Estimating the turbulent energy dissipation rate in an airport environment

This note reports on the influence of aircraft wake vortices on the estimation of the turbulent energy dissipation rate using sonic anemometer measurements near the runway threshold. The wake vortex traces, which are generated at a height of about 65 m and subsequently evolve in ground effect, are clearly visible in the velocity components and temperature. The observed temperature increase of 1 K appears related to the stably stratified atmospheric surface layer. The dissipation rate is estimated from the longitudinal velocity power spectrum for a sample in a nocturnal boundary layer with and without a wake vortex signal. In both cases an inertial subrange is found. For the analyzed sample the estimated dissipation rate is a factor of ten larger compared to the undisturbed sample. Implications for operational wake avoidance systems are discussed.