A Simple Model for the Afternoon and Early Evening Decay of Convective Turbulence Over Different Land Surfaces |
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| Authors: | Daniel F Nadeau Eric R Pardyjak Chad W Higgins Harinda Joseph S Fernando Marc B Parlange |
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| Institution: | 1.School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering,école Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne,Lausanne,Switzerland;2.Department of Mechanical Engineering,University of Utah,Salt Lake City,USA;3.Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences,University of Notre Dame,Notre Dame,USA |
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| Abstract: | A simple model to study the decay of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the convective surface layer is presented. In this
model, the TKE is dependent upon two terms, the turbulent dissipation rate and the surface buoyancy fluctuations. The time
evolution of the surface sensible heat flux is modelled based on fitting functions of actual measurements from the LITFASS-2003
field campaign. These fitting functions carry an amplitude and a time scale. With this approach, the sensible heat flux can
be estimated without having to solve the entire surface energy balance. The period of interest covers two characteristic transition
sub-periods involved in the decay of convective boundary-layer turbulence. The first sub-period is the afternoon transition,
when the sensible heat flux starts to decrease in response to the reduction in solar radiation. It is typically associated
with a decay rate of TKE of approximately t
−2 (t is time following the start of the decay) after several convective eddy turnover times. The early evening transition is the
second sub-period, typically just before sunset when the surface sensible heat flux becomes negative. This sub-period is characterized
by an abrupt decay in TKE associated with the rapid collapse of turbulence. Overall, the results presented show a significant
improvement of the modelled TKE decay when compared to the often applied assumption of a sensible heat flux decreasing instantaneously
or with a very short forcing time scale. In addition, for atmospheric modelling studies, it is suggested that the afternoon
and early evening decay of sensible heat flux be modelled as a complementary error function. |
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