Surface flux and atmospheric boundary layer observations from the LAPS project over the middle stream of the Huaihe River basin in China

• Published in: Hydrological processes 2007-07, Vol.21 (15), p.1997-2008
• Main Authors: Tanaka, Hiroki, Hiyama, Tetsuya, Yamamoto, Koh, Fujinami, Hatsuki, Shinoda, Taro, Higuchi, Atsushi, Endo, Satoshi, Ikeda, Shoichiro, Li, Weijing, Nakamura, Kenji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: atmospheric boundary layer; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; Freshwater; Hydrology. Hydrogeology; Meiyu in China; surface heat flux; wind profiler radar
• ISSN: 0885-6087; 1099-1085
• DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6706

Observations of the surface layer and the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) were collected as part of the Lower Atmosphere and Precipitation Study (LAPS), which investigated the relationship between the surface conditions and the ABL processes. The LAPS was part of the Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) program, under the auspices of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). Observations began in August 2003 over a flat surface region in mid‐latitude China at 32·55°N, 116·78°E. Observations before, during, and after the Meiyu season in China provided data for surface conditions varying from relatively dry to moist. Preliminary analysis of the surface and the ABL observations shows relationships between the surface fluxes and the ABL structure. ABL depth was enhanced by sensible heat flux. Fluctuations in the ABL depth corresponded to plume‐like wind structures within the ABL. Day‐to‐day variability in ABL depth was controlled mainly by buoyancy flux over the surface during dry periods. It was also affected by vertical motion at the top of the ABL, especially during wet periods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.