Local similarity relationships in the urban boundary layer

To investigate turbulent structures in an urban boundary layer (UBL) with many tallbuildings, a number of non-dimensional variable groups based on turbulent observationsfrom a 325-m meteorological tower in the urban area of Beijing, China, are analyzedin the framework of local similarity. The extension of surface-layer similarity to localsimilarity in the stable and unstable boundary layer is also discussed. According to localsimilarity, dimensionless quantities of variables: e.g., velocity and temperature standarddeviations σ^sub i^/u^sub *l^ (i=u,v,w) andσ^sub T^/T^sub *l^,correlation coefficients of uw and wT covariance, gradients of wind and temperatureΦ^sub m^ and Φ^sub h^, and dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) andtemperature variance Φ^sub ε^ and Φ^sub N^ can be represented as a functiononly of a local stability parameter z/Λ, where Λ is the local Obukhovlength and z is the height above ground. The average dissipation rates of TKE andtemperature variance are computed by using the u spectrum, and the uw and wTcospectra in the inertial subrange. The functions above were found to be in a goodagreement with observational behaviour of turbulence under unstable conditions, butthere were obvious differences in the stable air.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]