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Wind profile constants in a neutral atmospheric boundary layer over complex terrain

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Abstract

The roughness height z 0 and the zero-plane displacement height d 0 were determined for a region of complex terrain in the Pre-Alps of Switzerland. This region is characterized by hills of the order of 100 m above the valley elevations, and by distances between ridges of the order of 1 km; it lies about 20 to 30 km north from the Alps. The experimental data were obtained from radiosonde observations under near neutral conditions. The analysis was based on the assumption of a logarithmic profile for the mean horizontal wind existing over one half of the boundary layer. The resulting (z 0/h) and (d 0/h) (where h is the mean height of the obstacles) were found to be in reasonable agreement with available relationships in terms of placement density and shape factor of the obstacles, which were obtained in previous experiments with h-scales 2 to 4 orders of magnitude smaller than the present ones.

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Kustas, W.P., Brutsaert, W. Wind profile constants in a neutral atmospheric boundary layer over complex terrain. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 34, 35–54 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00120907

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