Surface-Layer Fluxes, Profiles, and Turbulence Measurements over Uniform Terrain under Near-Neutral Conditions

Abstract

An atmospheric surface-layer experiment over a nearly uniform plowed field was performed to determine the constants in the flux-profile similarity formulas, particularly the von Kármán constant. New instruments were constructed to minimize flow distortion effects on the turbulence measurements and to provide high-resolution gradient measurements. In addition, a hot-wire anemometer directly measured the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate. An average value of the von Kármán constant of 0.365 ± 0.015 was obtained from 91 runs (31 h) in near-neutral stability conditions. However, four near-neutral runs when snow covered the ground gave an average value of 0.42. This result suggests that the von Kármán constant depends on the roughness Reynolds number, which may resolve some of the differences in previous determinations over different surfaces. The one-dimensional Kolmogorov inertial subrange constant was found to have a value of 0.54 ± 0.03, slightly larger than previous results. The flux-profile relations for momentum and temperature variance were evaluated, and humidity variance data behaved similarly to temperature. Dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy was found to be less than production under near-neutral conditions, which suggests that turbulent or pressure transport may be significant.