Roughness elements in a laminar boundary layer can cause the flow to transition. The effects of discrete and distributed roughness are explored using direct numerical simulation on unstructured grids. Velocity profiles for Mach 8.12 flow past a cylindrical roughness element are compared to experiment. Flow features produced by an isolated hemispherical bump are studied for three Mach numbers [3...

Radar-based surface soil moisture retrieval has been subject of intense research during the last decades. However, several difficulties hamper the operational estimation of soil moisture based on currently available spaceborne sensors. The main difficulty experienced so far results from the strong influence of other surface characteristics, mainly roughness, on the backscattering coefficient, w...

Vegetation roughness is an important parameter in describing flow through river systems. Vegetation impedes the flow, which affects the stage-discharge curve and may increase flood risks. Roughness is often used as a calibration parameter in river models, however when vegetation is allowed to develop naturally in river restoration projects, it is important to have suitable predictions of the in...