Impact of Eddy Characteristics on Turbulent Heat and Momentum Fluxes in the Urban Roughness Sublayer

Eddy-covariance observations above the densely built-up Centre of Nanjing were made from December 2011 to August 2012. Separate eddy-covariance systems installed at two levels on a 36-m tower located on a rooftop were operated simultaneously, and observations grouped into two sectors (A, B) according to the prevalent wind directions. For sector A, where the nearby buildings are all below the lower measurement level, the sensible heat and momentum fluxes are generally greater at the upper level. For sector B, where several high-rise buildings are located upwind, the sensible heat and momentum fluxes at the upper level are close to those at the lower level. The analysis shows that the turbulent eddy characteristics differ between the two wind sectors, leading to a different behaviour of turbulent exchange between the two levels. A hypothesis is proposed that addresses the vertical variation of turbulent fluxes in the urban roughness sublayer (RSL). For sector A, the buildings block the flow, change the trajectory of scalars, and distort the footprint of scalar fluxes; this ‘blocking effect’ is believed to lead to a smaller sensible heat flux above the canopy layer. Such an effect should decrease with height in the RSL, explaining the increase of the observed turbulent heat flux with height. In addition, the presence of non-uniform building heights adversely affects turbulence organization around the canopy top, and likely elevates the inflection point of the mean flow to a higher elevation close to the upper measurement level, where larger shear results in a larger momentum flux. For sector B, wake effects from the nearby high-rise buildings strongly reduce turbulence organization at higher elevations, leading to similar sensible heat and momentum fluxes at both measurement levels.     

海表动量和热量通量的数值模拟

本文分析了用IAP两层大气环流模式模拟的海表动量和热量通量,并将其同Han等和Esbensen等的气候资料比较.模拟的热量通量与观测估计值有类似的水平分布和季节变化,但在中低纬地区有偏多的热量由海洋向大气输送,尤其1月北半球中纬大气需要从海洋获得过分多的热量;模拟的海表动量通量和气候估计值也类似,但模拟的北半球冬季中高纬西风动量通量中心位置偏东,赤道中西太平洋和大西洋的东风动量通量偏弱,南半球环绕南极的西风带模拟得过分弱(尤其在7月份).本文还检验了基本变量的日变化和日际变化对计算海表动量和湍流扩散热量通量的影响,结果表明用月平均,日平均和每小时的基本量计算的动量和湍流扩散热量通量依次增大,尤其在中高纬地区更明显.     

Methods to Estimate Surface Fluxes of Momentum and Heat from Routine Weather Observations for Dispersion Applications under Stable Stratification

We examine the efficacy of two methods commonly used to estimate the vertical turbulent fluxes of momentum and sensible heat from routinely observed mean quantities in the surface layer under stable stratification. The single-level method uses mean wind speed and temperature measurements at a single height, whereas the two-level method uses mean wind speed measurements at a single height and mean temperature measurements at two heights. These methods are used in popular meteorological processors such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved AERMET and CALMET to generate inputs for dispersion simulations. We use data from a flux station of the U.K. Met Office at Cardington for comparison. It is found that the single-level method does not describe the flux variation in the weakly stable regime at all, because of its assumption that the temperature scale, i.e. the ratio of the kinematic sensible heat flux to the friction velocity, is constant, which is plausible only under strongly stable conditions. On the other hand, the two-level method provides a physically realistic variation of the fluxes with stability, but the required temperature measurements at two levels are usually not available on a routine basis. If measurements of the standard deviation of temperature are also available, in addition to the mean temperature at a single level, then they can be usefully employed in a third (single-level) method, with the consequence that the computed fluxes are very similar to those obtained from the two-level method. An improvement to the original single-level method is considered, and flux calculations under low wind conditions are also discussed.     

