Large-eddy simulation-based retrieval of dissipation from coherent Doppler lidar data

Accurate estimation of dissipation rate is important in understanding and analyzing turbulent flows found in environment and engineering processes. Many previous studies have focused on measuring the local dissipation rate at a single point or averaged dissipation rate over a suitable area. Since coherent Doppler lidar is capable of providing multi-point measurements covering a large spatial extent, it is well-suited for examining the distribution of dissipation in the atmosphere. In this paper, an approach is presented that is based on retrieving the dissipation rate from coherent Doppler lidar data using large-eddy simulation. Two Coherent Doppler lidars performed range height indicator (RHI) scans of a vertical/cross-barrier plane during the Terrain-induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX). Two-dimensional velocity vectors were retrieved using a least squares method. The velocity vectors retrieved from co-planar RHI scans are used to estimate subgrid scale (SGS) quantities through a known SGS parameterization. For the T-REX datasets analyzed, the dissipation rate was found to increase in the presence of rotors, subrotors, and, as expected, in regions of high wind shear. Owing to the presence of sharper gradients in subrotors, their dissipation rate is generally larger than that of rotors.