Turbulence interactions in Earth's atmospheric boundary layer: A scale-crossing approach to disclose transport processes near the surface
Final Report Abstract
Do we get a better picture of the world around us if we simultaneously observe many aspects and locations instead of a few? More samples promise unique insights into interactions that occur at different scales, separated in space and time. But does it pay off to go the extra mile? We investigated dynamic interactions in the atmosphere near the surface. Not all those interactions are covered by theory yet, which limits our ability to quantify important climate-related processes and, in turn, to make comprehensive model predictions. Observations were made using networks of ground-based (remote-)sensing instrumentation, including Doppler lidar, fiber-optic sensing and thermal imaging techniques. The combination of methods offered multiple levels of complementary detail about the development of organized structures in the atmospheric boundary layer. Those details were extracted using novel data science methods that are designed to identify, trend shifts, shapes and relationships in temperature and wind field observations. By applying those methods to dense geometrically distributed observations, instead of more common single-point station data, we learned about the variability of structure features in space as well as time. This is the beginning of the development of new theories and methods for aspects of our atmospheric environment that have eluded us so far. This DFG-funded project entailed an exploration of novel micrometeorological and data sciences techniques to help advance our knowledge of fundamental aspects of atmospheric turbulence, and provides new avenues for theoretical and numerical studies of the atmospheric boundary layer.
Publications
- “Simultaneous multicopter-based air sampling and sensing of meteorological variables”. In: Atmospheric Measurement Tech. 10.8 (2017), pp. 2773–2784
C. Brosy, K. Krampf, M. Zeeman, B. Wolf, W. Junkermann, K. Schäfer, S. Emeis, and H. Kunstmann
(See online at https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-2773-2017) - “Field intercomparison of prevailing sonic anemometers”. In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 11.1 (2018), pp. 249–263
M. Mauder and M. J. Zeeman
(See online at https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-249-2018) - “Large-eddy simulations of real world episodes in complex terrain based on ERA-Reanalysis and validated by ground-based remote sensing data”. In: Monthly Weather Review (2019)
C. Hald, M. Zeeman, P. Laux, M. Mauder, and H. Kunstmann
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-19-0016.1) - “Surface flux estimates derived from UAS-based mole fraction measurements by means of a nocturnal boundary layer budget approach”. In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 13.4 (2020), pp. 1671–1692
M. Kunz, J. V. Lavric, R. Gasche, C. Gerbig, R. H. Grant, F.-T. Koch, M. Schumacher, B. Wolf, and M. Zeeman
(See online at https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1671-2020)
