Turbulent transfer at the ground: On verification of a simple predictive model

Observations on heat transfer from ground-based plates and evaporation from free water surfaces in the laboratory and in the field are compared with predictions from a simple model. The model relates the convective transfer coefficient (or boundary-layer resistance) at any point on a surface to the momentum transfer (friction velocity) in the boundary layer immediately above it and should be applicable to practically any soil surface, open or vegetated.Heat-transfer data showed a standard deviation of 25%; between predictions and observations. Evaporation data provided only order-of-magnitude confirmation of the model because of uncertainty in effective water vapor density above small free-water surfaces.