In arid and semi-arid areas, the main contributions to land surface processes are precipitation, surface evaporation and surface energy balancing. In the close-to-surface layer and root-zone layer, vapor flux is the dominant flux controlling these processes - process which, in turn, influence the local climate pattern and the local ecosystem. The work reported in this thesis attempts to understand how the soil airflow affects the vapor transport during evaporation processes, by using a two-phase heat and mass transfer model. The necessity of including the airflow mechanism in land surface process studies is discussed and highlighted.
In arid and semi-arid areas, the main contributions to land surface processes are precipitation, surface evaporation and surface energy balancing. In the close-to-surface layer and root-zone layer, vapor flux is the dominant flux controlling these processes - process which, in turn, influence the local climate pattern and the local ecosystem. The work reported in this thesis attempts to understand how the soil airflow affects the vapor transport during evaporation processes, by using a two-phase heat and mass transfer model. The necessity of including the airflow mechanism in land surface process studies is discussed and highlighted.
Nominated as an outstanding thesis by the University of Twente A valuable contribution to land surface process modelling for arid and semi-arid areas Successfully employs a two-phase heat- and mass-transport model to include the essential but as-yet neglected effects of vapour convection
Yijian Zeng
Advective Effect on Evaporation Airflow Mechanism Land-Atmosphere Interaction Soil Physics Two-Phase Flow Vapour Flux in Soil hydrogeology