The Characteristics and Parameterization of Aerodynamic Roughness Length over Heterogeneous Surfaces

Aerodynamic roughness length （Z0m） is a key factor in surface flux estimations with remote sensing algorithms and/or land surface models. This paper calculates ZOrn over several land surfaces, with 3 years of experimental data from Xiaotangshan. The results show that Z0m is direction-dependent, mainly due to the heterogeneity of the size and spatial distribution of the roughness elements inside the source area along different wind directions. Furthermore, a heuristic parameterization of the aerodynamic roughness length for heterogeneous surfaces is proposed. Individual Z0m over each surface component （patch） is calculated firstly with the characteristic parameters of the roughness elements （vegetation height, leaf area index, etc.）, then Z0m over the whole experimental field is aggregated, using the footprint weighting method.

On the Determination and Characteristics of Effective Roughness Length for Heterogeneous Terrain

A new method is proposed for the effective roughness length (ERL) in heterogeneous terrain based on the principle of equalisation of momentum or heat fluxes calculated by the drag coefficient parameterization scheme used in the ECMWF numerical model. Compared with the area-weighted logarithmically averaged ERL (drag coefficient), the newly calculated ERL (drag coefficient) is about 40% (16%) larger with a roughness step of 2.3. These differences reach their maximum values when the ratio of smooth to rough surface is 60% to 40%. Since the determination by this method is not sensitive to the atmospheric stratification, it is suitable for use in climate models.

New expressions for the surface roughness length and displacement height in the atmospheric boundary layer

An alternative model for the prediction of surface roughness length is developed. In the model a new factor is introduced to compensate for the effects of wake diffusion and interactions between the wake and roughness obstacles. The experiments are carried out by the use of the hot wire anemometry in the simulated atmospheric boundary layer in a wind tunnel. Based on the experimental data, a new expression for the zero-plane displacement height is proposed for the square arrays of roughness elements, which highlights the influence of free-stream speed on the roughness length. It appears that the displacement height increases with the wind speed while the surface roughness length decreases with Reynolds number increasing. It is shown that the calculation results based on the new expressions are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.

Winter estimation of surface roughness length over eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Based on the Monin-Obulchov similarity theory, a scheme was developed to calculate surface roughness length. Surface roughness length over the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during the winter season was then estimated using the scheme and eddy covariance measurement data. Comparisons of estimated and measured wind speeds show that the scheme is feasible to calculate surface roughness length. The estimated roughness lengths at the measurement site during unfrozen, frozen and melted periods are 3.23x10(-3), 2.27x10(-3) and 1.92x10(-3) m, respectively. Surface roughness length demonstrates a deceasing trend with time during the winter season. Thereby, setting the roughness length to be a constant value in numerical models could lead to certain degree of simulation errors. The variation of surface roughness length may be caused by the change in land surface characteristic.

The impact of heterogeneity of land surface roughness length on estimation of turbulent flux in model

Based on preliminary theoretical analysis and numerical experiment, it is found that land surface heterogeneity plays an important role in the models turbulent flux calculation. In nearly neutral atmosphere conditions, variation coefficient of sub-scale roughness length, cell-average roughness, and reference height are main factors affecting the calculation of grid turbulent fluxes. The first factor has a determinant role on calculation deviation. The relative error generated by roughness heterogeneity could be more than 40% in some cases in certain areas （e.g., in vegetation-climate transition belt）. Selecting a specific reference height may improve the calculation of turbulent flux. In stable or unstable atmosphere conditions, with sensible heat flux as an example, analysis shows that the discrepancy is correlated to the sub-grid distributions of mean wind velocity, potential temperature gradient between land surface and reference levels, and atmosphere stability near surface layer caused by the heterogeneity of land surface roughness. The calculation of turbulent flux is the most sensitive to stability in the above three factors. The above analysis shows that it is necessary to make a further consideration for the calculation deviation of the turbulent fluxes brought from land surface heterogeneity in the present numerical models.

On the surface fluxes characteristics and roughness lengths at Zhongshan station,Antarctica

Over Antarctica,surface fluxes play an important role in the local atmospheric dynamical processes.To reveal the surface fluxes characteristics and aerodynamic and thermal roughness lengths over Zhongshan station,Antarctica,this paper analyzes the data observed at the station during 3 March 2008 through 15 February 2009.It is found that easterlies dominated this site throughout the whole year,with a maximum(average)speed of 25(5.6)m s−1 at 3.9 m height,and the annual maximum(minimum)surface temperature reached 291.05(230.05)K,while the annual maximum(minimum)air-specific humidity was 4.1(0.05)g/kg at 3.9 m height.The maximum(minimum)values of seasonal mean temperature,humidity,each radiation components,sensible and latent heat flux occurred in summer(winter),while for the seasonal averaged wind speed andτthe minimums(maximums)appeared in summer(autumn).After comparing with a partially linear regression method for aerodynamic roughness length and four previous equations that derive thermal roughness length from surface Reynolds number,constant values of aerodynamic roughness length as 3.6×10^(−3)m and thermal roughness length as 1.2×10^(−4)m at this site were validated by using the other three level observations and suggested for future studies.

