Surface Flux Formulations in the Coastal Zone
Abstract
Surface Flux Formulations in the Coastal Zone Eddy correlation and wave data from an offshore tower is analyzed. The data was collected during the Risoe Air Sea Experiment (RASEX). Interpretation of data analysis is made difficult by the fact that different influences are interrelated so that one can find significant, misleading, correlation through indirect relationships. The results do unambiguously indicate that shallow convective internal boundary layers in offshore flow suppress well developed convective eddies so that the heat flux is less than predicted by existing formulations; that is, the thin boundary layer depth influences the flux radiant relationship at the surface, requiring generalization of Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. The nature of the turbulence over land exerts a strong influence on both the boundary layer structure over the sea and the surface stress and fluxes through advection of turbulence energy. These effects are significant in the near coastal zone, typically the first 5 or 10 km offshore. Confused multimodel seas without a dominate spectral peak is a better indicator of large stress (large roughness length and large Chamock coefficient) than wave age. On the other hand, Monin-Obukhov similarity theory was a good approximation for the flux radiant relationship for onshore flow. In general, there is no fundamental difficulty with Monin-Obukhov similarity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 14, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA373790
Entities
People
- Larry J. Mahrt
Organizations
- Oregon State University