Search for: All records

The attached-eddy model (AEM) predicts that the mean streamwise velocity and streamwise velocity variance profiles follow a logarithmic shape, while the vertical velocity variance remains invariant with height in the overlap region of high Reynolds number wall-bounded turbulent flows. Moreover, the AEM coefficients are presumed to attain asymptotically constant values at very high Reynolds numbers. Here, the AEM predictions are examined using sonic anemometer measurements in the near-neutral atmospheric surface layer, with a focus on the logarithmic behaviour of the streamwise velocity variance. Utilizing an extensive 210-day dataset collected from a 62 m meteorological tower located in the Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho, USA, the inertial sublayer is first identified by analysing the measured momentum flux and mean velocity profiles. The logarithmic behaviour of the streamwise velocity variance and the associated ‘$$-1$$’ scaling of the streamwise velocity energy spectra are then investigated. The findings indicate that the Townsend–Perry coefficient ($$A_1$$) is influenced by mild non-stationarity that manifests itself as a Reynolds number dependence. After excluding non-stationary runs, and requiring the bulk Reynolds number defined using the atmospheric boundary layer height to be larger than$$4 \times 10^{7}$$, the inferred$$A_1$$converges to values ranging between 1 and 1.25, consistent with laboratory experiments. Furthermore, nine benchmark cases selected through a restrictive quality control reveal a close relation between the ‘$$-1$$’ scaling in the streamwise velocity energy spectrum and the logarithmic behaviour of streamwise velocity variance. However, additional data are required to determine whether the plateau value of the pre-multiplied streamwise velocity energy spectrum is identical to$$A_1$$. 

Abstract Top‐down entrainment shapes the vertical gradients of sensible heat, latent heat, and CO₂fluxes, influencing the interpretation of eddy covariance (EC) measurements in the unstable atmospheric surface layer (ASL). Using large eddy simulations for convective boundary layer flows, we demonstrate that decreased temperature gradients across the entrainment zone increase entrainment fluxes by enhancing the entrainment velocity, amplifying the asymmetry between top‐down and bottom‐up flux contributions. These changes alter scalar flux profiles, causing flux divergence or convergence and leading to the breakdown of the constant flux layer assumption (CFLA) in the ASL. As a result, EC‐measured fluxes either underestimate or overestimate “true” surface fluxes during divergence or convergence phases, contributing to energy balance non‐closure. The varying degrees of the CFLA breakdown are a fundamental cause for the non‐closure issue. These findings highlight the underappreciated role of entrainment in interpreting EC fluxes, addressing non‐closure, and understanding site‐to‐site variability in flux measurements. 

Abstract The measured variations in the turbulent static pressure structure function with scale in the roughness sublayer above a subarctic forest are empirically shown to exhibit exponents that are smaller than predicted for the inertial subrange (ISR). Three hypotheses are offered to explain these deviations. The first is based on conventional intermittency correction to the averaged turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, the second is based on shearing introducing deviations from locally isotropic state that must be sensed by both velocity and pressure structure functions, and the third is based on large and inertial scale pressure interactions that persist at values of within the resolvable ISR. The third hypothesis is shown to yield superior results, which allows a new formulation for to be derived that accommodates such finite interactions. 

Abstract Turbulent flows over a large surface area (S) covered bynobstacles experience an overall drag due to the presence of the ground and the protruding obstacles into the flow. The drag partition between the roughness obstacles and the ground is analyzed using an analytical model proposed by Raupach (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 60:375-395, 1992) and is hereafter referred to as R92. The R92 is based on the premise that the wake behind an isolated roughness element can be described by a shelter areaAand a shelter volumeV. The individual sizes ofAandVwithout any interference from other obstacles can be determined from scaling analysis for the spread of wakes. To upscale from an individual roughness element ton/Selements where wakes may interact, R92 adopted a background stress re-normalizing instead of reducingAorVwith each element addition. This work demonstrates that R92’s approach results in a linear background stress reduction inAandVonly when the ratio ofn/Sis small, due to a low probability of wake interactions. This probabilistic nature suggests that up-scaling from individual to multiple roughness elements can be re-formulated using stochastic averaging methods proposed here. The two approaches are shown to recover R92 under plausible conditions. An alternative scaling for the shelter volume is also proposed here using thermodynamic arguments of work and dissipation though the final outcome remains similar to R92. Comparisons between R92 and available data spanning more than two decades after R92 on blocks and vegetation-like roughness elements confirm the practical utility of R92. The agreement between R92 and this updated databases of experiments and simulations confirm the potential use of R92 in large-scale models provided that the relevant parameters accommodate certain features of the roughness element type (cube versus vegetation-like) and, to a lesser extent, their configuration throughoutS. Last, a comparison between R92 and models based on first-order closure principles with constant mixing length suggests that R92 can outperform such models when evaluated across a wide range of roughness densities. 

