An Extremum Solution of the Monin-Obukhov Similarity Equations

• Main Authors: Wang, Jingfeng (Contributor), Bras, Rafael L. (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Contributor), Parsons Laboratory for Environmental Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Meteorological Society, 2010-12-21T20:58:57Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

An extremum hypothesis of turbulent transport in the atmospheric surface layer is postulated. The hypothesis has led to a unique solution of Monin-Obukhov similarity equations in terms of simple expressions linking shear stress (momentum flux) and heat flux to mean wind shear and temperature gradient. The extremum solution is consistent with the well-known asymptotic properties of the surface layer. Validation of the extremum solution has been made by comparison to field measurements of momentum and heat fluxes. Furthermore, a modeling test of predicting surface heat fluxes using the results of this work is presented. A critical reexamination of the interpretation of the Obukhov length is given.
United States. Army Research Office (Grant W911NF-07-1-0126)
National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant EAR-0309594)
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NAG5-3726(TRMM)) (Grant NNG05GA17G)