Patch scale aggregation of heterogeneous land surface cover for mesoscale meteorological models

Theoretical studies dealing with aggregation of surface parameters at small scale are reviewed. Finding effective parameters for surface resistance is possible for most cases by taking simple geometric or arithmetic averages of the component resistances. The use of more sophisticated techniques such as the blending height improves the calculations. Resistances for heat and water vapour behave differently in heterogeneous terrain. A simple surface energy balance model is adapted to show the behaviour of the roughness length of heat and water vapour in heterogeneous terrain. It is suggested that this simple parameterization can adequately take into account the effect of variation in surface cover on the fluxes of heat and water vapour.