Momentum and Turbulent Kinetic Energy Budgets Within the Park Avenue Street Canyon During the Joint Urban 2003 Field Campaign

Abstract

Very few attempts have so far been made to quantify the momentum and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budgets within real urban canopies. In this study, sonic anemometer data obtained during the Joint Urban 2003 field campaign in Oklahoma City, U.S.A. were used for calculating the momentum and TKE budgets within a real-world urban street canyon. Sonic anemometers were deployed on multiple towers in the lower half of the canyon. Gradients in all three principal directions were included in the analyses. The storage and buoyancy terms were found to have negligible contributions to both the momentum and TKE budgets. The momentum budgets were generally found to be more complex than a simple balance of two physical processes. The horizontal terms were found to have significant and sometimes dominant contributions to the momentum and TKE budgets.