Strange attractors in atmospheric boundary-layer turbulence

The possible chaotic nature of the turbulence of the atmospheric boundary layer in and above a decidious forest is investigated. In particular, this work considers high resolution temperature and three-dimensional wind speed measurements, gathered at six alternative elevations at Camp Borden, Ontario, Canada (Shawet al., 1988). The goal is to determine whether these time series may be described (individually) by sets of deterministic nonlinear differential equations, such that: (i) the data's intrinsic (and seemingly random) irregularities are captured by suitable low-dimensional fractal sets (strange attractors), and (ii) the equation's lack of knowledge of initial conditions translates into unpredictable behavior (chaos). Analysis indicates that indeed all series exhibit chaotic behavior, with strange attractors whose (correlation) dimensions range from 4 to 7. These results support the existence of a low-dimensional chaotic attractor in the lower atmosphere.