Abstract
A boundary-layer model is used to simulate turbulent fluxes of momentum, sensible heat and latent heat over heterogeneous surfaces. Results for heterogeneous snow cover are compared with results for heterogeneous snow-free vegetation, and effective parameters characterizing the surfaces are discussed. A tile model, which calculates area-average fluxes from given area-average windspeeds, temperatures and humidities at a reference height in the atmosphere, is assessed in comparison with the boundary-layer model. The performance of the tile model is found to be degraded for surfaces with regions of both upward and downward sensible-heat flux, as can occur over heterogeneous snow cover. Better results can be obtained by using different reference heights for heat flux and momentum flux calculations.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 1867-1883 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society |
| Volume | 123 |
| Issue number | 543 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 1997 |