Surface roughness length dynamic over several different surfaces and its effects on modeling fluxes

Roughness length and zero-plane displacement over three typical surfaces were calculated iteratively by least-square method, which are Yucheng Experimental Station for agriculture surfaces, Qianyanzhou Experimental Station for complex and undulant surfaces, and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station for forest surfaces. On the basis of roughness length dynamic, the effects of roughness length dynamic on fluxes were analyzed with SEBS model. The results indicate that, aerodynamic roughness length changes with vegetation conditions (such as vegetation height, LAI), wind speed, friction velocity and some other factors. In Yucheng and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station, aerodynamic roughness length over the fetch of flux tower changes with vegetation height and LAI obviously, that is, with the increase of LAI, roughness length increases to the peak value firstly, and then decreases. In Qianyanzhou Experimental Station, LAI changes slightly, so the relationship between roughness length and LAI is not obvious. The aerodynamic roughness length of Yucheng and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station changes slightly with wind direction, while aerodynamic roughness length of Qianyanzhou Experimental Station changes obviously with wind direction. The reason for that is the terrain in Yucheng and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station is relatively flat, while in Qianyanzhou Experimental Station the terrain is very undulant and heterogeneous. With the increase of wind speed, aerodynamic roughness length of Yucheng Experimental Station changes slightly, while it decreases obviously in Qianyanzhou Experimental Station and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station. Roughness length dynamic takes great effects on fluxes calculation, and the effects are analyzed by SEBS model. By comparing 1 day averaged roughness length in Yucheng Experimental Station and 5 day averaged roughness length of Qianyanzhou and Changbai Mountains Experimental Station with roughness length parameter chosen by the model, the effects of roughness length dynamic on flux calculation is analyzed. The maximum effect of roughness length dynamic on sensible heat flux is 2.726%, 33.802% and 18.105%, in Yucheng, Qianyanzhou, and Changbai Mountains experimental stations, respectively.

Seasonal and inter-annual variation of surface roughness length and bulk transfer coefficients in a semiarid area

Here we report a multiyear study on the surface roughness length and bulk transfer coefficients over the degraded grassland and cropland surfaces in a semiarid area of China. Eddy covariance measurement and the meteorological profile observation data were used to analyze characteristics of these parameters on the diurnal, seasonal, and annual scales. Significant seasonal and annual variations of the aerodynamic roughness length are observed over the two surfaces. A large variation of kB-1 is measured during the day. Both kB-1 and the bulk transfer coefficients exhibit significant seasonal and annual variations. During the growing season (May to October), average Cd and Ch are 3.1×10-3 and 2.5×10-3 over the degrade grassland surface, and 4.7×10-3 and 3.1×10-3 over the cropland surface respectively. During the non-growing season, average Cd and Ch are 2.3×10-3 and 2.0×10-3 over the degrade grassland surface, and 2.9×10-3 and 2.2×10-3 over the cropland surface respectively.

The Influences of Thermodynamic Characteristics on Aerodynamic Roughness Length over Land Surface

It has previously been shown that aerodynamic roughness length changes significantly along with near- surface atmospheric thermodynamic state; however, at present, this phenomenon remains poorly understood, and very little research concerning this topic has been conducted. In this paper, by using the data of different underlying surfaces provided by the Experimental Co-observation and Integral Research in Semi-arid and Arid Regions over North China, aerodynamic roughness length （z0） values in stable, neutral, and unstable atmospheric stratifications are compared with one another, and the relationship between z0 and atmospheric thermodynamic stability （（） is analyzed. It is found that z0 shows great differences among the stable, neutral, and unstable atmospheric thermodynamic states, with the difference in z0 values between the fully thermodynamic stable condition and the neutral condition reaching 60% of the mean z0. F^trthermore, for the wind speed range in which the wind data are less sensitive to z0, the surface z0 changes more significantly with （, and is highly correlated with both the Monin-Obukhov stability （4o） and the overall Richardson number （Rib）, with both of their correlation coefficients greater than 0.71 and 0.47 in the stable and unstable atmospheric stratification, respectively. The empirical relation fitted with the experimental observations is quite consistent with the Zilitinkevich theoretical relation in the stable atmosphere, but the two are quite distinct and even show opposite variation tendencies in the unstable atmosphere. In application, however, verification of the empirical fitted relations by using the experimental data finds that the fitted relation is slightly more applicable than the Zilitinkevich theoretical relation in stable atmospheric stratification, but it is much more suitable than the Zilitinkevich relation in unstable atmospheric stratification.

