The Persistent Challenge of Surface Heterogeneity in Boundary-Layer Meteorology: A Review
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The Persistent Challenge of Surface Heterogeneity in Boundary-Layer Meteorology: A Review Elie Bou-Zeid1
· William Anderson2 · Gabriel G. Katul3,4 · Larry Mahrt5
Received: 18 March 2020 / Accepted: 9 July 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Atmospheric boundary-layer dynamics over heterogeneous surfaces is significant to a wide array of geophysical and engineering applications. Yet, despite over five decades of intense efforts by the research community, numerous open research questions remain. This underlines the complexity of the physical processes that are excited by heterogeneity, the multitude of patterns and manifestations that it can display, and the importance of the implications to research in the atmospheric sciences and beyond. Here, existing knowledge is reviewed and a path forward for research is proposed, starting with the smaller scales near a surface transition and proceeding to the influence on large-scale dynamics and their forecasting. Keywords Heterogeneity · Internal boundary layer · Internal equilibrium layer · Secondary circulations · Land-surface models
1 Introduction Land-surface heterogeneity comes in many varieties and occurs over a wide range of spatial scales. As such, it has continued to defy a generalized approach or theory for “characterizing” its impact on the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) (Mahrt 2000). Its multiscale nature also makes it practically impossible to “resolve” all the relevant spatial information directly in geophysical simulations (Giorgi and Avissar 1997) or through observations (see BoundaryLayer Meteorology special issue, Vol. 121, on the LITFASS–2003 campaign). The scales that would have to be accommodated (i.e., those that may interact with turbulent eddies and the mean flow) range from ∼ 1 mm (Kolmogorov microscale) to spatial scales that may be much larger than all integral scales of turbulence (∼ several km or more). Heterogene-
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Elie Bou-Zeid [email protected]
1
Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
2
Mechanical Engineering Department, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
3
Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
4
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
5
Northwest Research Associates, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA
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ity therefore poses a challenge that we might never completely “solve” . However, it is a ubiquitous characteristic of the real-world and it is further intensified by anthropogenic landuse modification. It is thus a key determinant of microscale to synoptic-scale atmospheric dynamics, particularly in regions (agricultural, urban, etc.) where climatic projection and meteorological forecasting are most critical for human activities and well-being. As such, the challenge posed by surface heterogeneity for boundary-layer meteorology is not one that can be ignored or circumvented (Pitman 2003; Prueger et al. 2012). Important examples where the heter
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