Thermal Stratification Effects on Flow Over a Generic Urban Canopy

The influence of local surface heating and cooling on flow over urban-like roughness is investigated using large-eddy simulations. By adjusting the incoming or outgoing heat flux from the ground surface, various degrees of local thermal stratification, represented by a Richardson number \((Ri_\tau )\) , were attained. Drag and heat transfer coefficients, turbulence structure, integral length scales, and the strength of quadrant events that contribute to momentum and heat fluxes were obtained and are compared with locally stable, neutral and unstable flows. With increasing \(Ri_\tau \) , or equivalently as the flow characteristics change from local thermal instability to stability, a gradual decline in the drag and heat transfer coefficients is observed. These values are found to be fairly independent of the type of thermal boundary condition (constant heat flux or constant temperature) and domain size. The maps of anisotropy invariants showed that for the values of \(Ri_\tau \) considered, turbulence structures are almost the same in shape for neutral and unstable cases but differ slightly from those in the stable case. The degree of anisotropy is found to decrease as \(Ri_\tau \) increases from \(-2\) to 2.5. Compared to the neutral case, the integral length scales are shortened in the streamwise and vertical direction by ground cooling, but enhanced in the vertical direction with ground heating. Quadrant analysis showed that an increase in floor heating increases the strength of ejections above the canopy. However, the contributions of updrafts or downdrafts to the heat flux are found not to be significantly influenced by the type of local thermal stratification for the values of \(Ri_\tau \) considered. From the octant analysis, the transport mechanisms of momentum and heat above the canopy are found to be very similar in both locally unstable and stable flows.     

On the Variability of the Fluxes of Momentum and Sensible Heat

Direct measurements of the air–sea turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat, along with surface currents, waves and supporting meteorological variables, were acquired during a recent field campaign. Surface currents, measured from a very high frequency radar, were found to steer the stress away from the mean wind direction. Although this effect has been reported in a recent scatterometer study, this is the first time it has been observed in an in situ study with co-located flux, wind and surface current measurements. Data collected during a week of stationary conditions are used to investigate and quantify the sampling variability of the air–sea fluxes of momentum and sensible heat.     

Effects of Sea-Surface Waves and Ocean Spray on Air-Sea Momentum Fluxes

The effects of sea-surface waves and ocean spray on the marine atmospheric boundary layer(MABL) at different wind speeds and wave ages were investigated. An MABL model was developed that introduces a wave-induced component and spray force to the total surface stress. The theoretical model solution was determined assuming the eddy viscosity coefficient varied linearly with height above the sea surface. The wave-induced component was evaluated using a directional wave spectrum and growth rate. Spray force was described using interactions between ocean-spray droplets and wind-velocity shear. Wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients were calculated for low to high wind speeds for wind-generated sea at different wave ages to examine surface-wave and ocean-spray effects on MABL momentum distribution. The theoretical solutions were compared with model solutions neglecting wave-induced stress and/or spray stress. Surface waves strongly affected near-surface wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients at low to moderate wind speeds. Drag coefficients and near-surface wind speeds were lower for young than for old waves. At high wind speeds, ocean-spray droplets produced by wind-tearing breaking-wave crests affected the MABL strongly in comparison with surface waves, implying that wave age affects the MABL only negligibly. Low drag coefficients at high wind caused by ocean-spray production increased turbulent stress in the sea-spray generation layer, accelerating near-sea-surface wind. Comparing the analytical drag coefficient values with laboratory measurements and field observations indicated that surface waves and ocean spray significantly affect the MABL at different wind speeds and wave ages.     

Large-scale Vertical Momentum,Kinetic Energy and Moisture Fluxes in the Antarctic Sea-ice Region

There are very strong thermal gradients between the Antarctic continent and the sea-ice zone, and between that zone and the ocean to the north. As a result of these contrasts the sea-ice domain is one of strong cyclogenesis and high cyclone frequency. In this study we explore many aspects of that cyclonic behaviour and investigate the manner in which these systems influence, and are influenced by, the sea ice. Using the NCEP-DOE re-analyses (1979–2002) we have determined variables that are proportional to the mean of the wind stress and the mean rate at which mechanical energy is imparted to the surface. Using two decompositions of the wind field we have obtained estimates of how much of these fluxes are contributed to by the transient eddies. We find these to be significant over the sea ice and the ocean to the north, particularly when a new decomposition is used. The presence of frequent and vigorous cyclones is a central factor that determines the positive mean freshwater flux over the sea-ice zone in all seasons. This transfer to the ocean is smallest in summer (0.49 mm day⁻¹) and assumes a maximum of 1.27 mm day⁻¹ in winter.     

