Fluxes of Heat and Vapor in the Lower Atmosphere Derived from Aircraft Observations

Abstract

Measurements from aircraft of temperature, mixing ratio and vertical air velocity have been corrected on the basis of zero flux of mass through the flight path to yield fluxes of heat and water vapor at different levels in the lower atmosphere. A detailed examination of these fluxes indicates that most of the heat is carried by eddies much smaller than the thermals which are the obvious features of the temperature records, though the relative importance of the smaller eddies decreases with increasing height. The observed changes in temperature and mixing ratio are compared with values computed from eddy and radiation flux divergences and horizontal gradients and advection.