Development and test of a multifactorial parameterization scheme of land surface aerodynamic roughness length for flat land surfaces with short vegetation

Aerodynamic roughness length is an important physical parameter in atmospheric numerical models and microme- teorological calculations, the accuracy of which can affect numerical model performance and the level of micrometeorological computations. Many factors influence the aerodynamic roughness length, but formulas for its parameterization often only con- sider the action of a single factor. This limits their adaptive capacity and often introduces considerable errors in the estimation of land surface momentum flux （friction velocity）. In this study, based on research into the parameterization relations between aerodynamic roughness length and influencing factors such as windrow conditions, thermodynamic characteristics of the sur- face layer, natural rhythm of vegetation growth, ecological effects of interannual fluctuations of precipitation, and vegetation type, an aerodynamic roughness length parameterization scheme was established. This considers almost all the factors that af- fect aerodynamic roughness length on flat land surfaces with short vegetation. Furthermore, using many years＇ data recorded at the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University, a comparative analysis of the application of the proposed parameterization scheme and other experimental schemes was performed. It was found that the error in the friction velocity estimated by the proposed parameterization scheme was considerably less than that estimated using a constant aero- dynamic roughness length and by the other parameterization schemes. Compared with the friction velocity estimated using a constant aerodynamic roughness length, the correlation coefficient with the observed friction velocity increased from 0.752 to 0.937, and the standard deviation and deviation decreased by about 20% and 80%, respectively. Its mean value differed from the observed value by only 0.004 m s-l and the relative error was only about 1.6%, which indicates a significant decrease in the estimation error of surface-layer momentum flux. The test results show that the multifactorial universal parameterization scheme of aerodynamic roughness length for flat land surfaces with short vegetation can offer a more scientific parameteriza- tion scheme for numerical atmospheric models.

Surface Roughness Around a 325-m Meteorological Tower and Its Effect on Urban Turbulence

Based on slow- and fast-response measurements under neutral stratification conditions from a 325-m meteorological tower located in a built-up area of north-central Beijing as well as a descriptive survey of surface roughness elements (i.e., buildings and trees) around the tower site, urban roughness lengths, zo, with zero-plane displacement height are estimated using logarithmic wind profile and morphometric methods in eight 45° directional sectors. When comparing their results with each other, the slow-response method tends to give smaller zo values. At a given location, considerable directional variations in values are observed. The effect of surface roughness on urban turbulence characteristics in terms of non-dimensional standard deviations of three-component velocity, σi/u*1 (where i = u, v, w and u*1 is local friction velocity), is investigated.

Observation and Study of Land Surface Parameters over Gobi in Typical Arid Region

According to the need of popular land surface process models, characteristics and rules of some key land surface process and soil parameters over Gobi in typical arid region of Northwest China are analyzed by using the data observed during the intensive observation period of the Dunhuang Land–Surface Process Field Experiment (DLSPFE) (May–June 2000). Using the relative reflection as weighting factor, the weighted mean of the surface albedo over Dunhuang Gobi in typical arid region is calculated and its values are 0.255 ± 0.021. After canceling the interference of the buildings, the mean values of the roughness length averaged with logarithm is 0.0019 ± 0.00071 m. After removing the influence of the oasis, the soil wetness factor computed with data under condition of no precipitation is 0.0045. After removing the influence of the precipitation , the mean values of the soil heat capacity over Dunhuang Gobi in typical arid region is 1.12 × 106 J m−3K−1, a bit smaller than the values observed in HEIFE. But the soil heat diffusivity and conductivity are about one of those observed in HEIFE. The soil water content over Dunhuang Gobi in typical synoptic condition is very little and does not exceed 1% basically.

