Estimating turbulent energy flux vertical profiles from uncrewed aircraft system measurements: exemplary results for the MOSAiC campaign

U. Egerer; U. Egerer; U. Egerer; J. J. Cassano; J. J. Cassano; J. J. Cassano; M. D. Shupe; M. D. Shupe; G. de Boer; G. de Boer; D. Lawrence; A. Doddi; H. Siebert; G. Jozef; G. Jozef; G. Jozef; R. Calmer; R. Calmer; J. Hamilton; J. Hamilton; C. Pilz; M. Lonardi

doi:10.5194/amt-16-2297-2023

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (May 2023)

Estimating turbulent energy flux vertical profiles from uncrewed aircraft system measurements: exemplary results for the MOSAiC campaign

U. Egerer,
U. Egerer,
U. Egerer,
J. J. Cassano,
J. J. Cassano,
J. J. Cassano,
M. D. Shupe,
M. D. Shupe,
G. de Boer,
G. de Boer,
D. Lawrence,
A. Doddi,
H. Siebert,
G. Jozef,
G. Jozef,
G. Jozef,
R. Calmer,
R. Calmer,
J. Hamilton,
J. Hamilton,
C. Pilz,
M. Lonardi

Affiliations

U. Egerer: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
U. Egerer: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
U. Egerer: now at: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO, USA
J. J. Cassano: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
J. J. Cassano: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
J. J. Cassano: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
M. D. Shupe: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
M. D. Shupe: Physical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO, USA
G. de Boer: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
G. de Boer: Physical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO, USA
D. Lawrence: Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
A. Doddi: Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
H. Siebert: Department of Atmospheric Microphysics, Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany
G. Jozef: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
G. Jozef: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
G. Jozef: Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
R. Calmer: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
R. Calmer: National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
J. Hamilton: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
J. Hamilton: Physical Sciences Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO, USA
C. Pilz: Department of Atmospheric Microphysics, Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany
M. Lonardi: Leipzig Institute for Meteorology (LIM), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2297-2023
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 16
pp. 2297 – 2317

Abstract

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This study analyzes turbulent energy fluxes in the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) using measurements with a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS). Turbulent fluxes constitute a major part of the atmospheric energy budget and influence the surface heat balance by distributing energy vertically in the atmosphere. However, only few in situ measurements of the vertical profile of turbulent fluxes in the Arctic ABL exist. The study presents a method to derive turbulent heat fluxes from DataHawk2 sUAS turbulence measurements, based on the flux gradient method with a parameterization of the turbulent exchange coefficient. This parameterization is derived from high-resolution horizontal wind speed measurements in combination with formulations for the turbulent Prandtl number and anisotropy depending on stability. Measurements were taken during the MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) expedition in the Arctic sea ice during the melt season of 2020. For three example cases from this campaign, vertical profiles of turbulence parameters and turbulent heat fluxes are presented and compared to balloon-borne, radar, and near-surface measurements. The combination of all measurements draws a consistent picture of ABL conditions and demonstrates the unique potential of the presented method for studying turbulent exchange processes in the vertical ABL profile with sUAS measurements.

Published in Atmospheric Measurement Techniques

ISSN: 1867-1381 (Print); 1867-8548 (Online)
Publisher: Copernicus Publications
Country of publisher: Germany
LCC subjects: Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Environmental engineering; Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Earthwork. Foundations
Website: http://www.atmospheric-measurement-techniques.net/home.html

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