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Boundary-layer flow over low hills

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Abstract

In 1975 Jackson and Hunt observed that there had, until that time, been few attempts to relate measurements of wind velocity on hills to the local topography. The succeeding ten years have seen substantial research effort aimed at rectifying this omission. The field measurements, in conjunction with theoretical, numerical and wind tunnel studies now provide a good basis for a preliminary description of neutrally stratified boundary-layer flow over low hills. There are still gaps in the description and understanding of the flow but many more data are now available. The present review attempts to summarize recent field experiments that have been conducted on boundary-layer flow over low hills and to review what we have learnt from them.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boundary-Layer Research Division, Atmospheric Environment Service, Downsview, Canada

    P. A. Taylor

  2. Meteorological Office, Bracknell, England

    P. J. Mason

  3. CSIRO Division of Environmental Mechanics, Black Mountain, Canberra, Australia

    E. F. Bradley

Authors
  1. P. A. Taylor
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  2. P. J. Mason
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  3. E. F. Bradley
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Additional information

The original idea for this review started with the IAMAP-sponsored symposium on ‘The Atmospheric Boundary-Layer over Complex Terrain’ at the 1981 IUGG Congress in Hamburg. One of us (EFB) convened the session while another (PJM) presented the keynote review paper. The idea was elaborated when PAT and PJM visited CSIRO early in 1984 and is now published as the second in a series of reviews at the invitation of Working Group A of the IAMAP Commission on Dynamic Meteorology. A condensed version of this review was presented at the 1985 American Meteorological Society, 7th Symposium on Turbulence and Diffusion, Boulder, Colo.

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Taylor, P.A., Mason, P.J. & Bradley, E.F. Boundary-layer flow over low hills. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 39, 107–132 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121870

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