The land surface and the overlying atmosphere are tightly coupled systems. These feedbacks are regulated through the interface: the planetary boundary layer in which intense turbulence occurs. Land-atmosphere interactions are important sources of seasonal climate predictability in several parts of the world. Soil moisture and vegetation are key parameters influencing land-atmosphere interactions in the climate system by modifying the surface energy, moisture and carbon fluxes, and boundary conditions for the boundary layer. Because soil moisture, vegetation, turbulence (boundary layer and moist convection) organize on many different temporal and spatial scales, the study of land-atmosphere interactions has been notoriously difficult. The study of land-atmosphere interactions encompass a wide range of disciplines from soil science, surface hydrology, hydrometeorology, plant physiology, turbulence, convection and atmosphere circulation. As such there is no single type of land-atmosphere interactions but a wide variety of cases embedded within the larger-scale general circulation.
There have been considerable developments in recent years on the subject so that an up-to-date presentation and review is required.
The land surface and the overlying atmosphere are tightly coupled systems. These feedbacks are regulated through the interface: the planetary boundary layer in which intense turbulence occurs. Land-atmosphere interactions are important sources of seasonal climate predictability in several parts of the world. Soil moisture and vegetation are key parameters influencing land-atmosphere interactions in the climate system by modifying the surface energy, moisture and carbon fluxes, and boundary conditions for the boundary layer. Because soil moisture, vegetation, turbulence (boundary layer and moist convection) organize on many different temporal and spatial scales, the study of land-atmosphere interactions has been notoriously difficult. The study of land-atmosphere interactions encompass a wide range of disciplines from soil science, surface hydrology, hydrometeorology, plant physiology, turbulence, convection and atmosphere circulation. As such there is no single type of land-atmosphere interactions but a wide variety of cases embedded within the larger-scale general circulation.
There have been considerable developments in recent years on the subject so that an up-to-date presentation and review is required.
