Analysis of turbulence and turbulence kinetic energy dynamics in complex terrain

This paper investigates the variability in turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) with elevation and topography in a shallow high mountain valley in the Canadian Rockies. The Fortress Mountain Research Basin in the Kananaskis Valley, Alberta, was chosen for this study.

Data from three high‐frequency eddy‐covariance systems at a northwest‐facing slope, and at two ridgetops at the south and north valley sidewalls were used for the analysis, and combined with large‐eddy simulations at 90 m horizontal grid spacing. The observed data and simulations focused on a sunny summer day when turbulence was well‐developed, and cross‐ridge flows interacted with thermally driven circulations. The observed TKE time series compared reasonably well with simulations at the northwest‐facing slope and southern ridgetop.