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Effect of Surface Heterogeneity on the Boundary-Layer Height: A Case Study at a Semi-Arid Forest

Journal Article · · Boundary-Layer Meteorology
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [1]
  1. Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany). Inst. of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU)
  2. Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany). Inst. of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  3. Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovot (Israel). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Faculty of Chemistry

Here, we investigate the effects of an isolated meso-$$\gamma$$-scale surface heterogeneity for roughness and albedo on the atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) height, with a case study at a semi-arid forest surrounded by sparse shrubland (forest area: 28 km2, forest length in the main wind direction: 7 km). Doppler lidar and ceilometer measurements at this semi-arid forest show an increase in the ABL height over the forest compared with the shrubland on four out of eight days. The differences in the ABL height between shrubland and forest are explained for all days with a model that assumes a linear growth of the internal boundary layer of the forest through the convective ABL upwind of the forest followed by a square-root growth into the stable free atmosphere. For the environmental conditions that existed during our measurements, the increase in ABL height due to large sensible heat fluxes from the forest (600 W~m-2 in summer) is subdued by stable stratification in the free atmosphere above the ABL, or reduced by high wind speeds in the mixed layer.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; German Research Foundation (DFG); Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres; Israel Science Foundation (ISF); Jewish National Fund Keren Kayemet Leisrael (JNF-KKL)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1467258
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--17-22652
Journal Information:
Boundary-Layer Meteorology, Journal Name: Boundary-Layer Meteorology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 169; ISSN 0006-8314
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (3)

Effect of Secondary Circulations on the Surface–Atmosphere Exchange of Energy at an Isolated Semi-arid Forest journal July 2018
Turbulent transport of energy across a forest and a semiarid shrubland journal January 2018
Turbulent transport of energy across a forest and a semiarid shrubland text January 2018

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