Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Scalar Flux Profiles in the Unstable Atmospheric Surface Layer Under the Influence of Large Eddies: Implications for Eddy Covariance Flux Measurements and the Non‐Closure Problem

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106649· OSTI ID:2274707
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [6]
  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Washington State University Pullman WA USA
  2. Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of the Causes and Control of Atmospheric Pollution/School of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering East China University of Technology Nanchang China
  3. Environmental Modeling Center Lynker NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction College Park MD USA
  4. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Wisconsin‐Madison Madison WI USA
  5. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Northeastern University Boston MA USA, Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
  6. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Duke University Durham NC USA
+ Show Author Affiliations
Abstract

How convective boundary‐layer (CBL) processes modify fluxes of sensible ( SH ) and latent ( LH ) heat and CO 2 ( F c ) in the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) remains a recalcitrant problem. Here, large eddy simulations for the CBL show that while SH in the ASL decreases linearly with height regardless of soil moisture conditions, LH and F c decrease linearly with height over wet soils but increase with height over dry soils. This varying flux divergence/convergence is regulated by changes in asymmetric flux transport between top‐down and bottom‐up processes. Such flux divergence and convergence indicate that turbulent fluxes measured in the ASL underestimate and overestimate the “true” surface interfacial fluxes, respectively. While the non‐closure of the surface energy balance persists across all soil moisture states, it improves over drier soils due to overestimated LH . The non‐closure does not imply that F c is always underestimated; F c can be overestimated over dry soils despite the non‐closure issue.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0022072
OSTI ID:
2274707
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2274708
OSTI ID: 2577949
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 51; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (38)

Large eddies modulating flux convergence and divergence in a disturbed unstable atmospheric surface layer: LARGE EDDIES MODULATING FLUX journal February 2016
Intrinsic Constraints on Asymmetric Turbulent Transport of Scalars Within the Constant Flux Layer of the Lower Atmosphere: CONSTANT FLUX LAYER journal February 2018
The non-local character of turbulence asymmetry in the convective atmospheric boundary layer: Turbulence Asymmetry in CABL
  • Ghannam, Khaled; Duman, Tomer; Salesky, Scott T.
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 143, Issue 702 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2937
journal December 2016
Moisture statistics in free convective boundary layers growing into linearly stratified atmospheres: Moisture Statistics in Free Convection
  • Mellado, Juan Pedro; Puche, Marc; van Heerwaarden, Chiel C.
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 143, Issue 707 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3095
journal July 2017
An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology book January 1988
A grid nesting method for large-eddy simulation of planetary boundary-layer flows journal July 1996
The Energy Balance Experiment EBEX-2000. Part I: overview and energy balance journal March 2007
A Modelling Study of Flux Imbalance and the Influence of Entrainment in the Convective Boundary Layer journal December 2007
Dissimilarity of Scalar Transport in the Convective Boundary Layer in Inhomogeneous Landscapes journal February 2009
Coherent Structures and the Dissimilarity of Turbulent Transport of Momentum and Scalars in the Unstable Atmospheric Surface Layer journal April 2011
Near-Surface Effects of Free Atmosphere Stratification in Free Convection journal November 2015
Can Data Mining Help Eddy Covariance See the Landscape? A Large-Eddy Simulation Study journal April 2020
Surface-Energy-Balance Closure over Land: A Review journal May 2020
A data-driven analysis of energy balance closure across FLUXNET research sites: The role of landscape scale heterogeneity journal April 2013
Integrating continuous atmospheric boundary layer and tower-based flux measurements to advance understanding of land-atmosphere interactions journal September 2021
Direct partitioning of eddy-covariance water and carbon dioxide fluxes into ground and plant components journal March 2022
Energy balance closure at FLUXNET sites journal December 2002
Turbulence in the Atmosphere book January 2010
Analysis of Monin–Obukhov similarity from large-eddy simulation journal August 1997
The Ejection-Sweep Character of Scalar Fluxes in the Unstable Surface Layer journal April 1997
LES Study of the Energy Imbalance Problem with Eddy Covariance Fluxes journal March 2004
Entrainment and budgets of heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide in a convective boundary layer driven by time-varying forcing journal March 2011
Non‐Closure of Surface Energy Balance Linked to Asymmetric Turbulent Transport of Scalars by Large Eddies journal April 2021
Varying Partitioning of Surface Turbulent Fluxes Regulates Temperature‐Humidity Dissimilarity in the Convective Atmospheric Boundary Layer journal November 2021
Mean-velocity profile of smooth channel flow explained by a cospectral budget model with wall-blockage journal March 2016
Non-closure of the surface energy balance explained by phase difference between vertical velocity and scalars of large atmospheric eddies journal March 2017
Mechanistic links between underestimated CO 2 fluxes and non-closure of the surface energy balance in a semi-arid sagebrush ecosystem journal April 2019
Modeling the 24-Hour Evolution of the Mean and Turbulent Structures of the Planetary Boundary Layer journal October 1978
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Diffusion of a Scalar in the Convective Boundary Layer journal January 1984
A Large-Eddy-Simulation Model for the Study of Planetary Boundary-Layer Turbulence journal July 1984
Results Of A Panel Discussion About The Energy Balance Closure Correction For Trace Gases journal April 2011
Connecting Land–Atmosphere Interactions to Surface Heterogeneity in CHEESEHEAD19 journal February 2021
Implications of Nonlocal Transport and Conditionally Averaged Statistics on Monin–Obukhov Similarity Theory and Townsend’s Attached Eddy Hypothesis journal October 2018
The Influence of Idealized Heterogeneity on Wet and Dry Planetary Boundary Layers Coupled to the Land Surface journal July 2005
The Energy Balance Closure Problem: an Overview journal September 2008
Impact of Surface Heterogeneity on Energy Imbalance: A Study Using LES journal January 2006
The influence of idealized surface heterogeneity on virtual turbulent flux measurements journal January 2018
Scalar flux profiles in the unstable atmospheric surface layer under the influence of large eddies: Implications for eddy covariance flux measurements and the non-closure problem dataset January 2023

Similar Records

Is There a Scalar Atmospheric Surface Layer Within a Convective Boundary Layer? Implications for Flux Measurements
Journal Article · Thu Feb 27 19:00:00 EST 2025 · Geophysical Research Letters · OSTI ID:2530670

Related Subjects

Geology