PUBLICATIONS
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
RESEARCH ARTICLE
10.1002/2015JD023909
Key Points:
• Derivation of the momentum
flux-gradient relations in the urban
roughness sublayer
• Validation of the local similarity theory
in the urban roughness sublayer
• Quantitative estimation of the depth
of the urban roughness sublayer
Correspondence to:
G. Liu,
gangliu@nju.edu.cn
Citation:
Zou, J., G. Liu, J. Sun, H. Zhang, and R. Yuan
(2015), The momentum flux-gradient
relations derived from field measurements
in the urban roughness sublayer in three
cities in China, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 120,
10,797–10,809, doi:10.1002/
2015JD023909.
Received 8 JUL 2015
Accepted 2 OCT 2015
Accepted article online 5 OCT 2015
Published online 29 OCT 2015
©2015. American Geophysical Union.
All Rights Reserved.
ZOU ET AL.
The momentum flux-gradient relations derived from field
measurements in the urban roughness sublayer
in three cities in China
Jun Zou1, Gang Liu1, Jianning Sun1,2, Hongsheng Zhang3, and Renmin Yuan4
1
School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, 2Institute for Climate and Global Change Research,
Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, 3Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking
University, Beijing, China, 4School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Abstract Field measurements of the momentum flux and wind velocity gradient were carried out at three
urban sites in the cities of Nanjing, Changzhou, and Suzhou, China. The observational data in the urban
roughness sublayer are analyzed to derive the momentum flux-gradient relations in terms of framework
of the local similarity theory with a least squares fit, and the relations are then compared to the classical
similarity relations of Businger et al. (1971). The results show that the momentum flux varies with height; thus,
the constant-flux assumption in the Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory is not met in the urban roughness
sublayer. However, the dimensionless wind velocity gradient may be described by the local similarity theory,
and the derived flux-gradient relations have the same form as the classical similarity relations do. Under
stable conditions, the coefficient βm in the fitted relations increases with height and gradually approaches
the value of 4.7 in the classical similarity relations. The trend suggests that the turbulent flow may be
described by the classical similarity relations once the height increases and reaches the top of the urban
roughness sublayer, and thus, the height of the top of the urban roughness sublayer may be estimated
by linear extrapolation of the derived relations in this study. The relation between the critical Richardson
number Ric and the coefficient βm is derived as Ric = Prt/βm, where Prt is the turbulent Prandtl number. In
the urban roughness sublayer, the value of Ric is larger than 0.2.
1. Introduction
Turbulent exchange in the surface layer is an important process in the atmospheric boundary layer. However, it
has been difficult to accurately estimate turbulent fluxes in the surface layer [Yagüe et al., 2006]. The flux-gradient
relations based on the Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory (MOST) have provided an approach to calculate turbu-
lent fluxes with vertical profiles of wind and temperature, with some observation-based classical similarity rela-
tions developed in 1970s [e.g., Businger et al., 1971] well applied so far. However, some deficiencies in the
MOST have been found in recent years: on one hand, errors in the classical similarity relations under stable
conditions are large, whereas turbulent processes in the stable boundary layer have become a hot issue in recent
years [e.g., Högström, 1988; Cheng and Brutsaert, 2005; Grachev et al., 2007]; on the other hand, the MOST is usually
valid over homogeneous flat underlying surface, whereas underlying surface is often inhomogeneous and
uneven in reality, such as the urban surface, over which turbulent process has become another hot issue in
the atmospheric boundary layer research so far [e.g., Roth, 2000; Wood et al., 2013].
With rapid urbanization in recent years, the inhomogeneities of building distribution, soil classification, land
use type, and vegetation cover have made the urban surface the most complex underlying surface. The main
differences between the urban surface and any other surface due to artificial changes of the land cover and
densely built environment in the urban area are the following: (1) there are significantly larger roughness
parameters including the zero-plane displacement height and roughness length on the urban surface, which
greatly modify the airflow [Grimmond and Oke, 1999b]; (2) the impervious urban surface and densely built
environment make the urban surface energy balance very different from the rural surface energy balance,
and the effect of heat storage in urban areas is more significant than in rural areas [Grimmond and Oke,
1999a]; and (3) the dynamical and thermodynamical properties of the urban surface are extremely heteroge-
neous [e.g., Roth, 2000; Barlow, 2014]. To study the vertical structure of the urban boundary layer, it has been
acknowledged that from the ground to the top of the urban surface layer, the urban surface layer is divided
into two layers: the roughness sublayer and the inertial sublayer. Although so far there have been large
THE MOMENTUM FLUX-GRADIENT RELATIONS 10,797
 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

