Characterization of turbulence scales in the atmospheric surface layer with the continuous wavelet transform

Turbulence scales of the velocity components of wind in the atmospheric surface layer are characterized by using the continuous wavelet transform. The Morlet wavelet is used to study time variations of the energy of the different scales. By applying wavelet analysis, many of the shortcomings of Fourier analysis are overcome. The wavelet energy density is used to measure the intermittency levels and associated energy content. An intermittency factor is defined and used to quantify the intermittent character of turbulence scales. The percentage of energy in these events is also quantified. These parameters are important for wind tunnel simulation of the atmospheric surface layer conducted for the purpose of prediction of pressure peaks on low-rise structures.