in the resulting spectrum. In the case of low turbulence intensity with stable stratification,a plateau with a constant energy content is observed in front of the knee.This effect is caused by the new production of turbulence energy from the mean flow as well as by an energy transfer fromlarger to smaller vortices. Power spectra in strongly stable conditionsshow a more rapid decrease of intensity in the region where the inertialsubrange is expected.The relevant scales of wake turbulence are derived from the maximum of the disturbance spectrum.Locations of the high-frequency peak do not depend on atmospheric stability,but are controlled mainly by mean wind speed.Apart from the reduction of the mean wind speed, the spectra and cospectra exhibit a strong anisotropy for such cases.The results demonstrate the significant influence of a tower on turbulence spectra in the wake region.     

Subgrid-Scale Dynamics of Water Vapour, Heat, and Momentum over a Lake

We examine the dynamics of turbulence subgrid (or sub-filter) scales over a lake surface and the implications for large-eddy simulations (LES) of the atmospheric boundary layer. The analysis is based on measurements obtained during the Lake-Atmosphere Turbulent EXchange (LATEX) field campaign (August–October, 2006) over Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Wind velocity, temperature and humidity profiles were measured at 20 Hz using a vertical array of four sonic anemometers and open-path gas analyzers. The results indicate that the observed subgrid-scale statistics are very similar to those observed over land surfaces, suggesting that the effect of the lake waves on surface-layer turbulence during LATEX is small. The measurements allowed, for the first time, the study of subgrid-scale turbulent transport of water vapour, which is found to be well correlated with the transport of heat, suggesting that the subgrid-scale modelling of the two scalars may be coupled to save computational resources during LES.     

Eddy Covariance Measurements On Mountain Slopes: The Advantage Of Surface-Normal Sensor Orientation Over A Vertical Set-Up

The measurement of scalar fluxes employing the eddy covariance method is a widely used experimental approach,for which the flow distortion due to obstacles (e.g., sensor mounts and mast)is a well-known but not fully solved problem. In order to reduce flow distortion we installed a sonic anemometer in a surface-normal orientationrelative to the terrain slope, and a second instrument in a verticalposition at a horizontal distance of 1.54 m from the first instrumentWe found a significant reduction in the rotation angle necessary for the coordinaterotation procedure in the x-z plane whencomputing 30-minute flux averages with the surface-normal orientation. In 91% of all cases this rotation angleremained within the angle of incidence of ±10° recommended bythe manufacturer. In contrast, only 24% of the measurements taken with the vertically mounted anemometer were obtained at an angle of incidencewithin ±10°, and 3% were outside the ±30° range specified for an acceptable operation.A data quality test based on the variance of vertical windspeed normalized with friction velocity (_w/u_*) revealed problems for application under stable conditions due to large uncertainties in the determination of the Monin–Obukhov stability parameter z/L. An alternative test using the bulk drag coefficient C_D revealed other problems related to the dependence of C_D on z/z₀, the measuring height normalized by the roughness length, which do not appear to be constantin complex terrain. With both tests, a tendency for a slightly improved dataquality was found for the surface normal set-up, which, however, proved statistically insignificant.It is concluded that the surface-normal set-up of a sonic anemometer significantly reduces flow distortion by thesensor head. Although the surface-normal mounting position therefore appears to be the preferred one, with decreased flow distortion and a slightly improved data quality, no significant differences in turbulent quantities were found between the two set-uppositions. Hence, the consequences for short-term measurements of massand energy fluxes with a surface-normal set-up in complex terrain appearto be relevant only if single flux events are to be inspected, while for long-term measurements of integrated fluxes both the surface-normaland vertical installation of the sonic anemometer are adequate,indicating that eddy covariance measurements in complex terrain are lessdelicate than expected.     

Spectra and gust factors for gale force marine winds

Wind turbulence measurements obtained at a stable floating platform 10 km off the coast of Nova Scotia are unique in the range of wind speeds covered, and in freedom from influences of platform motion and flow distortion. Spectra of wind velocity components are presented according to Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. Gust factors for downwind, lateral and vertical components are reported for a range of gust durations and sampling intervals. These results are compared with published values, confirming the concept of similarity theory for spectra in gale force winds, and resolving a discrepancy among published gust factors.     

