Turbulent transport of heat and momentum from an infinite rough plane

Abstract

In the first part of the paper the dimensional laws governing the processes of heat and momentum transport from an infinite rough plane are assembled and their consequences set out. In the second part, the detailed equations for the turbulent energy, the mean square temperature fluctuation and the covariance of temperature and vertical velocity are used, together with some speculative assumptions concerning the dissipative action of the turbulence, to derive a series of relations between the turbulent intensities and the Austausch coefficients. One of these relations indicates that the flux form of the Richardson number cannot exceed a critical value which is about 0·15. It follows that in highly stable conditions the buoyancy forces have little direct effect on the turbulent energy balance, their action being primarily to cause a reduction in the scale of the motion and some change in its structure.