A Parameterization Scheme of Surface Turbulent Momentum and Sensible Heat over the Gobi Underlying Surface

The parameterization of surface turbulent fluxes over the Gobi Desert in arid regions is studied by using rationally screened observational data. First, the characteristics of Monin-Obukhov similarity functions are analyzed and their empirical formulae are fitted. The results show that fitted curves of changes of similarity functions of wind speed and temperature with stability parameter differ little from the typical empirical curves and are within the ranges of scatter of the empirical curves, but their values in the neutral condition arc different from the typical values to some extent. Furthermore, average values of momentum and scalar (sensible heat) roughness lengths as well as changes of scalar roughness length with friction velocity are determined by utilizing the data. It is found that the average values of scalar roughness length are about one order smaller than that of the momentum roughness length and decrease with increasing friction velocity, but they are evidently larger than their theoretically forecasted values.

Determination of the Drag Coefficient over the Tibetan Plateau

In this paper,a preliminary study is given on the drag (i.e.bulk transfer for momentum) coefficient,on the basis of data from four sets of AWS in Tibet during the first observational year from July 1993 to July 1994 according to China Japan Asian Monsoon Cooperative Research Program.The results show that the drag coefficient over the Tibetan Plateau is 3.3 to 4.4×103.In addition,monthly and diurnal variations of drag coefficient and the relationship among the drag coefficients and the bulk Richardson number,surface roughness length and wind speed at 10 m height are discussed in detail.

Study on the double-logarithmic profile of tidal flow velocity in the near-bed layers

Tidal current velocity profile in the near-bed layers has been widely studied. The results showed that velocity profile in the near-bed layer obviously departure from the traditional logarithmic profile, due to the acceleration or deceleration. Although the logarithmic linear profile can reduce the rate of deviation from this, only it is a lower-order approximate solution. In this paper, considering the unsteady and non-linear features of tidal motion, the double logarithmic profile near-bed layers in estuarine and coastal waters is established on the assumption that the turbulent shear stress along the water depth was parabolic distribution, and on the basis of Prandtl＇s mixing length theory and yon Karman＇s self-similar theory. Having been verified the data observed at the West Solent in the south of England, and comparison of the logarithmic linear profile, it found that the double logarithmic profile is more precious than the latter. At last, the discussed results showed that： （1） The parabolic distribution of the tidal shear stresses verified good by the field data and experimental data, can be better reflected the basic features of the tidal shear stress deviating from linear distribution that is downward when to accelerate, upward when to decelerate. （2） The traditional logarithmic velocity profile is the zero-order approximation solution of the double logarithmic profile, the logarithmic linear profile is the first order, and the logarithmic parabolic profile is the second order. （3） Ignoring the conditions of diffusion and convection in the tida movement, the double logarithmic profile can reflect the tidal properties of acceleration or deceleration, so that the calculation of the friction velocity and roughness length are more reasonable. When the acceleration or the deceleration is about zero, the double logarithmic profile becomes the logarithmic profile.

Characteristic Study of the Boundary Layer Parameters over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal Using the QuikSCAT Dataset

The marine atmospheric boundary layer （MABL） plays a vital role in the transport of momentum and heat from the surface of the ocean into the atmosphere. A detailed study on the MABL characteristics was carried out using high-resolution surface-wind data as measured by the QuikSCAT （Quick scatterometer） satellite. Spatial variations in the surface wind, frictional velocity, roughness parameter and drag coefficient for the different seasons were studied. The surface wind was strong during the southwest monsoon season due to the modulation induced by the Low Level Jetstream. The drag coefficient was larger during this season, due to the strong winds and was lower during the winter months. The spatial variations in the frictional velocity over the seas was small during the post-monsoon season （-0.2 m s^-1）. The maximum spatial variation in the frictional velocity was found over the south Arabian Sea （0.3 to 0.5 m s^-1） during the southwest monsoon period, followed by the pre-monsoon over the Bay of Bengal （0.1 to 0.25 m s^-1）. The mean wind-stress curl during the winter was positive over the equatorial region, with a maximum value of 1.5×10^-7 N m^-3, but on either side of the equatorial belt, a negative wind-stress curl dominated. The area average of the frictional velocity and drag coefficient over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal were also studied. The values of frictional velocity shows a variability that is similar to the intraseasonal oscillation （ISO） and this was confirmed via wavelet analysis. In the case of the drag coefficient, the prominent oscillations were ISO and quasi-biweekly mode （QBM）. The interrelationship between the drag coefficient and the frictional velocity with wind speed in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal was also studied.

