Estimate of the roughness length and displacement height of Sonoran Desert vegetation, south-central Arizona

摘要

A somewhat unconventional technique using a tethered balloon was used to estimate the roughness length for momentum (z(sub m)) and displacement height (d) for typical Sonoran Desert vegetation. It has been suggested that measurements of the meteorological fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, and latent heat are best done at heights above ground level determined by either the roughness length (z(sub m)) or the size and shape of vegetation. Therefore, estimates of z(sub m) and vegetation characteristics are a desirable prerequisite to developing a flux-measurement protocol. Because the literature contains little information on z(sub m) for Sonoran Desert vegetation, it is desirable to measure z(sub m) and the displacement height (d) associated with Sonoran Desert vegetation.