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Nate Brunsell Assistant Professor Office: 117a Lindley Hall Phone: 785-864-2021 Email: brunsell@ku.edu Office Hours: MW 3:00-4:00 or by appointment
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My primary area of research is examining the effects of surface heterogeneity on land atmosphere interactions. This research will help in understanding how to translate local measurements of carbon, water and heat fluxes to larger scales to address how regional climate change and land use patterns impact different areas. I use micrometeorological techniques such as large aperture scintillometry and eddy covariance to address the spatial and temporal variability of water, carbon and energy fluxes. Modeling analysis using large eddy simulation (LES) and Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) schemes help to extend our understanding of the processes governing local to regional scale interactions. These field observations and model results are combined with remote sensing observations to address the impact of spatial heterogeneity on surface fluxes at larger scales.
Large Aperture Scintillometry
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Large Aperture Scintillometer measurements can give an integrated view of the sensible heat flux over path lengths up to 5 km. These observations are used to address scaling issues of relating eddy-covariance measurements to remote sensing pixel scales for verifying remote sensing estimates of the surface energy balance. These measurements are being used to understand the impacts of topography and the impact of spring burning on water and carbon fluxes in a tall grass prairie. |
Large Eddy Simulation
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| The measurements of the LAS can be an important observation to aid in enhancing our understanding of fluxes over heterogeneous terrain. In order to more fully understand these processes, I am using the ARPS model in Large Eddy Simulation (LES) mode to address these issues. Particular areas of interest are the local circulation patterns that are established over moderately rolling terrain. This will aid in understanding the variability between eddy covariance measurements and the LAS. In addition, model simulations are being used to address soil moisture – vegetation – precipitation feedbacks at the local to regional scale. |
Extending to Regional Scales
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The local measurements and LES studies are enhancing our knowledge of land atmosphere interactions. We are using these enhancements to relate satellite measurements (mostly from MODIS and AVHRR) of vegetation and surface temperature to pixel scale water, carbon and heat fluxes. We are combining the satellite observations with a SVAT model to examine the spatial and temporal dynamics over the state of Kansas. Using various techniques, I am addressing the spatial and temporal scaling of remote sensing observations and how the pixel resolution of the satellite impacts our determination and understanding of the surface fluxes. |
| I am also working on combining MODIS and NEXRAD over the central U.S. to address the feedbacks between precipitation and the land surface. This follows from a global study that examined feedback mechanisms using AVHRR data. Now, we are focusing on a smaller scale as a validation of those results. |
