Vertical and Temporal Distributions of the Heat Conductivity and Flux

Abstract

A numerical scheme was devised to solve the vertical heat diffusion equation for values of the coefficient, K, based solely upon temperatures measured on the 1420-ft Cedar Hill Tower. The computed values of K fall in the approximate range of 103 to 106 cm2 sec?1 and exhibit a diurnal variation of one-half to two orders of magnitude. The vertical distributions are quite variable in form during the day but tend to show a peak lying near or at the ground at night and several hundred meters above the ground during daylight hours. Flux values computed from the K values and temperature gradient for the most part were found to be of the order of 10?3 cal cm?2 sec?1. The almost consistent appearance of negative values of K at certain times of the day indicates periods when other influences dominate turbulent heat transfer.