Novel Micrometeorological Surface Parameterization Using Physically Based Scaling Variables

Surface parameterizations based on novel scaling parameters were developed, tested on three research experiments, and compared to the Monin-Obuhov similarity theory. Two field campaigns were carried out at Campbell Tract at UC Davis in August and September of 2005, and the second from July to November 2011. The second data set was from the Horizontal Array Turbulence Study (HATS) which we utilized a subset of the data collected from September 1 to 9th of 2000. Dimensionless wind shears based on the standard deviation of the turbulent vertical velocity, and a turbulent kinetic energy defined velocity scale, Φ_Mσw and Φ_MσuTKE respectively, are better at characterizing the stable regime and are far better for the strongly unstable conditions than the conventionally defined dimensionless wind shear based on the friction velocity,Φ_Mσu*. This establishes that direct turbulent velocity measures, rather than the momentum-flux based friction velocity, are superior scaling variables for surface layer dimensional analyses. The same scaling velocities were applied to the dimensionless temperature profile, Φ_Hσwand Φ_HσuTKE, using only the HATS data due to experimental errors in temperature gradient measurements at UC Davis. Richardson numbers, whether defined conventionally or on new scaling variables, were evaluated using the HATS data.