Sensible heat flux and boundary layer depth measurements by Doppler SODAR and sonic anemometer data

A validation of a simple mixed-layer similarity relationship, firstly proposed by Panofsky and McCormick (1960), is presented for wind speeds up to 7 ms(-1) and over an uneven terrain. The surface heat flux and the Planetary Boundary Layer depth, z(i), are retrieved from this relationship, by using SODAR measurements of the vertical velocity variance sigma(w)(2), under the hypothesis that the heat flux linearly decreases with height. All the measurements are relative to days characterized by high-pressure conditions, during periods of well-developed convection. The values of the surface heat flux obtained from such a method are compared with those obtained by applying the eddy correlation technique to the vertical wind velocities and virtual temperatures measured by a sonic anemometer. The values of z(i) obtained from the same relationship are compared with the height of the lowest inversion layer estimated from the facsimile record-of the echoes received by the vertical antenna of the SODAR. The spectral behavior of vertical and longitudinal wind velocity from the anemometer and the SODAR is examined, too. In such a way an independent estimate of z(i) is obtained from the position of the spectral maximum.