Surface Flux Parameterization in the Tibetan Plateau

This study investigates some basic aspects related to surface-flux parameterization in the Tibetan Plateau, based on the measurement at three sites. These sites are essentially flat and covered by very sparse and short grasses in the monsoon season. The main contributions include: (1) an optimization technique is proposed to estimate aerodynamic roughness length based on wind and temperature profiles. The approach is not sensitive to random measurement errors if the number of data samples is large enough. The optimized values reasonably vary with surface characteristics. (2) At the three sites, kB^-1 (the logarithm of the ratio of aerodynamic roughness length to thermal roughness length) experiences seasonal and diurnal variations in addition to a dependence on surface types. The mean values for the individual sites vary over a range of 2.7 to 6.4 with large standard deviations. (3) A formula for estimatingthe value of kB^-1 isproposed to account for the effect of seasonal variation of aerodynamic roughness length and diurnal variation of surface temperature. With the formula, the flux parameterization with surface temperature estimates sensible heat flux better than profile parameterization for all the sites.     

一种描述结构面剖面线粗糙度的新方法

采用法向矢量单位圆描述结构面剖面线粗糙度,从各微分段的角度关系阐述粗糙度,进而将二维问题转化为一维问题处理并提出"角度粗糙度"的概念.考虑到各微分段的实际长度对粗糙度的贡献,采用加权均值与加权方差定量描述角度粗糙度;角度粗糙度越大表明该剖面越粗糙.对规则剖面线与不规则剖面线采用"角度粗糙度"进行描述,所得结果跟已有的剖...     

岩体断裂粗糙度系数的各向异性研究

本文首次提出了断裂粗糙度系数的各向异性和粗糙度系数尺寸效应的各向异性概念。根据不同成因断裂表面形态的定性分析结果,结合2180个不同方向粗糙度系数实测值的统计结果,系统地阐述了Ⅰ型断裂(节理)和Ⅱ、Ⅲ型断裂(断层)粗糙度系数及粗糙度系数尺寸效应的各向异性规律。     

Weathering history of an exposed bedrock fault surface interpreted from its topography

Morphologic features of bedrock fault scarps are underutilized in studying faulting and weathering history, partly because of a lack of accurate quantitative parameters for topography. The study employs ground-based LiDAR to measure five patches at different levels on the same fault surface and then calculates roughness in the form of power spectral density in directions parallel and perpendicular to the slip. The power spectral density and spatial frequency typically follow a power law for each fault patch, showing approximately linear relationships in a log–log plot. However, due to additional power introduced by weathering, all spectral curves, especially those parallel to the slip, can be divided into two segments, lower-frequency (wavelengths of several centimeters – several meters) and higher-frequency (wavelengths of several centimeters and below) domains. This shows that the topographic features at different spatial scales are dominated by different mechanical processes: faulting abrasion in the lower-frequency domain and the weathering process in the higher-frequency domain. Moreover, we develop two parameters to quantify the degree of weathering of a fault outcrop, which is significant to describe the evolution of the fault-scarp and infer the date of faulting under calibration.     

Local scour around two side-by-side cylindrical bridge piers under ice-covered conditions

In the current study, 108 flume experiments with non-uniform, cohesionless sediments have been done to investigate the local scour process around four pairs of side-by-side bridge piers under both open channel and ice-covered flow conditions. Similar to local scour around bridge piers under open channel conditions and a single bridge pier, it was observed in the experiments that the maximum scour depth always occurred at the upstream face of the pier under ice-covered conditions. Further, the smaller the pier size and the greater the spacing distance between the bridge piers, the weaker the horseshoe vortices around the bridge piers, and, thus, the shallower the scour holes around them. Finally, empirical equations were developed to estimate the maximum scour depth around two side-by-side bridge piers under both open channel and ice-covered flow conditions.     

Modelling The Mean Velocity Profile In The Urban Canopy Layer

A simple model originally derived for meanwind speed profiles in vegetative canopy flows ismodified for application to arrays ofthree-dimensional surface obstacles (cubes), whichcould be representative of a simple urban-typesurface. It is shown that for cube arrays that arenot too densely packed, the predicted exponentialvelocity profile provides an adequate fit to thespatially averaged velocity profile (u(z))within the obstacle canopy. Application of the model to a set of wind-tunnel dataallows for the evaluation of an empirical fittingparameter called the attenuation coefficient. This isrelated to the turbulence length scale, which can befound by manipulating the results of thegradient-diffusion model used to derive the velocityprofile. The results show a reduction of theturbulence length scale with increasing obstaclepacking density. By assuming a linear transition fromthis length scale at the top of the canopy to theclassical Prandtl length scale in the overlyinginertial sublayer, an acceptable model is obtained forthe full velocity profile within simple obstaclearrays, from the ground up to the overlyingsemi-logarithmic region.     

Determination of the Drag Coefficient over the Tibetan Plateau

In this paper,a preliminary study is given on the drag (i.e.bulk transfer for momentum) coefficient,on the basis of data from four sets of AWS in Tibet during the first observational year from July 1993 to July 1994 according to China Japan Asian Monsoon Cooperative Research Program.The results show that the drag coefficient over the Tibetan Plateau is 3.3 to 4.4×103.In addition,monthly and diurnal variations of drag coefficient and the relationship among the drag coefficients and the bulk Richardson number,surface roughness length and wind speed at 10 m height are discussed in detail.     

Effective Roughness Calculated from Satellite-Derived Land Cover Maps and Hedge-Information used in a Weather Forecasting Model

In numerical weather prediction, climate and hydrologicalmodelling, the grid cell size is typically larger than the horizontal length scales of variations in aerodynamicroughness, surface temperature and surface humidity. These local land cover variations give rise to sub-gridscale surface flux differences. Especially the roughness variations can give a significantly differentvalue between the equilibrium roughness in each of the patches as compared to the aggregated roughness value,the so-called effective roughness, for the grid cell. The effective roughness is a quantity that secures thephysics to be well-described in any large-scale model. A method of aggregating the roughness step changesin arbitrary real terrain has been applied in flat terrain (Denmark) where sub-grid scale vegetation-drivenroughness variations are a dominant characteristic of the landscape. The aggregation model is a physicaltwo-dimensional atmospheric flow model in the horizontal domain based on a linearized version of theNavier Stoke equation. The equations are solved by the Fast Fourier Transformation technique, hence the codeis very fast. The new effective roughness maps have been used in the HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model(HIRLAM) weather forecasting model and the weather prediction results are compared for a number of casesto synoptic and other observations with improved agreement above the predictions based on currentstandard input. Typical seasonal springtime bias on forecasted winds over land of +0.5 m s^-1 and-0.2 m s^-1 in coastal areas is reduced by use of the effective roughness maps.     

Stability Dependence of Height Scales and Effective Roughness Lengths of Momentum and Heat Transfer Over Roughness Changes

It is widely accepted that the correct formulation of an effective roughness length, defined as the area average of the roughness length in heterogeneous terrain, relies upon the appropriate de-termination of a height scale. At this height a meteorological quantity is approximately in equilibrium with local surface conditions and independent of horizontal position. This research note determines explicitly the different height scales from the perturbation solutions of flow velocity and temperature, as well as the fluxes of momentum and heat, in a stratified boundary layer. These solutions are derived from the asymptotic approximation theory and shown to capture major characteristics of momentum and heat transfer over heterogeneous terrain with changes of the underlying roughness lengths. The effective roughness lengths can then be computed by use of these height scales. The dependence of height scales and effective roughness lengths upon stratification is also discussed briefly.