amounts of wind tunnel researches on the roughness sublayer [e.g., Raupach et al., 1980; Schultz et al., 2005;
Castro et al., 2006; Barlow, 2014], there has not been a generally accepted method to quantitatively estimate
the depth of the urban roughness sublayer yet, while it is thought to be 2–5 times the average height of
roughness elements [Raupach et al., 1991]. Furthermore, quantitative estimation of the depth, especially
based on field observations in urban areas, has not been many and practicable so far.
Since turbulent fluxes significantly change with height in the urban roughness sublayer, the constant-flux
assumption is not met and the MOST may not be valid in it, whereas the inertial sublayer is thought to suffice
for the MOST attributed to fully developed turbulence and sufficient mixing in the sublayer, which is similar to
cases over homogeneous flat underlying surface [e.g., Högström et al., 1982; Roth, 2000]. Although the applic-
ability of the MOST in the urban roughness sublayer is in doubt, the MOST-based flux-gradient relations are
still used for urban areas in most of the meteorological and air quality numerical models at present. Since
observations in the urban surface layer are greatly localized due to the impact of surrounding buildings,
the local similarity theory may be fit to the study on the urban roughness sublayer [Högström et al., 1982].
The results of Rotach [1993, 1999] also indicated that turbulent statistical quantities may be better described
at the local scale.
Rotach [1993] derived from observations the flux-gradient relations at two heights in the urban roughness sub-
layer and found that the relations at the upper height are closer to the classical similarity relations of Businger et al.
[1971], while those at the lower height deviate away from them, and the momentum flux-gradient relations (ϕ m)
are fitted better than the heat flux-gradient relations (ϕ h). Moriwaki and Kanda [2006] derived the flux-gradient
relations at four heights above the urban canopy layer, finding that ϕ m is related to height. The higher the height
is, the larger the ϕ m becomes. When the height reaches 2.7 times the average height of buildings, the ϕ m is in
good agreement with the classical relations of Businger et al. [1971]. It appears that there exists a trend that the
momentum flux-gradient relations (ϕ m) in the urban roughness sublayer increase with height and are closer to
the classical similarity relations of Businger et al. [1971] at the upper height, although the trend still needs to be
verified against more field observation data yet.
In order to further investigate the variation of the flux-gradient relations with height in the urban roughness
sublayer, continuous observational data of turbulence and wind velocity gradient at three urban sites in
Nanjing, Changzhou, and Suzhou, China, are analyzed in this study. Based on the local similarity theory,
statistical analysis is conducted to derive the similarity relations in the urban roughness sublayer. Further,
the derived similarity relations are linearly extrapolated to estimate the height of the top of the urban
roughness sublayer. Since quantitative estimation of the height based on field observations in urban areas
has been rare so far, whereas it is important in determining above what height the MOST is valid in the urban
surface layer, our study provides a tentative but reasonable attempt to estimate the height and the
estimation may serve as a first approximation.

2. The Local Similarity Theory

Since this study is aimed at the momentum flux-gradient relation, only the similarity relation of the
turbulent momentum flux in terms of the MOST is briefly presented here. In the MOST, the dimensionless
wind velocity gradient in the surface layer is a function of the stability parameter and may be expressed
in the following form:
κz ∂u
¼ ϕ m ðζ Þ (1)
u
∂z

Here κ is the Von Karman constant and taken as 0.4, z is the height above ground level, u is the horizontal
wind speed, u* is the friction velocity denoting the momentum flux and defined as u2
¼ u′ w ′ when the
coordinate system is aligned so that the x axis points in the direction of the surface stress and the component
v ′ w ′ is thus eliminated, and ζ = z/L is the stability parameter, of which positive values denote stable conditions
and negative values unstable conditions. L is the Obukhov length associated with the stability and defined as
follows [Stull, 1997]:
θ u3
L¼ v
 (2)
κg w ′ θ′v
s

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

 
where w ′ θ′v is the heat flux in the surface layer, w′ is the fluctuation of the vertical wind velocity, θ′v is the
s
fluctuation of the virtual potential temperature, θv is the mean virtual potential temperature, and g is the
acceleration of gravity.
Specific forms of ϕ m(ζ ) can be fitted from observational data. Businger et al. [1971] obtained the following
similarity relations:

ϕ m ðζ Þ ¼ ð1  γm ζ Þ4 ; ζ < 0
1
(3a)
ϕ m ðζ Þ ¼ 1 þ βm ζ ; ζ > 0 (3b)
where γm and βm are empirical coefficients and taken as γm = 15 and βm = 4.7. In the atmospheric surface layer
over even and homogeneous underlying surface, since the constant-flux assumption is thought to be valid (i.e.,
the variation of the turbulent flux with height is less than 10% of the flux value), βm hardly changes with height
[Stull, 1997]. Högström [1988] modified the coefficients as γm = 19.8 and βm = 6. Some recent studies based on
observational data over level and horizontally homogeneous surface [e.g., Salesky and Chamecki, 2012],
however, show that observational data are closer to the results of Businger et al. [1971] than to those of
Högström [1988]. Hence, the results of this study are compared to those of Businger et al. [1971], which are
referred to as the classical relations hereafter in this paper.
The MOST takes the constant-flux assumption, so the Obukhov length is not related to height in the surface
layer. Since the constant-flux assumption is valid for homogeneous flat underlying surface while turbulent
fluxes vary with height over urban surface, which is inhomogeneous and uneven, the local similarity theory
is applied in this study. The local similarity theory is the same as the MOST but uses the local turbulent quan-
tity (u*) and the local stability parameter (ζ = z/Λ, where Λ is the local Obukhov length). In other words, equa-
tion (1) is established with ∂u/∂z, u*, and ζ at the same height, so the equation of ϕ m derived from the local
similarity theory may be different at different heights. Due to the zero-plane displacement height induced by
airflow lifted by buildings, the stability parameter becomes ζ = ze/Λ = (z  zd)/Λ over the urban underlying
surface, where ze = z  zd is the effective height and zd the zero-plane displacement height. In this study, zd
is derived by a morphological method, and specific forms of ϕ m at different heights in the urban roughness
sublayer are derived from observational data according to equation (1). The details of the calculations are
described in the following chapter.

3. Field Observations and Data Processing

3.1. Observation Sites
The three observation sites were located in the cities of Nanjing (32°02′N, 118°47′E), Changzhou (31°47′N,
119°54′E), and Suzhou (31°18′N, 120°35′E) with a metallic lattice mast at each site. With buildings
standing densely around the three observation sites in the downtown areas in Nanjing, Changzhou,
and Suzhou, the surfaces belong to typical urban underlying surface. The three cities are located in
the urban agglomeration in the area of the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China. At the end of 2013,
Nanjing has an urban area of 713 km2 with a population of 6.591 million; Changzhou has an urban area
of 186 km2 with a population of 2.304 million; and Suzhou has an urban area of 441 km2 with a popula-
tion of 5.468 million.
Figures 1a1, 1b1, and 1c1 show the observation sites and their source areas whose estimations are described
in the next section, and Figures 1a2, 1b2, and 1c2 show the views toward the source areas from the observa-
tion sites. The observation mast in Nanjing was on the top of a building (marked by the red star in Figure 1a1)
whose height is 22 m above ground level. It can be seen in Figure 1a2 that the observation site is surrounded
by many buildings and apartments. The height of the taller white building marked by the red ellipse in the
photograph is lower than the lowest observation height on the observation mast. The taller buildings marked
by the right blue ellipse in the photograph are more than 500 m away from the observation site, and their
wake effects are negligible (see Figures 3 and 5). The taller buildings marked by the left blue ellipse in the
photograph are not in the source area; thus, they are not taken into account in this study.
The observation mast in Changzhou was also on the top of a building (marked by the red star in Figure 1b1)
whose height is 17 m above ground level. As shown in Figure 1b2, the observation site is surrounded by
apartments, buildings, and highway. The upper photograph shows the source area around 30°, while the

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

Figure 1. (a1, b1, and c1) Aerial photographs of the observation sites marked by the red stars and their source areas; (a2, b2,
and c2) The surrounding areas around the observation sites, with the views toward the source areas from the observation sites.
Figures 1a1 and 1a2 show Nanjing, where the selected range of wind direction is 30°–90°. In Figure 1a2, the height of the taller
building marked by the red ellipse is lower than the lowest observation height on the observation mast. The taller buildings
marked by the right blue ellipse are more than 500 m away from the observation site, while the taller buildings marked by the
left blue ellipse are not in the source area. Figures 1b1 and 1b2 show Changzhou, where the selected range of wind direction is
30°–60°. In Figure 1b2, the upper photograph shows the source area around 30°, while the lower photograph shows the source
area around 60°. The taller buildings marked by the blue ellipses are not in the source area. Figures 1c1 and 1c2 show Suzhou,
where the selected range of wind direction is 120°–210°. In Figure 1c2, the upper photograph shows the source area around
135°, while the lower photograph shows the source area around 180°. The taller buildings marked by the blue ellipse are about
800 m away from the observation site (i.e., they are at the edge of the source area). 0° is the direction of due north. The radius of
the source areas is 800 m. See more details in the text.

