A model of surface heat fluxes based on the theory of maximum entropy production

A model of heat fluxes over a dry land surface is proposed based on the theory of maximum entropy production (MEP) as a special case of the maximum entropy principle (MaxEnt). When the turbulent heat transfer in the atmospheric boundary layer is parameterized using a Monin‐Obukhov similarity model, a dissipation function or entropy production function may be expressed in terms of the heat fluxes following the MEP formalism. A solution of the heat fluxes can be obtained by finding the extreme of the dissipation function under the constraint of conservation of energy for a given energy input (i.e., net radiation) at the surface. The MEP solution of the surface heat fluxes is tested using observations from fields experiments.