Flux-Variance Method for Latent Heat and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in Unstable Conditions

Applied previously to momentum and heat fluxes, the present study extends the flux-variance method to latent heat and CO₂ fluxes in unstable conditions. Scalar similarity is also examined among temperature (θ), water vapour (q), and CO₂ (c). Temperature is adopted as the reference scalar, leading to two feasible strategies to estimate latent heat and CO₂ fluxes: the first one relies on flux-variance similarity relations for scalars, while the second is based on the parameterization of relative transport efficiency in terms of scalar correlation coefficient and a non-dimensional quantity. The relationship between the θ-to-q transport efficiency (λ _{θ q} ) and θ-q correlation coefficient (R _{θ q} ) is used to describe the intermediate hydrological conditions. We also parameterize the θ-to-c transport efficiency (λ _{θ c} ) as a function of the θ-c correlation coefficient (R _{θ c} ) by introducing a new non-dimensional ratio (α). The flux-variance method is a viable technique for flux gap-filling, when turbulence measurements of wind velocity are not available. It is worth noting that the extended method is not exempt from a correction for density effects when used for estimating water or carbon exchange.     

Stability Effects on Heat and Moisture Fluxes at Sea

During the 1996 ASGAMAGE experiment we measured windspeed, air temperature T_a, watertemperature T_s, humidity and the momentum,heat and moisture fluxes at a research platform offthe Dutch coast. For each quantity we used several(sets of) instruments simultaneously. This allowed usto make an extensive assessment of the quality of themeasurements and to find optimal values for thevarious quantities for each run. From these values wecalculated C_H and C_E, theStanton and Dalton numbers, and reduced them to 10-mheight and neutral conditions. For this reductionwe made a separate analysis for the effect ofinclusion or non-inclusion of the assumption that theroughness length for heat or moisture is the same forthe neutral and non-neutral cases. Differences inthe reduced data due to this assumption turned out tobe well within the measurement error.For C_H we distinguished three separategroups of data: stable (A), unstable with_{a s} (B) and unstablewith thetas;_a > _s (C), with indicating the potential temperature.The stable data separate into two groups, depending onwater temperature and/or the wave field. The data ofgroup B showed a relation with wave age. The data ofgroup C consistently gave negative values forC_H, a result that might indicate conversion oflatent heat into sensible heat through condensation ofwater vapour just above the water surface. An attemptto re-analyse the data in terms of density fluxes,combining the effects of heat and moisture, still gavenegative transfer coefficients for group C.For the moisture flux we found the more conventionalresult of a separation in stable and unstable values;these categories showed a clear difference, but notrends with, for example, wind speed.We conclude that standard Monin-Obukhov similaritytheory cannot explain our data.     

Sensitivity of the Parameterizations of Vertical Mixing and Radiative Heat Fluxes on the Seasonal Evolution of the Thermal Structure of Lake Erie

A sensitivity analysis of the parameterizations of vertical mixing and radiative fluxes on the seasonal evolution of Lake Erie's thermal structure is performed using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) and the General Estuarine Transport Model (GETM). The models have the same horizontal resolution and are forced with observed meteorological data from April to October of 2002 and 2008. For turbid waters like Lake Erie, the three-band model for the parameterization of downward shortwave radiation produces more accurate temperatures in the thermocline and less error in simulating the mixed-layer depths than the widely used two-band model. Although the two models differ in vertical and horizontal mixing, numerical methods, and vertical discretization, they produced qualitatively comparable results. Comparison with observations shows that the models can reproduce the time evolution of the lake temperature reasonably well. The MITgcm and the GETM with the Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 (MY2.5) closure produce a deeper mixed layer than observed at a station located in the eastern basin, causing large errors in simulating the temperature in the thermocline while the GETM, using a turbulence scheme called “gen,” reproduces a mixed layer in better agreement with observations. The mixed-layer obtained with the k-ε closure is between those obtained with gen and MY2.5. The error in simulating the mixed-layer depths and the thermocline temperature at a station located in the central basin using the gen closure and the GETM was about 2°C lower than that obtained by the K-Profile Parameterization mixing scheme of the MITgcm. The models simulated a lake-wide anticyclonic circulation occupying the southwest part of the central basin but showed distinct differences in simulating gyres in the northwestern part of the central basin and in the eastern basin of the lake. The signature of a basin-scale Poincaré wave observed in the current data is also well represented by the two models.     

