Surface energy balance at a tropical station

Summary Studies of various fluxes, namely net radiation, soil heat, sensible heat and latent heat observed at a tropical station are presented in this paper. The time variation of these fluxes are examined in relation to various meteorological parameters and atmospheric conditions. The turbulent transfer coefficients have been evaluated to examine the applicability of the classical theory or the non-equivalence theory for eddy transport in the lower layers of the atmosphere. The energy balance at a tropical station is evaluated. It is found over year there is a net surplus of 94,000 ly. A detailed discussion of the disposal of this energy by various consuming processes is given.Symbols and notation All the quantities represented by symbols in the text of the paper are defined below C _p specific heat at constant pressure in cal. g^–1 °K - E evaporation in g cm^–2 hr^–1 - E ^* evaporative heat flux cal. cm^–2 sec^–1 (in Eq. 10) - e vapour pressure in millibars - e _z ,e _2z vapour pressure at heightsz and 2z - g acceleration due to gravity - H sensible heat flux cal cm^–2 sec^–1 (in Eq. 12) - K _M ,K _H ,K _W coefficients of eddy diffusivities of momentum, heat, and water vapour respectively in cm² sec^–1 - k von Karman' constant=0.4 - L Monin-Obukhov length (according to Monin and Obukhov [53] the structure of the turbulent boundary layer is determined by the non-dimensional variableZ/L whereL is defined byL=–(u _* ³ C _p T)/(kgH) - ly langleys - Q _c Q—sensible heat flux in langleys (in Eqs. 3 and 4) - Q _e E—latent heat flux in langleys (in Eqs. 3 and 4) - Q _s S—soil heat flux in langleys (in Eqs. 3 and 4) - Q _i Q _c +Q _e +Q _s whenK _M K _H K _W , (in Eq. 6) - Q' _i Q' _c +Q' _e +Q _s whenK _M =K _H =K _W (in Eq. 7) - qq mean specific humidity g kg^–1     

Land Surface Layer Characteristics During Monsoon at a Tropical Station

—The atmospheric surface layer over land may behave differently in the tropics, particu larly during the monsoon. A preliminary attempt is made to observe the behavior of surface layer characteristics such as fluxes of momentum, sensible heat and latent heat, friction velocity, friction temperature, M-O length scale, Richardson number and Bowen’s ratio over Kharagpur (22°20′N, 87°18′E), a typical moist tropical station. The diurnal and day-to-day variations have been studied. It is observed that during the active phase of the monsoon the sensible heat flux and Bowen’s ratio are low. The diurnal variation is apparent for most parameters. Mostly near neutral conditions are observed.     

Variations in Concentrations and Fluxes of Dimethylsulfide (DMS) from the Indian Estuaries

In order to examine the variations in concentrations of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and its fluxes to the atmosphere, 25 major and medium estuaries from Indian subcontinent were sampled during wet and dry periods. River discharge brought substantial amount of nutrients and suspended particulate matter (SPM) to the Indian estuaries; however, the concentration of phytoplankton biomass was severely limited by latter due to shallowing of photic depth. Bacillariophyceae was the dominant phytoplankton group in the Indian estuaries followed by green algae, Cyanophyceae, and Dinophyceae. Relatively higher concentrations of DMS were observed in the estuaries located along the east (3.6 ± 5.7 nM) than the west coast of India (0.8 ± 0.3 nM) during wet period whereas no significant differences were observed during dry period. The concentrations of DMS were significantly lower during wet than dry period and it was consistent with the phytoplankton biomass. The slope of the relation between DMS and phytoplankton biomass displayed a significant spatial variation due to contribution of different groups of phytoplankton in the Indian estuaries. The concentrations of DMS in the Indian estuaries were higher than other estuaries in the world except some Chinese estuaries. The annual mean flux (1.95 ± 2.5 μmol m^?2 day^?1) from the Indian estuaries is lower than that of other estuaries in the world, except Pearl River estuary due to inhibition of phytoplankton growth by suspended load and low flushing rates.     

Atmospheric surface layer parameters during different phases of monsoon over Varanasi from MONTBLEX-90

The fast and slow response data (8 Hz and 1 Hz respectively), obtained from the MONTBLEX-90 programme, are analysed for computing various surface layer parameters and the fluxes of sensible heat and momentum. In the present paper these fluxes, the Monin-Obukhov length scale (L), the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and the intensity of turbulence (σ_w) over Varanasi have been computed during different phases of monsoon such as dry, weak, moderate and active. Typical days are chosen for studying the above-mentioned parameters.     

On the application of the Gaussian model for multiple industrial sources for selected centers in South India

Effective environmental planning is essential for any developing urban region. In the present article, the Gaussian model is applied for multiple industrial sources for the months of January, April, July and October, for the cities Hyderabad, Mangalore and Nagpur, to study the spatial distribution of sulphur dioxide concentration. The validity of the model is tested with the actual observations for two stations.     

The thermal diffusivity of soil at tropical stations in southern hemisphere

Summary The study of heat transfer or temperature changes in the surface layers of the soil are important in agricultural science at tropical latitudes. The quantity, thermal diffusivity largely determines the temperature changes produced in the layer of the soil when heat is conducted there from an adjacent layer. Therefore, the authors have determined the thermal diffusivity of the soil at the sites Arapongas (23.5°S, 51.7°W) and São José dos Campos (23.3°S, 45.8°W), in Brazil (South America), in accordance with the simple theory of periodic heat flow in a one dimensional, semiinfinite, homogeneous medium. The diffusivity increases with the increase of moisture content in the surface layers of the soil. The results of diffusivity obtained from these methods agree well with those of past workers obtained by other techniques.     

Examination of the empirical flux-profile models in the atmospheric surface boundary layer

Values of Richardson number (Ri) and the wind profile Deacon number () in the atmospheric surface layer are evaluated from various experimental data sources. The relationship between Ri and shows some scatter, but gives agreement with the relations derived by the several empirical models available for both unstable and inversion conditions.