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Namib Turbulence Experiment (NamTEX)

Research Project
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01.10.2019
 - 31.03.2022

In collaboration with the Namib Fog Life Cycle Analysis (NaFoLiCa) project, the proposed research seeks to provide insight in to the fundamental nature of turbulence and improve our understanding of the mechanics of energy and heat exchange between the soil surface and lower atmosphere, analysing the relationship between high-frequency surface temperature fluctuations and the thermal structure of the near-surface (0-3 m) atmosphere. The surface-atmosphere coupling will be observed through dense spatial and temporal sampling of surface, subsurface, and air temperatures in 2- and pseudo 3-dimensions complemented by wind measurements in a variety of stability conditions. The research objectives are grouped into three themes / goals: Determine scale-dependence of advection velocities - Measure scale-dependent turbulent advection velocities using temperature as a scalar. Assess whether there are scale-dependent violations of Taylor's hypothesis and if they can be corrected for using scaling. Determine whether (scale-dependent) advection velocities differ between surface temperature and air temperatures (at different heights). Conditionally sample turbulent structures using time-sequential thermography (TST) - Observe, characterise, and conditionally sample the spatial realisation of turbulent coherent flow structures in space, using distributed air, surface and subsurface temperature measurements. Check how characteristics scale with integral stability conditions or whether there are intermittent modes of dynamics that cannot be captured with integral measures. Apply thermal image velocimetry to reconstruct the near-surface wind field in 2D and combine this information to add wind to the conditionally sampled flow structures. Linking energy balance closure to the dynamics of the turbulent spatial temperature field - Explore whether there is any relation between the spatial characteristics of the turbulent surface and air temperature fields at different scales and implications for energy balance closure. Possibly also explore impacts on traditional soil heat flux measurements. Test new hypothesis concerning energy storage in the soil and evaporation to improve the closure of the energy balance - A detailed monitoring of top soil temperature and humidity will enable a new perspective on the dynamics of soil heat storage and dissipation.

Collaborations & Cooperations

2022 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Bernhofer, Christian, Professor, Technische Universität Dresden, Research cooperation
2022 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Christen, Andreas, Professor, Albert Ludwigs Universität Freiburg, Research cooperation
2022 - Participation or Organization of Collaborations on an international level
Pitacco, Andrea, Professor, Università di Padova, Research cooperation

Members (1)

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Roland Vogt

Principal Investigator