The object of this research is an evaluation of the stability-dependent terms of the equation for the budget of turbulent kinetic energy in the lower atmosphere. Theory gives the form of this important relation, but the contributions made by various mechanisms involved must be evaluated by experiment. Previous evaluations, many obtained more than 20 years ago, are now considered uncertain. This project will use improved equipment and will work jointly with scientists from the CSIRO Centre for Environmental Mechanics, Canberra, Australia, to carry out a complete study of the turbulence budget in the first 16 m over an extensive, treeless plain in New South Wales. Observations will be made over a wide range of atmospheric stability and will include simultaneous measurements of mean wind profiles, turbulence spectra, net radiation, vertical gradients of air temperature and dew point, rates of thermal exchange across the soil-air interface, and the vertical turbulent fluxes of turbulent energy, momentum, and heat.
