Turbulence Intermittency Characteristics and Energy Balance over three Distinct Land Surfaces

Turbulence intermittency is a frontier challenge in atmospheric turbulence research, affecting turbulent flux estimation and surface energy balance non-closure. This study uses atmospheric boundary layer observations from three typical underlying surfaces in northern China, to quantitatively investigate the characteristics of turbulence intermittency and its impact on energy balance closure. Particular attention is given to the consistency and variability of these characteristics across different surface types. The results indicate that turbulence intermittency exhibits broadly similar characteristics and effects over the three underlying surfaces. During burst periods of turbulence intermittency events, turbulent flux transport is enhanced, whereas sub-mesoscale motions contribute less to transport than turbulent motions. The opposite tendency is observed during quiescent periods. Stronger intermittency generally weakens turbulent flux transport. Empirical relationships are established between turbulence intermittency intensity, mean turbulent transport capacity, and background meteorological fields. The contribution of turbulence intermittency to surface energy balance closure appears to be a common feature across different surfaces. During burst periods, surface energy residuals decrease by 1.91-44.86 Wm-², and the mean closure ratios improve by 3%-39%. Tazhong station, which represents an arid region with strongly heterogeneous and thermally forced underlying surfaces, exhibits the strongest and most frequent turbulence intermittency. It also shows that more frequent co-occurrence of dynamical and thermal intermittency is associated with greater reductions in residuals and more pronounced improvements in closure. These findings may provide a basis for numerical simulations of turbulence intermittency and for refining turbulence parameterization schemes in atmospheric models.