Numerical simulation of the climate effect of high-altitude lakes on the Tibetan Plateau

Lakes regulate the water and heat exchange between the ground and the atmosphere on different temporal and spatial scales. However, studies of the lake effect in the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau(TP) rarely have been performed until recently, and little attention has been paid to modelling of frozen lakes. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model(WRF v. 3.6.1) is employed to conduct three numerical experiments in the Ngoring Lake Basin(the original experiment, an experiment with a tuned model, and a no-lake experiment) to investigate the influences of parameter optimization on the lake simulation and of the high-altitude lake on the regional climate. After the lake depth, the roughness lengths, and initial surface temperature are corrected in the model, the simulation of the air temperature is distinctly improved. In the experiment using a tuned model, the simulated sensible-heat flux(H) is clearly improved, especially during periods of ice melting(from late spring to early summer) and freezing(late fall). The improvement of latent-heat flux(LE) is mainly manifested by the sharp increase in the correlation coefficient between simulation and observation, whereas the improvement in the average value is small. The optimization of initial surface temperature shows the most prominent effect in the first year and distinctly weakens after a freezing period. After the lakes become grassland in the model, the daytime temperature clearly increases during the freezing and melting periods; but the nocturnal cooling appears in other stages, especially from September to October. The annual mean H increases by 6.4 times in the regions of the Ngoring Lake and the Gyaring Lake, and the LE declines by 56.2%. The sum of H and LE increases from 71.2 W/m2(with lake) to 84.6 W/m2(no lake). For the entire simulation region, the sum of H and LE also increases slightly. After the lakes are removed, the air temperature increases significantly from June to September over the area corresponding to the two lakes, and an abnormal convergence field appears; at the same time, the precipitation clearly increases over the two lakes and surrounding areas.

Characteristics of Momentum and Heat Transfer over Semiarid Grasslands with Different Grazing Intensities in Inner Mongolia,China

The drag coefficient （Ca） and heat transfer coefficient （Ch） with the bulk transfer scheme are usually used to calculate the momentum and heat fluxes in meteorological models. The aerodynamic roughness length （z0m） and thermal roughness length （z0h） are two crucial parameters for bulk transfer equations. To improve the meteorological models, the seasonal and interannual variations of Z0m, Z0h, coefficient kB-1, Cd, and Ch were investigated based on eddy covariance data over different grazed semiarid grasslands of Inner Mongolia during the growing seasons （May to September） from 2005 to 2008. For an ungrazed Leymus chinensis grassland （ungrazed since 1979）, Z0m and z0h had significant seasonal and in- terannual variations. Zorn was affected by the amount and distribution of rainfall, kB 1 exhibited a relatively negative variation compared with z0h, which indicates that the seasonal variation of z0h cannot be described by kB 1. To parameterize Zorn and z0h, the linear regressions between ln（z0m）, ln（z0h）, and the leaf area index （LAI） were performed with R2=0.71 and 0.83. The monthly average kB-1 was found to decrease linearly with LAI. The four-year averaged values of Ca and Ch were 4.5 × 10^-3 and 3.9× 10^-3, respectively. The monthly average Cd only varied by 8% while the variation of Ch was 18%, which reflects the dif- ferent impacts of dead vegetation on momentum and heat transfer at this natural grassland. Moreover, with the removal of vegetation cover, grazing intensities reduced Z0m, Z0h, Cd, and Ch.

Field Studies of Frontal Area Index in Rangeland of Mongolia

Field observation was conducted at typical rangeland in Mongolia to examine the frontal area index. Frontal area index is the characteristics of surface roughness elements affecting sand transport. The frontal area was strongly correlated with the effective shelter length on sand transport in both short grasses and shrubs. The frontal area index was 0.031 and the relationship between the roughness length and frontal area index in this site agreed with past studies.

Adding the impacts of biological crusts on sand and dust storm emission in Asia

Although biological crusts(biocrusts)grant stability to dust source areas by inhibiting dust emission,only a few models have explicitly considered their inhibitory effect.In this study,we used the China Meteorological Administration Unified Atmospheric Chemistry Environment/Dust model and combined retrieved biocrust information with two biocrust inhibition schemes(roughness length and biocrust strength schemes)to study numerically the inhibitory effect of biocrusts on a strong dust storm that occurred in Central and East Asia on 25−30 Mar.2018.The inhibitory effect of biocrusts on dust emission increased with biocrust coverage.The total dust emission forecasted by the roughness length and biocrust strength schemes was reduced by approximately 56.7%and 47.9%on average,respectively.In downstream sites in China,the surface mass concentrations of PM10 forecasted by the roughness length and biocrust strength schemes decreased by 36%–57%and 24%–41%,respectively.When biocrusts were considered,the forecast for stations near the dust source area considerably improved and that for stations distant from the source area became more reasonable but with larger bias under the combined effects of emission,transport and deposition.