Characterizing atmospheric stability in complex terrain

Characterizing atmospheric stability becomes challenging in heterogeneous complex terrain. We use data from 47 meteorological towers associated with the Perdigão field campaign to recommend data processing approaches and to assess the limitations of shorter or fewer towers. We quantify atmospheric stability according to the Obukhov length, the turbulence kinetic energy, and the turbulence dissipation rate using a range of decomposition periods including consistent 10 minute periods to match convention in the wind energy community and consistent 30 minute periods to match convention in the atmospheric science community. Atmospheric stability characterization is impacted by the Reynolds decomposition period, so care should be taken to use appropriate intervals. Additionally, 10 m measurements do not provide reliable 100 m hub-height stability predictions. Finally, we demonstrate a methodology that can indicate the necessary number and location of towers to characterize atmospheric stability. Holistically, this work addresses challenges in relying on sparse surface measurements.