Estimates of effective surface roughness over complex terrain

Turbulence data collected in an area of three-dimensional complex terrain using instruments atteched to the tether cable of a captive balloon together with radiosonde ascents are presented. In addition, data collected using only radiosonde ascents in an area of two-dimensional complex terrain of large slope are also shown. Eddy correlation measurements of the turbulent momentum flux and wind velocity profiles are used to deduce the magnitude of the effective roughness from the drag coefficient and normalised velocity profiles. A relationship connecting the terrain characteristics and the roughness length is compared with the experimental data for both types of terrain plus previous experimental estimates of the roughness length over complex terrain. The formula taken from previous work by Grant and Mason (1990) is found to agree with the data when representing an area of order 100 km².