Variation of urban momentum roughness length with land use in the upwind source area, as observed in two U.K. cities

The possibility of obtaining urban roughness length from satellite-derived maps of land cover is explored, using turbulence measurements taken above the urban canopy. The upwind land cover is identified using a source-area model. Firstly, from four sets of measurements taken in Birmingham (U.K.), it...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Boundary-layer meteorology 2005-04, Vol.115 (1), p.69-84
Main Authors: ROONEY, G. G, LONGLEY, I. D, BARLOW, J. F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Convection, turbulence, diffusion. Boundary layer structure and dynamics
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Land use
Meteorology
Wind
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Summary:The possibility of obtaining urban roughness length from satellite-derived maps of land cover is explored, using turbulence measurements taken above the urban canopy. The upwind land cover is identified using a source-area model. Firstly, from four sets of measurements taken in Birmingham (U.K.), it is shown that in an area mainly split between the land-cover types 'urban' and 'suburban', suburban cover in the upwind source area is the more important contributor to increasing measured roughness length. A smaller dataset obtained in a second U.K. city (Salford, Greater Manchester) shows a similar result. A roughness-length aggregation model is also applied to the data from both sites. This assigns values of roughness length to each of the land-cover classifications and uses the source-area model to predict the resultant roughness length based on the wind properties. The results from this are shown to agree with the earlier findings.
ISSN:0006-8314
1573-1472
DOI:10.1007/s10546-004-2987-x