The drag coefficient Cd for a rigid and uniformly distributed rod canopy covering a sloping channel following the instantaneous collapse of a dam was examined using flume experiments. The measurements included space x and time t high resolution images of the water surface h(x, t) for multiple channel bed slopes So and water depths behind the dam Ho along with drag estimates provided by sequential load cells. Using these data, an analysis of the Saint-Venant equation (SVE) for the front speed was conducted using the diffusive wave approximation. An inferred Cd=0.4 from the h(x, t) data near the advancing front region, also confirmed by load cell measurements, is much reduced relative to its independently measured steady-uniform flow case. This finding suggests that drag reduction mechanisms associated with transients and flow disturbances are more likely to play a dominant role when compared to conventional sheltering or blocking effects on Cd examined in uniform flow. The increased air volume entrained into the advancing wave front region as determined from an inflow–outflow volume balance partly explains the Cd reduction from unity. 

Abstract Stemflow hydrodynamics is the study of water movement along the exterior surface area of plants. Its primary goal is to describe water velocity and water depth along the stem surface area. Its significance in enriching the rhizosphere with water and nutrients is not in dispute. Yet, the hydrodynamics of stemflow have been entirely overlooked. This review seeks to fill this knowledge gap by drawing from thin film theories to seek outcomes at the tree scale. The depth‐averaged conservation equations of water and solute mass are derived at a point. These equations are then supplemented with the conservation of momentum that is required to describe water velocities or relations between water velocities and water depth. Relevant forces pertinent to momentum conservation are covered and include body forces (gravitational effects), surface forces (wall friction), line forces (surface tension), and inertial effects. The inclusion of surface tension opens new vistas into the richness and complexity of stemflow hydrodynamics. Flow instabilities such as fingering, pinching of water columns into droplets, accumulation of water within fissures due to surface tension and their sudden release are prime examples that link observed spatial patterns of stemflow fronts and morphological characteristics of the bark. Aggregating these effects at the tree‐ and storm‐ scales are featured using published experiments. The review discusses outstanding challenges pertaining to stemflow hydrodynamics, the use of dynamic similarity and 3D printing to enable the interplay between field studies and controlled laboratory experiments. 

Abstract The turbulent static pressure spectrum as a function of longitudinal wavenumber in the roughness sublayer of forested canopies is of interest to a plethora of problems such as pressure transport in the turbulent kinetic energy budget, pressure pumping from snow or forest floor, and coupling between flow within and above canopies. Long term static pressure measurements above a sub‐arctic forested canopy for near‐neutral conditions during the winter and spring were collected and analyzed for three snow cover conditions: trees and ground covered with snow, trees are snow free but the ground is covered with snow, and snow free cover. In all three cases, it is shown that obeys the attached eddy hypothesis at low wavenumbers —with and Kolmogorov scaling in the inertial subrange at higher wavenumbers—with , where is the friction velocity at the canopy top, is the mean turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate, is the distance from the snow top, and is the boundary layer depth. The implications of these two scaling laws to the normalized root‐mean squared pressure and its newly proposed logarithmic scaling with normalized wall‐normal distance are discussed for snow covered and snow free vegetation conditions. The work here also shows that the in the appears more extensive and robust than its longitudinal velocity counterpart.