Evaluation of Vegetation Effects on the Generation and Modification of Mesoscale Circulations

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The purpose of the present study is to evaluate (i) the effect of vegetated surfaces on modifying sea breeze and daytime thermally induced upslope flows, and (ii) the generation of thermally induced flow by vegetated areas contrasted by bare soil area. In order to address these objectives, the following tasks were carried out: 1) previous documented studies with implication for (i) and (ii) are reviewed; 2) the main features of the thermal balance of vegetated surfaces are outlined qualitatively; 3) a quantitative evaluation of the various components in the thermal balance based on documented observational studies is provided; and 4) scale analyses and numerical model simulations are used to provide quantitative evaluations of the circulations involved with (i) and (ii) for several illustrative cases. The study suggests that the impact of vegetated surfaces in those cases is highly dependent on the environmental conditions as well as vegetation characteristics. For ideal environmental conditions ... Abstract The purpose of the present study is to evaluate (i) the effect of vegetated surfaces on modifying sea breeze and daytime thermally induced upslope flows, and (ii) the generation of thermally induced flow by vegetated areas contrasted by bare soil area. In order to address these objectives, the following tasks were carried out: 1) previous documented studies with implication for (i) and (ii) are reviewed; 2) the main features of the thermal balance of vegetated surfaces are outlined qualitatively; 3) a quantitative evaluation of the various components in the thermal balance based on documented observational studies is provided; and 4) scale analyses and numerical model simulations are used to provide quantitative evaluations of the circulations involved with (i) and (ii) for several illustrative cases. The study suggests that the impact of vegetated surfaces in those cases is highly dependent on the environmental conditions as well as vegetation characteristics. For ideal environmental conditions ...

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: