Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Properties of the Wind Field within the Oklahoma City Park Avenue Street Canyon. Part I: Mean Flow and Turbulence Statistics

M. A. Nelson Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

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E. R. Pardyjak Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

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J. C. Klewicki Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

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S. U. Pol Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

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M. J. Brown Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

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Print Publication:
01 Dec 2007
Collections:
Joint Urban 2003 Experiment (JU2003)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/2006JAMC1427.1
Page(s):
2038–2054
Restricted access

Abstract

Velocity data were obtained from sonic anemometer measurements within an east–west-running street canyon located in the urban core of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, during the Joint Urban 2003 field campaign. These data were used to explore the directional dependence of the mean flow and turbulence within a real-world street canyon. The along-canyon vortex that is a key characteristic of idealized street canyon studies was not evident in the mean wind data, although the sensor placement was not optimized for the detection of such structures. Instead, surface wind measurements imply that regions of horizontal convergence and divergence exist within the canopy, which are likely caused by taller buildings diverting the winds aloft down into the canopy. The details of these processes appear to be dependent on relatively small perturbations in the prevailing wind direction. Turbulence intensities within the canyon interior appeared to have more dependence on prevailing wind direction than they did in the intersections. Turbulence in the intersections tended to be higher than was observed in the canyon interior. This behavior implies that there are some fundamental differences between the flow structure found in North American–style cities where building heights are typically heterogeneous and that found in European-style cities, which generally have more homogeneous building heights. It is hypothesized that the greater three-dimensionality caused by the heterogeneous building heights increases the ventilation of the urban canopy through mean advective transport as well as enhanced turbulence.

Corresponding author address: M. A. Nelson, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Group D-3, MS K551, Los Alamos, NM 87545. Email: nelsonm@lanl.gov

This article included in the Urban 2003 Experiment (JU2003) special collection.

Abstract

Velocity data were obtained from sonic anemometer measurements within an east–west-running street canyon located in the urban core of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, during the Joint Urban 2003 field campaign. These data were used to explore the directional dependence of the mean flow and turbulence within a real-world street canyon. The along-canyon vortex that is a key characteristic of idealized street canyon studies was not evident in the mean wind data, although the sensor placement was not optimized for the detection of such structures. Instead, surface wind measurements imply that regions of horizontal convergence and divergence exist within the canopy, which are likely caused by taller buildings diverting the winds aloft down into the canopy. The details of these processes appear to be dependent on relatively small perturbations in the prevailing wind direction. Turbulence intensities within the canyon interior appeared to have more dependence on prevailing wind direction than they did in the intersections. Turbulence in the intersections tended to be higher than was observed in the canyon interior. This behavior implies that there are some fundamental differences between the flow structure found in North American–style cities where building heights are typically heterogeneous and that found in European-style cities, which generally have more homogeneous building heights. It is hypothesized that the greater three-dimensionality caused by the heterogeneous building heights increases the ventilation of the urban canopy through mean advective transport as well as enhanced turbulence.

Corresponding author address: M. A. Nelson, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Group D-3, MS K551, Los Alamos, NM 87545. Email: nelsonm@lanl.gov

This article included in the Urban 2003 Experiment (JU2003) special collection.

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Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

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