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A Simple Parameterisation for Flux Footprint Predictions

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Abstract

Flux footprint functions estimate the location and relative importance of passive scalar sources influencing flux measurements at a given receptor height. These footprint estimates strongly vary in size, depending on receptor height, atmospheric stability, and surface roughness. Reliable footprint calculations from, e.g., Lagrangian stochastic models or large-eddy simulations are computationally expensive and cannot readily be computed for long-term observational programs. To facilitate more accessible footprint estimates, a scaling procedure is introduced for flux footprint functions over a range of stratifications from convective to stable, and receptor heights ranging from near the surface to the middle of the boundary layer. It is shown that, when applying this scaling procedure, footprint estimates collapse to an ensemble of similar curves. A simple parameterisation for the scaled footprint estimates is presented. This parameterisation accounts for the influence of the roughness length on the footprint and allows for a quick but precise algebraic footprint estimation.

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Author notes

  1. M. W. Rotach

    Present address: Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss, Zurich, Zurich

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science ETH, Zurich, Switzerland

    N. Kljun

  2. Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, Zurich, Switzerland

    P. Calanca

  3. Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science ETH, Zurich, Switzerland

    M. W. Rotach

  4. Department of Geography, Bloomington, U.S.A.

    H. P. Schmid

Authors
  1. N. Kljun
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  2. P. Calanca
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  3. M. W. Rotach
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  4. H. P. Schmid
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Kljun, N., Calanca, P., Rotach, M.W. et al. A Simple Parameterisation for Flux Footprint Predictions. Boundary-Layer Meteorology 112, 503–523 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BOUN.0000030653.71031.96

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BOUN.0000030653.71031.96

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