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lower photograph shows the source area around 60°. The taller buildings marked by the blue ellipses in the
photographs are not in the source area; thus, they are not taken into account in this study.
The observation mast in Suzhou was on the top of a building (marked by the red star in Figure 1c1) that has a
height of 14 m above ground level, and the observation site is surrounded by many apartments and buildings,
as shown in Figure 1c2. The upper photograph shows the source area around 135°, while the lower photograph
shows the source area around 180°. The taller buildings marked by the blue ellipse in the photograph are about
800 m away from the observation site (i.e., they are at the edge of the source area), and their wake effects are
also negligible (see Figures 3 and 5).
Figures 3 and 5 show that the wake effects of the taller buildings in Figures 1a2, 1b2, and 1c2 have not
significantly affected and modified the results, since the taller buildings are either far away from the observa-
tion sites or not in the source areas.

3.2. Flux and Gradient Measurements

The turbulent momentum flux is measured by a three-dimensional ultrasonic anemometer with the techni-
que of eddy correlation, in which a turbulent flux is derived from the covariance of measured fluctuating
values of a corresponding quantity and the vertical wind velocity. The momentum flux is expressed as τ ¼ ρ
u2
¼ ρu′ w ′ , where ρ is the air density, u′ and w′ are the fluctuating values of wind velocity components, and
the “—” denotes the time averaging. The details of the method of calculating the momentum flux are
described in section 3.3.
At the site in Nanjing, two ultrasonic anemometers (CSAT 3A, Campbell) were installed at the heights of
33.5 m and 48.5 m above ground level. The sampling frequency of the data logger (CR3000, Campbell) was
10 Hz. Four cup anemometers (010C, Campbell) were installed at the heights of 27 m, 31 m, 37 m, and
51.5 m above ground level. The measurements were conducted from 25 November 2011 to 7 August
2012. At the site in Changzhou, an ultrasonic anemometer (CSAT 3A, Campbell) was installed at the height
of 35 m above ground level. The sampling frequency of the data logger (CR3000, Campbell) was 10 Hz.
Four cup anemometers (010C, Campbell) were installed at the heights of 20 m, 23 m, 29 m, and 41 m above
ground level. The measurements were conducted from 1 May 2011 to 12 August 2012. At the site in Suzhou,
three ultrasonic anemometers (CSAT 3A, Campbell) were installed at the heights of 20 m, 23 m, and 32 m
above ground level. The sampling frequency of the data logger (CR3000, Campbell) was also 10 Hz. Four
cup anemometers (010C, Campbell) were installed at the heights of 17 m, 20 m, 26 m, and 35 m above ground
level. The measurements were conducted from 4 January 2014 to 26 January 2015. These cup anemometers
(010C, Campbell) at the three sites have the accuracy of ± 1% or 0.15 mph (0.07 m/s), the resolution less than
0.1 mph or m/s, and the distant constant less than 5 ft (1.5 m) of flow. The observed data were then averaged
with a period of 30 min to calculate the wind velocity gradient (see section 3.4).
Since the urban surface is highly inhomogeneous, the source area of measurement and the variation of the
canopy layer characteristics with wind direction have to be taken into account. In this study we use zh (mean
building height), zd (zero-plane displacement height), λp (plan area fraction), and λf (frontal area index) to
represent the canopy layer characteristics. Here it is necessary to note that there has been some uncertainty
in the estimation of the zero-plane displacement height zd so far. Grimmond and Oke [1999b] thought that in
urban area where buildings stand very densely, zd may be 0.6–0.85 times the average height zh of buildings;
thus, the Raupach (Ra) method [Raupach, 1994, 1995; Liu et al., 2009] is used to derive zd from the databases
of buildings information collected by field survey around the three observation sites in this study, since the
values of zd obtained by the method fall into the range of 0.6–0.85 zh. The same methods as in Liu et al. [2009]
are used to calculate zh, λp, and λf.
Since the urban boundary layer is extremely heterogeneous, there is large uncertainty when the current flux
source area models, which have been originally developed for scalar fluxes over even and homogeneous
underlying surface, are applied to urban areas [e.g., Hellsten et al., 2015]. Since at present there is no generally
accepted flux source area model applicable to the urban boundary layer, while caution should be taken and it
should be kept in mind that the estimation of flux source area is approximate in urban areas, some flux source
area models are applied to urban flux measurements [e.g., Velasco et al., 2009]. In this study, the analytical
model of Kormann and Meixner [2001] is used to estimate the source area of the momentum flux

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

Figure 2. The frequency distribution of wind direction at the site in (a) Nanjing during 25 November 2011 to 7 August 2012,
(b) Changzhou during 1 May 2011 to 12 August 2012, and (c) Suzhou during 4 January 2014 to 26 January 2015. Each piece
of data is obtained by a 30 min averaging of data observed at the highest level at each site. At the two sides of the green
bars are the percentage and the number of data pieces, respectively.

