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Impact of surface heterogeneity on a buoyancy-driven convective boundary layer in light winds

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Abstract

Land-use practices such as deforestation or agricultural management may affect regional climate, ecosystems and water resources. The present study investigates the impact of surface heterogeneity on the behaviour of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), at a typical spatial scale of 1 km. Large-eddy simulations, using an interactive soil–vegetation–atmosphere surface scheme, are performed to document the structure of the three-dimensional flow, as driven by buoyancy forces, over patchy terrain with different surface characteristics (roughness, soil moisture, temperature) on each individual patch. The patchy terrain consists of striped and chessboard patterns. The results show that the ABL strongly responds to the spatial configuration of surface heterogeneities. The stripe configuration made of two patches with different soil moisture contents generates the development of a quasi- two-dimensional inland breeze, whereas a three-dimensional divergent flow is induced by chessboard patterns. The feedback of such small-scale atmospheric circulations on the surface fluxes appears to be highly non-linear. The surface sensible and latent heat fluxes averaged over the 25-km2 domain may vary by 5% with respect to the patch arrangement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité Climat Sol Environnement, INRA, domaine St Paul, site Agroparc, 84914, Avignon, France

    Dominique Courault

  2. Institut Pierre Simon Laplace/Service d’Aéronomie, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 75252, Paris, France

    Philippe Drobinski

  3. INRA, UR1263 EPHYSE, 71 av. Edouard Bourlaux, 33883, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Yves Brunet

  4. CNRM, 42 avenue Coriolis, 31000, Toulouse, France

    Pierre Lacarrere

  5. Ecosystèmes Littoraux et Côtiers - FRE 2816, Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale, 32 avenue Foc, 62930, Wimereux, France

    Charles Talbot

Authors
  1. Dominique Courault
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  2. Philippe Drobinski
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  3. Yves Brunet
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  4. Pierre Lacarrere
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  5. Charles Talbot
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Correspondence to Dominique Courault.

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Courault, D., Drobinski, P., Brunet, Y. et al. Impact of surface heterogeneity on a buoyancy-driven convective boundary layer in light winds. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 124, 383–403 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-007-9172-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-007-9172-y

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