Near-neutral surface layer turbulence at the boulder atmospheric observatory tower: Evidence of increasing vertical turbulence with height

Wind and turbulence profiles were analyzed during breezy, near-neutral cond itions at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory tower to quantify the effects of an abrupt 20- to 30-m increase in terrain located 3-5 kin west of the t ower. Results indicate that regional roughness length z(o) is greatest and local z(o) is smallest in sectors downwind of a long, shallow bluff, sugges ting that distant, more complex, upwind terrain enhances horizontal turbule nce but has little effect on local wind speed profiles. Turbulence paramete r profiles are nearly constant up to 200 in above ground level (AGL), and f riction velocity u(*) is neatly constant up to 150-200 m for simple fetch w ith z(o) equal to 4 cm and near-surface wind speed approximately equal to 7 m s(-1) at 10 In AGL. Horizontal turbulence parameters, however. increase by 50% to nearly 100% at all tower levels downwind of the distant terrain b luff when compared with those with simple fetch. The effect of the bluff on vertical turbulence increases with height. Although the effect on the 10-m standard deviation of vertical wind speed sigma(u) is negligible, the 200- m sigma(u) increases by about 0.5 m s(-1), or about twice the 10-m value. T he u(*) also increases by 16% to nearly 100% between the 10- and 200-m heig hts downwind of the bluff. Primarily because of the enhanced sigma(w) downw ind of the bluff, atmospheric dispersion could be underestimated by factors of about 2.5, 2.0, and 1.3 at the 200-, 100-, and 50-m levels, respectivel y, if the vertical and transverse standard deviations of the wind angle flu ctuations are estimated from 10-m values.