measurements. With the flux concentration contribution level set to be 75% and the height set to be the
highest observation height at each site, the source areas for the three sites are estimated to be a circle with
a radius being slightly less than 800 m. Hence, with wind direction taken into account, the source areas for
the three sites are taken as a sector with the radius being 800 m and the degree extending ±10° from the
wind direction.
The range of wind direction in this study shown in Figure 1 is selected according to the two following criter-
ions: within the range, (1) the canopy layer characteristics, represented by zh, zd, λp, and λf in this study, do not
change significantly and (2) there is no any taller building, elevated highway, viaduct, and other element that
is close to the observation sites and thus may disturb airflows over the observation sites. While the source
areas for the three sites are estimated with the highest observation height at each site, those source areas
estimated with lower observation heights at the three sites are definitely different and smaller. The two
above criterions are set up to render effect of different source areas induced by different observation heights
on observation data as little as possible and thus render the ensuing analysis valid. So the range of wind
direction is selected as 30°–90° for Nanjing, 30°–60° for Changzhou, and 120°–210° for Suzhou, respectively,
as shown in Figure 1, where 0° is defined as the direction of due north. Figure 2 shows the distribution of wind
frequency during the observation periods at the three sites, indicating that our selections of wind direction
have not significantly reduced the amount of data usable for this study.
Figure 3 shows the variations of zh, zd, λp, and λf in the selected ranges of wind direction at the three sites,
indicating that the canopy layer characteristics do not change significantly within the ranges. In the ensuing
analysis, an averaged zh within the selected range of wind direction is used for each site. It is noted here that
in Nanjing the λf changes more significantly, but this does not imply that the canopy layer characteristics are

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

Figure 3. Variations of zh, zd, λp, and λf, which are derived from morphological methods, with wind direction. See more
details in the text. (a and b) At the site in Nanjing, (c and d) at the site in Changzhou, and (e and f) at the site in Suzhou.
Figures 3a, 3c, and 3e show the variations of zh and zd, the height in the y axis displaying the values of zh and zd in meter
above ground level, while Figures 3b, 3d, and 3f show the variations of λp and λf. Green boxes show the selected ranges of
wind direction in this study. 0° is the direction of due north.

inconsistent, since the relatively significant change of λf is caused by the orientation of buildings and the
selected wind directions in Nanjing. As shown in Figure 1a1, for most buildings, the two sides having larger
areas of a building are approximately oriented north and south (0° and 180°), so the λf changes significantly
when the wind direction just changes from the northeast (30°) to the east direction (90°).
3.3. Calculation of Turbulent Flux
The turbulent momentum flux is calculated from the turbulent data measured by the ultrasonic anem-
ometers with the following procedures reported in many literatures [e.g., Högström, 1988; Wilczak et al.,
2001; Klipp, 2007; Hiller et al., 2008; Song et al., 2010]:
1. Removing “outlier points” from the original records of turbulent data. The outlier points are detected by the
variance test. For an original times series x, the standard deviation σ Δx of Δx that is the difference between
two temporally adjacent points is calculated. Checked point by point, if at a point the |Δx| ≥ 4σ Δx, the point is
deemed to be an outlier point. The outlier points are replaced with the linear interpolation of the temporally
adjacent points that are not removed. If the proportion of outlier points exceeds 5% in a set of data whose
length is 30 min, the whole set of data is removed.
2. Rotating the coordinates to make the average cross wind velocity component equal to 0.

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

3. Calculating 30 min averaged values of wind velocity components for every set of data whose “outlier
points” have been removed and replaced.
4. Calculating the turbulent momentum flux during each period of 30 min.
5. In reference to Högström [1988] and Song et al. [2010], if the friction velocity u* < 0.1 m/s in a set of data,
the whole set of data is removed.

3.4. Calculation of Wind Velocity Gradient

Nieuwstadt [1984] thought that the logarithmical plus linear law is well in describing the surface layer wind
velocity profile in the stable boundary layer, whereas Högström [1988] used the second-order polynomial
of ln(z  zd) as the wind velocity profile to calculate the wind velocity gradient. According to our analysis,
the results by the two methods are very close to each other; thus, the logarithmical plus linear law u = aze
+ b ln ze + c is employed in this study, where ze = z  zd is the effective height and a, b, and c are the coeffi-
cients determined by fitting the data of the 30 min averaged wind velocity. Then the wind velocity gradient
is calculated by the relation ∂u
∂z ¼ a þ z e .
b

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Momentum Flux at Different Heights
According to Raupach et al. [1991], the depth of the urban roughness sublayer is inferred to be about 2–5 times
the average height of buildings. In this study, buildings stand so densely in the areas of study; thus, the six
normalized heights z/zh = 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.9, 2.4, and 3.4 are inferred to be still in the urban roughness sublayer.
The friction velocity and the heat flux at different heights are compared to one another. For example, in
Nanjing the statistical results show that the friction velocity at the height of z/zh = 2.4 is about 1.25 times
that at z/zh = 1.6, while the heat flux at the height of z/zh = 2.4 is about 1.15 times that at z/zh = 1.6, indicating
that the momentum flux and the heat flux vary with height and the constant-flux assumption is not met in
the urban roughness sublayer. In this study, the local similarity theory is applied, and the similarity parameters
at a height are calculated from the related quantities at the same height.

4.2. Momentum Flux-Gradient Relations

So far, studies on the momentum flux-gradient relations within the urban roughness sublayer have not been
many, while some of the recent researches on the urban boundary layer are aimed at the turbulence above
the urban roughness sublayer [e.g., Nordbo et al., 2013; Fortuniak et al., 2013; Fortuniak and Pawlak, 2015]. In
this study, the 30 min averaged observational data are used to fit the similarity relations between the dimen-
sionless wind velocity gradient ϕ m and the local stability parameter ζ , and then the fitted results are com-
pared to the classical relations. To facilitate comparison, the general form of the similarity relations is
written as follows:
κze ∂u
¼ ϕ m ðζ Þ ¼ αm ð1  γm ζ Þ4 ; ζ < 0
1
(4a)
u
∂z
κze ∂u
¼ ϕ m ðζ Þ ¼ αm þ βm ζ ; ζ > 0 (4b)
u
∂z
where αm is the ϕ m under neutral conditions (ζ = 0), ζ = ze/Λ is the local stability parameter, and γm and βm
are the coefficients to be determined.
Figure 4 shows the scatterplots and fitted results for the 30 min averaged dimensionless wind velocity gradi-
ent ϕ m and local stability parameter ζ . The red line represents the fitted result in this study. The classical rela-
tions are also shown to illustrate the distinction of flux-gradient relations between in the urban roughness
sublayer and over homogeneous flat underlying surface. For each normalized height, the fitted line is close
to that of the classical relation under unstable conditions, but it departs from the classical relation under
stable conditions. Under unstable conditions, the fitted results at the six normalized heights are very close
to the classical relations, whereas under stable conditions, their deviations from the classical relations are
significant but reduce with the normalized height. Although some of the data are scattered, which may be
due to turbulent fluctuations induced by the roughness elements since the measurements were conducted
within the roughness sublayer, in general, the fitted momentum flux-gradient relations in the roughness
sublayer follow the local similarity theory.

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

Figure 4. Dimensionless wind velocity gradient ϕ m versus local stability parameter ζ at the normalized height z/zh of (a) 1.2,
(b) 1.4, (c) 1.6, (d) 1.9, (e) 2.4, and (f) 3.4. The blue points denote the observational data, red lines the fitted results with green
error bars, and black lines the relations of Businger et al. [1971]. The error bar is calculated with the Δ ζ being 0.1. For example,
when ζ = 0, the error bar is taken as the standard deviation of the data points within the interval 0.05 < ζ < 0.05, if the
number of the data points is greater than 3; if the number of the data points is less than 3 within the interval, the error bar is
not calculated. See more details on the data in Table 1.

The fitted values of αm, βm, and γm in this study as well as those in Businger et al. [1971] are shown in Table 1. In
general, the fitted αm is very close to 1.0. While increasing with height, the fitted βm gradually approaches the
value of 4.7 in the classical relations, suggesting that above the roughness sublayer there exists an inertial sub-
layer, in which the MOST is valid. Under unstable conditions, the fitted γm is sensitive to the available data from
which it is fitted. It is neither close to the value in the classical relations nor displaying a clear trend to approach a
certain value. However, under unstable conditions the fitted ϕ m is a 1/4 power function and the value of the
fitted ϕ m is between 0 and 1; thus, the effect of change of γm is little, and the fitted ϕ m is still close to the classical
relations, implying that in the urban roughness sublayer the dependence of flux-gradient relation on
atmospheric stability is not statistically different from that in the surface layer over homogeneous flat surface
although larger uncertainties exist in the observations over the cities. Under stable conditions, the fitted ϕ m is
a linear function; thus, the effect of change of βm is larger, and the fitted ϕ m is away from the classical relations.
The value of βm in the urban roughness sublayer is smaller than that in the surface layer over homogeneous flat
surface, suggesting that the effect of mechanical turbulence is stronger and the dependence of flux-gradient
relation on atmospheric stability is weaker in the urban roughness sublayer than in the surface layer over
homogeneous flat surface. Moreover, Figure 4 shows that the difference between the fitted relation and the

