The effect of synoptic-scale advection on the performance of the Priestley-Taylor evaporation formula

Measurements of the appropriate parameters for the calculation of the latent heat flux over a black spruce forest in northern Quebec were carried out in August, 1980. Values of the Priestley-Taylor parameter, , were derived by exploiting the Bowen-ratio-energy-balance (BREB) technique. Derived values of are then related to synoptic-scale warm air advection, derived from surface synoptic charts and tephigrams of the planetary boundary layer. It is found that when warm air advection is present, > 1.26, especially when the surface is wet. When advection enhancement is removed, however, values of approach unity. A new approach to calculating the latent heat flux, when warm air advection is present, is therefore proposed.