This study analyzes turbulent energy fluxes in the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using measurements with a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS). Turbulent fluxes constitute a major part of the atmospheric energy budget and influence the surface heat balance by distributing energy vertically in the atmosphere. However, only few in situ measurements of the vertical profile of turbulent fluxes in the Arctic ABL exist. The study presents a method to derive turbulent heat fluxes from DataHawk2 sUAS turbulence measurements, based on the flux gradient method with a parameterization of the turbulent exchange coefficient. This parameterization is derived from high-resolution horizontal wind speed measurements in combination with formulations for the turbulent Prandtl number and anisotropy depending on stability. Measurements were taken during the MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition in the Arctic sea ice during the melt season of 2020. For three example cases from this campaign, vertical profiles of turbulence parameters and turbulent heat fluxes are presented and compared to balloon-borne, radar, and near-surface measurements. The combination of all measurements draws a consistent picture of ABL conditions and demonstrates the unique potential of the presented method for studying turbulent exchange processes in the vertical ABL profile with sUAS measurements.
Egerer, Ulrike, Cassano, John J., Shupe, Matthew D., et al., "Estimating turbulent energy flux vertical profiles from uncrewed aircraft system measurements: exemplary results for the MOSAiC campaign," Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Online) 16, no. 8 (2023), https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2297-2023
@article{osti_1975662,
author = {Egerer, Ulrike and Cassano, John J. and Shupe, Matthew D. and de Boer, Gijs and Lawrence, Dale and Doddi, Abhiram and Siebert, Holger and Jozef, Gina and Calmer, Radiance and Hamilton, Jonathan and others},
title = {Estimating turbulent energy flux vertical profiles from uncrewed aircraft system measurements: exemplary results for the MOSAiC campaign},
annote = {This study analyzes turbulent energy fluxes in the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using measurements with a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS). Turbulent fluxes constitute a major part of the atmospheric energy budget and influence the surface heat balance by distributing energy vertically in the atmosphere. However, only few in situ measurements of the vertical profile of turbulent fluxes in the Arctic ABL exist. The study presents a method to derive turbulent heat fluxes from DataHawk2 sUAS turbulence measurements, based on the flux gradient method with a parameterization of the turbulent exchange coefficient. This parameterization is derived from high-resolution horizontal wind speed measurements in combination with formulations for the turbulent Prandtl number and anisotropy depending on stability. Measurements were taken during the MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition in the Arctic sea ice during the melt season of 2020. For three example cases from this campaign, vertical profiles of turbulence parameters and turbulent heat fluxes are presented and compared to balloon-borne, radar, and near-surface measurements. The combination of all measurements draws a consistent picture of ABL conditions and demonstrates the unique potential of the presented method for studying turbulent exchange processes in the vertical ABL profile with sUAS measurements.},
doi = {10.5194/amt-16-2297-2023},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1975662},
journal = {Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Online)},
issn = {ISSN 1867-8548},
number = {8},
volume = {16},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Copernicus Publications, EGU},
year = {2023},
month = {05}}
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center; University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Contributing Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Archive, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (US); ARM Data Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)https://doi.org/10.5439/1393437