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

a
Table 1. Values of Coefficients in the Fitted Local Similarity Relations in This Study and in Businger et al. [1971]
b c
Site Number of Data Points Wind Direction z/zh αm βm γm
d
Suzhou 2238 (226) 120°–210° 1.2 1.03 1.5 15.8
e
Suzhou 596 (136) 120°–210° 1.4 1.17 1.6 17.6
Nanjing 1813 (135) 30°–90° 1.6 1.07 1.9 8.6
e
Suzhou 574 (160) 120°–210° 1.9 1.08 2.1 7.1
Nanjing 2309 (269) 30°–90° 2.4 0.95 2.7 18.8
f
Changzhou 310 (26) 30°–60° 3.4 0.94 4.2 18.0
Businger et al. [1971] 1 4.7 15
a
z is the height above ground level; zh is the mean building height above ground level; and αm, γm, and βm are the coeffi-
cients to be determined in equations (4a) and (4b) in the text. The data are selected according to the three criterions: (1) the
wind direction falls into the selected range of wind direction; (2) the variation of wind speed with height satisfies the logarith-
mical plus linear law employed in this study; and (3) the friction velocity u* is greater than 0.1 m/s. See more details in the text.
b
The number in brackets shows the number of data points under stable conditions. The stratification is classified as
being stable when the stability parameter ζ > 0.1.
c
0° is defined as the direction of due north.
d
The data were observed during the period from 4 January to 23 October 2014.
e
The data were observed during the period from 28 October 2014 to 26 January 2015.
f
The number of data points is much less at the site in Changzhou because the instrument at the highest level was out
of order for an extended period of time.

classical one is larger under stable conditions than under unstable conditions, implying that the dynamical effect
in the urban canopy layer is more significant under stable conditions than under unstable conditions. The change
of βm with height in the urban roughness sublayer is discussed in the next section.

4.3. Critical Richardson Number

In the urban roughness sublayer, βm in the fitted momentum flux-gradient relations is smaller than that in the
classical relations and increases with the normalized height. The phenomenon is also discussed in terms of
the critical Richardson number Ric in the following.
The relation between the local stability parameter ζ and ϕ m is

ze κz e T w ′ T ′ ϕ m T w ′ T ′
g g
ζ ¼ ¼ ¼ ∂u (5)
Λ u
u′ w ′ ′ ′
∂z u w
The definition of the turbulent momentum (heat) exchange coefficient Km (Kh) is

u′ w ′ w ′ T ′
Km ¼ ∂u
; Kh ¼ ∂θ
(6)
∂z ∂z
The turbulent Prandtl number and gradient Richardson number are defined as
g ∂θ
Km T ∂z
Pr t ¼ ; Ri ¼
(7)
Kh ∂u 2
∂z
From the above equations, the following relation is obtained [Stull, 1997]:
Pr t ζ
Ri ¼ (8)
ϕm
Under stable conditions, the gradient Richardson number Ri can be expressed as Ri ¼ αmPrþβt ζ ¼ αm =ζPrþβ
t
[Van de
mζ m

Wiel et al., 2007; Zilitinkevich et al., 2007]. When ζ approaches infinity (i.e., without turbulence), Ri approaches Pr
β ,
t
m

which becomes the critical Richardson number Ric. So far, the estimation of the turbulent Prandtl number Prt
has not been so accurate yet [Foken, 2006]. In this study, the value of 0.95 is used, which has been a value mod-
ified by Högström [1996] and recommended by Foken [2006]. Hence, the relation between the critical
Richardson number Ric and βm is Ri c ¼ 0:95
β . m

For homogeneous flat underlying surface, Businger et al. [1971] obtained βm = 4.7; thus, Ric ≈ 0.2 in the classi-
cal relations. In this study, βm is 1.48, 1.61, 1.89, 2.09, 2.66, and 4.20 at z/zh = 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.9, 2.4, and 3.4
respectively in the urban roughness sublayer; thus, the “local” critical Richardson number Ric is 0.64, 0.59,
0.50, 0.45, 0.36, and 0.23, respectively, of which all are larger than the value in the classical relations. Since