不稳定层结下的热岛环流

采用对数压力坐标系的大气热力、动力方程组,分析了由于城市的加热和摩擦作用,在大气层结不稳定情况下的热岛环流,给出了表征热岛基本特征的垂直运动,水平运动和温度场的空间结构,从理论上证实了热岛环流在不稳定城市边界层中存在的可能性,并得出了如下主要结论：(1) 垂直运动在市区是上升运动,在郊区是下沉运动,在低层z=150m处有一闭合中心;(2) 流场在市区上空呈一层波动,波谷在上风区,波峰在下风区,波长为城市半宽的4倍;(3) 地面的高温区出现在城市的下风区,且无逆温层出现。     

干旱及半干旱地区地表能量通量的卫星遥感参数化

对干旱及半干旱地区非均匀地表区域地表能量通量的研究是一个十分重要但又是一个难点问题。作者提出了一个基于卫星遥感和地面观测的参数化方案,并把其用于中国西北地区“我国重大气候和天气灾害形成和预测理论的研究”(国家重点基础研究发展规划项目G1998040900,1999-2003)的“敦煌试验”区和“黑河试验”(HEIFE,1989-1994)区,并利用4个景(“敦煌试验区”:2000年6月3日-初夏、2000年8月22日-夏末和2001年1月29日-冬天:“黑河试验”区:1991年7月9日-夏季)的陆地资源卫星Landsat5 TM和Landsat-7 TM资料进行了分析研究,得到了有关干旱及半干旱地区非均匀地表区域地表特征参数、植被参数和地表能量通量的分布图像。最后还讨论了参数化方案的适用范围和需改进之处。     

Variance Method to Determine Turbulent Fluxes of Momentum And Sensible Heat in The Stable Atmospheric Surface Layer

Evidence is presented that in the stable atmospheric surface layer turbulent fluxes of heat and momentum can be determined from the standard deviations of longitudinal wind velocity and temperature, σ _u and σ _T respectively, measured at a single level. An attractive aspect of this method is that it yields fluxes from measurements that can be obtained with two-dimensional sonic anemometers. These instruments are increasingly being used at official weather stations, where they replace the standard cup anemometer–wind vane system. With methods such as the one described in this note, a widespread, good quality, flux network can be established, which would greatly benefit the modelling community. It is shown that a ‘variance’ dimensionless height (ζ _σ) defined from σ _u and σ _T is highly related to the ‘conventional’ dimensionless stability parameter ζ=z/L, where z is height and L is the Obukhov length. Empirical functions for ζ _σ are proposed that allow direct calculation of heat and momentum fluxes from σ _u and σ _T. The method performs fairly well also during a night of intermittent turbulence.     

Evaluation of the CAM and PX Surface Layer Parameterization Schemes for Momentum and Sensible Heat Fluxes Using Observations

In this study, the performances of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) and Pleim–Xiu (PX) surface layer parameterization schemes are investigated by using field observations. The parameterization schemes are evaluated against continuous momentum and sensible heat flux observations measured at two flat and homogeneous grassland sites in the suburb of Nanjing, eastern China. The observations were conducted from 30 December 2014 to 18 April 2017 at Jiangxinzhou and from 9 February 2015 to 26 March 2018 at Jiangning. It is found that the momentum flux is overall in good agreement with the observation, and the sensible heat flux is overestimated. The parameterizations of the momentum and sensible heat fluxes well capture the diurnal and seasonal patterns seen in the observations at the two sites. At Jiangxinzhou, the PX parameterization underestimates the momentum flux throughout the day and the CAM parameterization slightly overestimates it around the noon, while they underestimate the momentum flux throughout the year. The two parameterizations overestimate the sensible heat flux in the daytime as well as over the entire year. At Jiangning, the two parameterizations overestimate the momentum flux throughout the day and the sensible heat flux in the daytime, and overestimate both of them over the entire year. The two parameterizations are not significantly different from each other in reproducing the turbulent fluxes at the same site, while they perform differently at the two sites in terms of statistics. In addition, the parameterized fluxes increase with increased roughness length.     

