A field campaign was carried out near Boardman, Oregon, to study the effects of subgrid-scale variability of sensible- and latent-heat fluxes on surface boundary-layer properties. The experiment involved three U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, one National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratory, and several universities. The experiment was conducted in a region of severe contrasts in adjacent surface types that accentuated the response of the atmosphere to variable surface forcing. Large values of sensible-heat flux and low values of latent-heat flux characterized a sagebrush steppe area; significantly smaller sensible-heat fluxes and much larger latent-heat fluxes were associated with extensive tracts of irrigated farmland to the north, east, and west of the steppe. Data were obtained from an array of surface flux stations, remote-sensing devices, an instrumented aircraft, and soil and vegetation measurements. The data will be used to address the problem of extrapolating from a limited number of local measurements to area-averaged values of fluxes suitable for use in global climate models.
1Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, Washington
2Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
3Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois
4Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
5EG&G Measurements, Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada
6Blackland Research Center, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Temple, Texas
7University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
8Utah State University, Logan, Utah
9Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois