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 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 10.1002/2015JD023909

the local Ric decreases with height, it may

be inferred that the local Ric will also
approach the value in the classical rela-
tions once the height approaches and
exceeds the top of the roughness sublayer
(i.e., into the inertial sublayer). This may be
due to the difference of turbulence
between in the urban roughness sublayer
and over homogeneous flat underlying
surface. It is inferred that the effect of per-
turbation caused by big roughness ele-
ments such as buildings on the mean
airflow strengthens the mechanical turbu-
lence, enabling larger-scale turbulent
Figure 5. Extrapolation of the coefficient βm in the fitted flux-gradient eddies to exist under more stable condi-
relations versus the normalized height z/zh to estimate the depth of tions. With the perturbation decreasing
the urban roughness sublayer. The linearly extrapolated equation is
and the mixing strengthening with height,
z/zh = 0.77β + 0.18 by the least squares fitting. See more details on
the data in Table 1. when the height is closer to the top of the
roughness sublayer where the mixing is
less affected by the roughness elements,
the turbulence becomes similar to that over homogeneous flat underlying surface and the local Ric and βm
are close to the values in the classical relations. Above the height of the top, the urban roughness sublayer
changes to the inertial sublayer [e.g., Brown, 2000; Barlow, 2014].
4.4. Estimation of the Depth of the Urban Roughness Sublayer
Since the coefficient βm in the fitted flux-gradient relations increases with height and gradually approaches
the value in the classical relations, we may be able to estimate the depth of the urban roughness sublayer
with the trend of the fitted coefficients varying with the normalized height. The coefficient γm in the fitted
flux-gradient relations is not used to estimate the depth, since the fitted γm does not display clear trend with
the normalized height due to its sensitivity to the available data. Here we assume that the relation between
βm and z/zh is linear; hence, the depth can be derived to be the height at which βm is equal to the value in the
classical relations. As seen in Figure 5, when βm = 4.7, the normalized height z/zh = 3.8 based on the linear
extrapolation. That the estimated depth is about 3.8 times the urban canopy layer height is in agreement with
the estimation of Raupach et al. [1991].

5. Conclusions
In this study, the field observational data of turbulence and mean wind velocity measured at three urban sites
in Nanjing, Changzhou, and Suzhou, China, are analyzed to derive the momentum flux-gradient relations at
six normalized heights in the urban roughness sublayer, which are then compared to the classical similarity
relations of Businger et al. [1971]. This study is concluded in the following:
1. In the urban roughness sublayer, turbulent fluxes vary with height; thus, the MOST is invalid. The momentum
flux-gradient relation, however, follows the local similarity theory.
2. At the highest normalized height, the deviation of the fitted momentum flux-gradient relations from the clas-
sical relations is smallest, while it is larger at the lower normalized heights. The higher the height is, the closer
the fitted relations are to the classical relations which are valid over homogeneous flat surface, suggesting that
above the roughness sublayer there is an inertial sublayer, in which the classical relations are valid.
3. Under unstable conditions, the fitted relations at all the six heights are closer to the classical relations, indi-
cating that the local effect is not significant; under stable conditions, the deviation of the fitted relations at
the six heights from the classical relations is significant but decreases with height, indicating that the local
effect reduces with height and the flux-gradient relation varies with height.
4. The observations indicate that the local critical Richardson number Ric at all the six heights is larger than 0.2
while decreasing with height and gradually approaching 0.2, which is the value of the critical Richardson
number Ric in the classical relations. This suggests that the turbulence in the urban roughness sublayer

ZOU ET AL. THE MOMENTUM FLUX-GRADIENT RELATIONS 10,807

 Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by the National
Basic Research Program 973 Project of
China 2010CB428501 and the Jiangsu
Provincial 2011 Program for Collaborative
Innovation Center of Climate Change. All
the data used in this study are available
from the corresponding author upon
request.
ZOU ET AL.
10.1002/2015JD023909
may be different from that in the surface layer over homogeneous flat surface. Over the urban surface, the
roughness elements perturb the airflow and thus strengthen the mechanical turbulence. But the local per-
turbation reduces with height and fades above the top of the roughness sublayer due to sufficient turbulent
mixing there.
5. The fitted flux-gradient relations at the six normalized heights show that in the urban roughness sublayer,
under stable conditions the value of βm in the fitted relations is smaller than that in the classical relations
but increases with height and gradually approaches the value in the classical relations. Thus, the depth of
the urban roughness sublayer may be estimated with the trend of the fitted coefficients varying with the
normalized height, which is assumed to be a linear relation. In this study, the depth is estimated to be 3.8
times the urban canopy layer height, which is in agreement with previous researches. It also indicates that
a few taller buildings within the source areas at the three sites in this study have not significantly affected
and modified the results, since the buildings are far away from the observation sites. Although caution
must be taken due to the assumed linear variation of the fitted coefficients in the local flux-gradient rela-
tions with height in the urban roughness sublayer and the impact of building density changes that is not
taken into account, which need to be further verified and tested against more urban field observational
data and be investigated in future study, our results may serve as a first approximation for estimating
the depth of the urban roughness sublayer.
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