Turbulence Kinetic Energy Budget Profiles Derived from Doppler Sodar Measurements

Abstract Doppler sodar wind measurements made in light wind conditions in September 1979 near a power plant in Turbigo, Italy, are used to derive terms in the turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) budget. Measurements on five days are grouped into two classes: fair-weather conditions and boundary layer interaction with subsiding air. Profiles of σ3w/z are used to obtain the surface heat flux and the vertical velocity scaling parameter, as well as the buoyancy production term in the TKE budget. The vertical transport of TKE is derived from the profiles of (w′)3. The horizontal components are approximated using a parameterization based on the data of Lenschow et al. Dissipation in the TKE budget is obtained from a spectral analysis of the Doppler sodar data in the inertial subrange. The resulting TKE budget profiles for the two classes are compared with budgets obtained previously, using a number of different methods.