MAQ-22806 Atmosphere-Vegetation-Soil Interactions

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Studiepunten 6.00

Language of instruction:

Dutch and/or English

Assumed knowledge on:

Meteorology and Climate (MAQ-21806)

Contents:

This course deals with transport processes near the interface between atmosphere and land. It focuses on the exchange of energy, water and other species between the soil and the lower part of the atmosphere. Special attention is paid to the role of vegetation in this exchange. The energy and water balance near the Earth's surface are linked through evapotranspiration fluxes of the soil-vegetation system. In the soil part special attention is paid to the movement of water, solutes and heat through the vadose zone, and effects of dry, wet and salty conditions on vegetation development and evapotranspiration. Main topics in the atmospheric part concern interaction of the surface with incoming radiation, and effects of shear and stratification on energy and water transport. Analytical tools and numerical models are used to solve the transport problems.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- calculate radiative fluxes at the surface and in a canopy for given surface conditions and atmospheric conditions, as well as analyze observed fluxes of the four components of net radiation;
- explain and apply methods to determine soil hydraulic and thermal properties;
- analyze and calculate the behaviour and movement of heat, water and solutes in the soil-water-vegetation-atmosphere system;
- analyze the role of turbulence, shear and stratification in atmospheric exchange processes in the lower 100 meters above the ground, and describe and apply similarity relationships;
- solve practical problems related to atmospheric transport processes (e.g. calculation of evaporation and transpiration, soil temperatures, CO2-transport, deposition, surface temperature and the radiation balance);
- analyze the interaction between soil transport processes, crop growth and atmospheric surface fluxes, both by combining the process-descriptions for the various compartments and by using ecohydrological models;
- explain how the exchange processes are modeled in large- and small-scale numerical models and for practical applications.

Literature:

A.F. Moene and J.C. van Dam: 'Atmosphere-Vegetation-Soil Interactions' or book (title to be announced).