Cooling Pond Modeling

Abstract

For the purposes of micrometeorology the atmosphere near the surface can be divided into three general regions. First, immediately adjacent to the surface exists a very thin laminar sublayer in which the air flow is smooth and nearly horizontal. Inside this sublayer the wind velocity gradient attains very high values, and the shearing stress essentially caused by viscosity alone. Above this is the turbulent boundary layer, characterized by strong vertical gusts (or eddies) and a small velocity gradient. In this layer the shearing stress is caused mainly by the turbulent eddies which usually far outweigh the effects of viscosity. Finally,above the boundary layer is the free stream in which the velocity gradient is close to zero and in which both turbulent· eddy and viscous effects. are extremely small. The laminar sublayer and the turbulent boundary boundary layer are often referred to together as the surface layer, and this extends approximately through the lowest twenty meters.