Errors in turbulence measurements with a sonic anemometer

Errors in surface-layer wind data obtained by sonic anemometers are estimated as a function of relative wind direction using a comparison between two identical anemometers. The maximum errors in mean windspeed and the standard deviations of the horizontal wind components are found to be between 10 and 20%. Agreement between the size of the measured errors and those calculated from wind-tunnel data is fair.In addition, vertical velocity data are analysed to show the presence of flow distortion induced by the asymmetry in the sonic anemometer probe and the mounting of the probe on the top of a mast.     

Sea surface wind stress and drag coefficients: The hexos results

Turbulent fluxes have been measured in the atmospheric surface layer from a boom extending upwind from the Dutch offshore research platform Meetpost Noordwijk (MPN) during HEXMAX (Humidity Exchange over the Sea Main Experiment) in October–November, 1986. We started out to study eddy flux of water vapour, but discrepancies among simultaneous measurements made with three different anemometers led us to develop methods to correct eddy correlation measurements of wind stress for flow distortion by nearby objects. We then found excellent agreement among the corrected wind stress data sets from the three anemometers on the MPN boom and with eddy correlation measurements from a mast on a tripod. Inertial-dissipation techniques gave reliable estimates of wind stress from turbulence spectra, both at MPN and at a nearby ship. The data cover a range of wave ages and the results yield new insights into the variation of sea surface wind stress with sea state; two alternative formulas are given for the nondimensional surface roughness as a function of wave age.     

Observations Of Nocturnal Drainage Flow In A Shallow Gully

The formation of cold air drainage flows in a shallow gully is studied during CASES-99 (Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study). Fast and slow response wind and temperature measurements were obtained on an instrumented 10-m tower located in the gully and from a network of thermistors and two-dimensional sonic anemometers, situated across the gully. Gully flow formed on clear nights even with significant synoptic flow. Large variations in surface temperature developed within an hour after sunset and in situ cooling was the dominant factor in wind sheltered locations. The depth of the drainage flow and the height of the down-gully wind speed maximum were found to be largest when the external wind speed above the gully flow is less than 2 m s^-1. The shallow drainage current is restricted to a depth of a few metres, and is deepest when the stratification is stronger and the external flow is weaker. During the night the drainage flow breaks down, sometimes on several occasions, due to intermittent turbulence and downward fluxes of heat and momentum. The near surface temperature may increase by 6 ° C in less than 30 min due to the vertical convergence of downward heat flux. The mixing events are related to acceleration of the flow above the gully flow and decreased Richardson number. These warming events also lead to warming of the near surface soil and reduction of the upward soil heat flux. To examine the relative importance of different physical mechanisms that could contribute to the rapid warming, and to characterize the turbulence generated during the intermittent turbulent periods, the sensible heat budget is analyzed and the behaviour of different turbulent parameters is discussed.     

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE DOPPLER SODAR AND IN-SITU WIND MEASUREMENTS

In this paper,a comparison is made of the Doppler sodar wind measurement with the in-situ measurements on a 325 m meteorological tower.The results show that when the ratio of signal to noise is larger than 1,the mean wind speeds and directions obtained from the two techniques are well correlated,thus their profiles are close to each other.The mean value and root mean square of vertical velocity measured by the Doppler sodar are a little larger than those measured by a sonic anemometer at a height of 85 m,which is in agreement with the analysis by Gaynor et al.(1983).We notice that there are some differences in the observational results between the Doppler sodar and insitu measurements,especially when comparing the values measured at each time.Therefore,it is important to analyze the reason for the differences and to make corrections to the Doppler sodar measurements.     

Two-dimensional field of thermal turbulence at the edge of an escarpment

Acoustic sounder measurements of the temperature structure parameter were obtained at the edge of an escarpment which is part of a ridge of mountains. These measurements indicate that in mountainous terrain, the daytime two-dimensional field of thermal turbulence is strongly affected by relative sun-slope orientation and wind direction out to ranges of at least 200–300 m. For the geometry of this site, westerly flow results in a field which tends to decrease rapidly to the west in the morning with a much less rapid decrease in the afternoon. At night, easterly flow results in significantly higher thermal turbulence compared to that obtained during westerly flow.These measurements show an increase in thermal turbulence at horizontal ranges of 100–200 m to the west of the escarpment during early afternoon on days with deep mixed layers. It is conjectured that this is due to the mountain upslope wind.