Identification of non-turbulent motions for enhanced estimation of turbulent transport using the anisotropy of atmospheric Turbulence

Anisotropy, derived from the Reynolds stress tensor, is closely related to turbulent energy and transport, and can be quantified using two parameters: xB and yB. Scale-dependent properties of anisotropy from diverse observational experiments are investigated with the help of the Hilbert-Huang transform method. The mean yB-xB trajectories in the barycentric map are visualized as curve clusters under different stratification conditions. Specifically, xB increases from 0.4 to 0.9 with the increasing scale of motions, while yB initially rises from 0.5 to 0.7 before decreasing to 0. Trajectories deviating from this pattern in individual cases help distinguish non-turbulent motions and reconstruct turbulence data. This analysis reveals approximately 30% to 80% overestimation of turbulent fluxes. Therefore, anisotropy demonstrates potential for quantifying turbulent transport in the atmospheric boundary layer.