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Abstract Observational data from two field campaigns in the Amazon forest were used to study the vertical structure of turbulence above the forest. The analysis was performed using the reduced turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget and its associated two-dimensional phase space. Results revealed the existence of two regions within the roughness sublayer in which the TKE budget cannot be explained by the canonical flat-terrain TKE budgets in the canopy roughness sublayer or in the lower portion of the convective ABL. Data analysis also suggested that deviations from horizontal homogeneity have a large contribution to the TKE budget. Results from LES of a model canopy over idealized topography presented similar features, leading to the conclusion that flow distortions caused by topography are responsible for the observed features in the TKE budget. These results support the conclusion that the boundary layer above the Amazon forest is strongly impacted by the gentle topography underneath. 

Abstract The interpretation of tower‐based eddy‐covariance (EC) turbulent flux measurements above forests hinges on three key assumptions: (1) steadiness in the flow statistics, (2) planar homogeneity of scalar sources or sinks, and (3) planar homogeneity in the flow statistics. Large eddy simulations (LESs) were used to control the first two so as to explore the break‐down of the third for idealized and real gentle topography such as those encountered in Amazonia. The LES runs were conducted using uniformly distributed sources inside homogeneous forests covering complex terrain to link the spatial patterns of scalar turbulent fluxes to topographic features. Results showed strong modulation of the fluxes by flow features induced by topography, including large area with negative fluxes compensating “chimney” regions with fluxes almost an order of magnitude larger than the landscape flux. Significant spatial heterogeneity persisted up to at least two canopy heights, where most eddy‐covariance measurements are performed above tall forests. A heterogeneity index was introduced to characterize and contrast different scenarios, and a topography categorization was shown to have predictive capabilities in identifying regions of negative and enhanced fluxes. 

The significance of air flow within dense canopies situated on hilly terrain is not in dispute given its relevance to a plethora of applications in meteorology, wind energy, air pollution, atmospheric chemistry and ecology. While the mathematical description of such flows is complex, progress has proceeded through an interplay between experiments, mathematical modelling, and more recently large‐eddy simulations (LESs). In this contribution, LES is used to investigate the topography‐induced changes in the flow field and how these changes propagate to scalar transport within the canopy. The LES runs are conducted for a neutral atmospheric boundary layer above a tall dense forested canopy situated on a train of two‐dimensional sinusoidal hills. The foliage distribution is specified using leaf area density measurements collected in an Amazon rain forest. A series of LES runs with increasing hill amplitude are conducted to disturb the flow from its flat‐terrain state. The LES runs successfully reproduce the recirculation region and the flow separation on the lee‐side of the hill within the canopy region in agreement with prior laboratory and LES studies. Simulation results show that air parcels released inside the canopy have two preferential pathways to escape the canopy region: a “local” pathway similar to that encountered in flat terrain and an “advective” pathway near the flow‐separation region. Further analysis shows that the preferential escape location over the flow‐separation region leads to a “chimney”‐like effect that becomes amplified for air parcel releases near the forest floor. The work here demonstrates that shear‐layer turbulence is the main mechanism exporting air parcels out the canopy for both pathways. However, compared to flat terrain, the mean updraught at the flow separation induced by topography significantly shortens the in‐canopy residence time for air parcels released in the lower canopy, thus enhancing the export fraction of reactive gases.