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- Title
A Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic Approach for Surface Energy Balance Closure.
- Authors
Li, Peiyuan; Wang, Zhi‐Hua
- Abstract
The surface energy imbalance, viz. that the turbulent dissipation does not fully account for available energy, has for long been an outstanding challenge in geophysical studies. In this study, we developed a novel approach based on nonequilibrium thermodynamics by representing the atmospheric boundary layer as a heat engine. In addition, an analytically tractable approach was used to estimate the ground heat flux based on Green's function approach, which in turn determines the available energy that drives the atmospheric heat engine. The proposed model was evaluated using heat fluxes measured by eight AmeriFlux eddy covariance towers with atmospheric temperature profiles recorded at adjacent radiosonde sites. The surface energy balance closure can be improved by ~11% over various landscapes, by including the estimated power production from the atmospheric heat engine. Plain Language Summary: We present in this study a novel approach that sheds new lights on the outstanding challenge of land surface energy imbalance problem, by treating the atmospheric boundary layer as a nonequilibrium heat engine. The production of mechanical work within finite time through the atmospheric heat engine is found to contribute significantly to the energy residual responsible for the imbalance. We applied the model to field measurements using flux towers and a radiosonde stations and were capable of recovering significant missing land surface energy. The proposed method therefore provides a promising new perspective to improve the surface energy closure. Key Points: We develop a nonequilibrium thermodynamic model for the atmospheric boundary layerThe available energy at land surface regulates the finite time spent on nonequilibrium thermodynamic processesPower produced by the atmospheric heat engine contributes significantly to surface energy imbalance
- Subjects
ATMOSPHERIC boundary layer; GREEN'S functions; HEAT engines; NONEQUILIBRIUM thermodynamics; HEAT flux; SURFACE energy
- Publication
Geophysical Research Letters, 2020, Vol 47, Issue 3, p1
- ISSN
0094-8276
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2019GL085835