An Approach for Estimating Kinematic Heat Flux Loss due to Air-parcel Expansion/Compression in the Surface Layer

Alternative equations are proposed to estimate kinematic heat flux loss as results of air-parcel expansion/compression in the surface layer using eddy covariance data. This loss is equivalent to the expansion work as air parcels rise from the surface to the level of eddy covariance measurements. The equations are then applied to data collected over three different underlying surfaces (a mature black spruce forest and a aspen forest in Interior Alaska and a grassland in Mississippi). The results show that this lost kinematic heat flux can be up to 10-15% of the total kinematic heat flux that is sheded from the surfaces to the atmosphere. This loss may have significant implications for some situations that use the form of the kinematic heat flux.