Microscale meteorology

Microscale meteorology is the study of short-lived atmospheric phenomena smaller than mesoscale, about 1 km or less.^[1] These two branches of meteorology are sometimes grouped together as "mesoscale and microscale meteorology" (MMM) and together study all phenomena smaller than synoptic scale; that is they study features generally too small to be depicted on a weather map. These include small and generally fleeting cloud "puffs" and other small cloud features.^[2] Microscale meteorology controls the most important mixing and dilution processes in the atmosphere.^[3] Important topics in microscale meteorlogy include heat transfer and gas exchange between soil, vegetation, and/or surface water and the atmosphere caused by near-ground turbulence. Measuring these transport processes involves use of micrometeorological (or flux) towers. Variables often measured or derived include net radiation, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, ground heat storage, and fluxes of trace gases important to the atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere.

See also

• Eddy covariance
• FluxNet
• Synoptic scale meteorology
• Mesoscale meteorology
• Storm scale
• Misoscale meteorology
• Scale (spatial)
• Surface weather analysis
• Wind engineering

References

1. ^ "AMS Glossary of Meteorology". Micrometeorology. American Meteorological Society. http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?query=micrometeorology. Retrieved 2008-04-12. 
2. ^ Rogers, R. (1989). A Short Course in Cloud Physics. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0750632151. 
3. ^ Pereira, Norman (1979). Air and Noise Pollution Control. Totowa: Humana Press. pp. 200. ISBN 0896030016.