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A comparative study of some mathematical models of the mean wind structure and aerodynamic drag of plant canopiesA semianalytical method for describing the mean wind profile and shear stress within plant canopies and for estimating the roughness length and the displacement height is presented. This method incorporates density and vertical structure of the canopy and includes simple parameterizations of the roughness sublayer and shelter factor. Some of the wind profiles examined are consistent with first-order closure techniques while others are consistent with second-order closure techniques. Some profiles show a shearless region near the base of the canopy; however, none displays a secondary maximum there. Comparing several different analytical expressions for the canopy wind profile against observations suggests that one particular type of profile (an Airy function which is associated with the triangular foliage surface area density distribution) is superior to the others. Because of the numerical simplicity of the methods outlined, it is suggested that they may be profitably used in large-scale models of plant-atmosphere exchanges.
Document ID
19880025278
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Massman, William
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 1987
Publication Information
Publication: Boundary-Layer Meteorology
Volume: 40
Issue: 1-2,
ISSN: 0006-8314
Subject Category
Geosciences (General)
Accession Number
88A12505
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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