Diurnal and Seasonal Variations of Thermal Stratification and Vertical Mixing in a Shallow Fresh Water Lake

Among several influential factors, the geographical position and depth of a lake determine its thermal structure. In temperate zones, shallow lakes show significant differences in thermal stratification compared to deep lakes. Here, the variation in thermal stratification in Lake Taihu, a shallow fresh water lake, is studied systematically. Lake Taihu is a warm polymictic lake whose thermal stratification varies in short cycles of one day to a few days. The thermal stratification in Lake Taihu has shallow depths in the upper region and a large amplitude in the temperature gradient, the maximum of which exceeds 5°C m^–1. The water temperature in the entire layer changes in a relatively consistent manner. Therefore, compared to a deep lake at similar latitude, the thermal stratification in Lake Taihu exhibits small seasonal differences, but the wide variation in the short term becomes important. Shallow polymictic lakes share the characteristic of diurnal mixing. Prominent differences on the duration and frequency of long-lasting thermal stratification are found in these lakes, which may result from the differences of local climate, lake depth, and fetch. A prominent response of thermal stratification to weather conditions is found, being controlled by the stratifying effect of solar radiation and the mixing effect of wind disturbance. Other than the diurnal stratification and convection, the representative responses of thermal stratification to these two factors with contrary effects are also discussed. When solar radiation increases, stronger wind is required to prevent the lake from becoming stratified. A daily average wind speed greater than 6 m s^–1 can maintain the mixed state in Lake Taihu. Moreover, wind-induced convection is detected during thermal stratification. Due to lack of solar radiation, convection occurs more easily in nighttime than in daytime. Convection occurs frequently in fall and winter, whereas long-lasting and stable stratification causes less convection in summer.     

The Effects of Thermal Stratification on Clustering Properties of Canopy Turbulence

The intermittent structure of turbulence within the canopy sublayer (CSL) is sensitive to the presence of foliage and to the atmospheric stability regime. How much of this intermittency originates from amplitude variability or clustering properties remains a vexing research problem for CSL flows. Using a five-level set of measurements collected within a dense hardwood canopy, the clustering properties of CSL turbulence and their dependence on atmospheric stability are explored using the telegraphic approximation (TA). The binary structure of the TA removes any amplitude variability from turbulent excursions but retains their zero-crossing behaviour, and thereby isolating the role of clustering in intermittency. A relationship between the spectral exponents of the actual and the TA series is derived across a wide range of atmospheric stability regimes and for several flow variables. This relationship is shown to be consistent with a relationship derived for long-memory and monofractal processes such as fractional Brownian motion (fBm). Moreover, it is demonstrated that for the longitudinal and vertical velocity components, the vegetation does not appreciably alter fine-scale clustering but atmospheric stability does. Stable atmospheric stability conditions is characterized by more fine scale clustering when compared to other atmospheric stability regimes. For scalars, fine-scale clustering above the canopy is similar to its velocity counterpart but is significantly increased inside the canopy, especially under stable stratification. Using simplified scaling analysis, it is demonstrated that clustering is much more connected to space than to time within the CSL. When comparing intermittency for flow variables and their TA series, it is shown that for velocity, amplitude variations modulate intermittency for all stability regimes. However, amplitude variations play only a minor role in scalar intermittency. Within the crown region of the canopy, a ‘double regime’ emerges in the inter-pulse duration probability distributions not observed in classical turbulence studies away from boundaries. The double regime is characterized by a power-law distribution for shorter inter-pulse periods and a log-normal distribution for large inter-pulse periods. The co-existence of these two regimes is shown to be consistent with near-field/far-field scaling arguments. In the near-field, short inter-pulse periods are controlled by the source strength, while in the far-field long inter-pulse periods are less affected by the precise source strength details and more affected by the transport properties of the background turbulence.     

A Spatially-Analytical Scheme for Surface Temperatures and Conductive Heat Fluxes in Urban Canopy Models

In the urban environment, surface temperatures and conductive heat fluxes through solid media (roofs, walls, roads and vegetated surfaces) are of paramount importance for the comfort of residents (indoors) and for microclimatic conditions (outdoors). Fully discrete numerical methods are currently used to model heat transfer in these solid media in parametrisations of built surfaces commonly used in weather prediction models. These discrete methods usually use finite difference schemes in both space and time. We propose a spatially-analytical scheme where the temperature field and conductive heat fluxes are solved analytically in space. Spurious numerical oscillations due to temperature discontinuities at the sublayer interfaces can be avoided since the method does not involve spatial discretisation. The proposed method is compared to the fully discrete method for a test case of one-dimensional heat conduction with sinusoidal forcing. Subsequently, the analytical scheme is incorporated into the offline version of the current urban canopy model (UCM) used in the Weather Research and Forecasting model and the new UCM is validated against field measurements using a wireless sensor network and other supporting measurements over a suburban area under real-world conditions. Results of the comparison clearly show the advantage of the proposed scheme over the fully discrete model, particularly for more complicated cases.