Consequences of Incomplete Surface Energy Balance Closure for CO2 Fluxes from Open-Path CO2/H2O Infrared Gas Analysers

We present an approach for assessing the impact of systematic biases in measured energy fluxes on CO₂ flux estimates obtained from open-path eddy-covariance systems. In our analysis, we present equations to analyse the propagation of errors through the Webb, Pearman, and Leuning (WPL) algorithm [Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 106, 85–100, 1980] that is widely used to account for density fluctuations on CO₂ flux measurements. Our results suggest that incomplete energy balance closure does not necessarily lead to an underestimation of CO₂ fluxes despite the existence of surface energy imbalance; either an overestimation or underestimation of CO₂ fluxes is possible depending on local atmospheric conditions and measurement errors in the sensible heat, latent heat, and CO₂ fluxes. We use open-path eddy-covariance fluxes measured over a black spruce forest in interior Alaska to explore several energy imbalance scenarios and their consequences for CO₂ fluxes.     

Spatial Variability of Turbulent Fluxes in the Roughness Sublayer of an Even-Aged Pine Forest

The spatial variability of turbulent flow statistics in the roughness sublayer (RSL) of a uniform even-aged 14 m (= h) tall loblolly pine forest was investigated experimentally. Using seven existing walkup towers at this stand, high frequency velocity, temperature, water vapour and carbon dioxide concentrations were measured at 15.5 m above the ground surface from October 6 to 10 in 1997. These seven towers were separated by at least 100m from each other. The objective of this study was to examine whether single tower turbulence statistics measurements represent the flow properties of RSL turbulence above a uniform even-aged managed loblolly pine forest as a best-case scenario for natural forested ecosystems. From the intensive space-time series measurements, it was demonstrated that standard deviations of longitudinal and vertical velocities (_u, _w) and temperature (_T) are more planar homogeneous than their vertical flux of momentum (u_* ²) and sensible heat (H) counterparts. Also, the measured H is more horizontally homogeneous when compared to fluxes of other scalar entities such as CO₂ and water vapour. While the spatial variability in fluxes was significant (>15 %), this unique data set confirmed that single tower measurements represent the canonical structure of single-point RSL turbulence statistics, especially flux-variance relationships. Implications to extending the moving-equilibrium hypothesis for RSL flows are discussed. The spatial variability in all RSL flow variables was not constant in time and varied strongly with spatially averaged friction velocity u_*, especially when u_* was small. It is shown that flow properties derived from two-point temporal statistics such as correlation functions are more sensitive to local variability in leaf area density when compared to single point flow statistics. Specifically, that the local relationship between the reciprocal of the vertical velocity integral time scale (I_w) and the arrival frequency of organized structures (/h) predicted from a mixing-layer theory exhibited dependence on the local leaf area index. The broader implications of these findings to the measurement and modelling of RSL flows are also discussed.     

Influences of Climate Change and Its Interannual Variability on Surface Energy Fluxes from 1948 to 2000

Understanding changes in land surface processes over the past severaldecades requires knowledge of trends and interannual variability in surfaceenergy fluxes in response to climate change. In our study, the CommunityLand Model version 3.5 (CLM3.5), driven by the latest updated hybridreanalysis-observational surface climate data from Princeton University, isused to obtain global distributions of surface energy fluxes during 1948 to2000. Based on the climate data and simulation results, long-term trends andinterannual variability (IAV) of both climatic variables and surface energyfluxes for this span of 50+ years are derived and analyzed. Regions withstrong long-term trends and large IAV for both climatic variables andsurface energy fluxes are identified. These analyses reveal seasonalvariations in the spatial patterns of climate and surface fluxes; however,spatial patterns in trends and IAV for surface energy fluxes over the past～50 years do not fully correspond to those for climatic variables,indicating complex responses of land surfaces to changes in the climaticforcings.     

利用HALOE资料分析中层大气中水汽和甲烷的分布特征

利用1991年12月至2004年5月的HALOE资料，分析了中层大气中微量气体水汽和甲烷的垂直和水平分布特征。垂直分布特征是:水汽混合比在对流层顶和平流层底达到极小值（此极小值区被称为湿层顶），平流层里水汽混合比随高度增加，在平流层上层和中间层低层混合比出现明显的扰动，在中间层顶再次达到极小值，向上混合比又随高度增加。甲烷混合比从100 hPa附近向上混合比一直减少。经向分布特征主要表现为:平流层中下层水汽混合比低值区在热带地区上拱，水汽混合比自低纬向高纬递增；而该气层甲烷混合比则是高值区在热带地区上拱，甲烷混合比自低纬向高纬递减。在低平流层副热带20°S～30°S（20°N～30°N）附近二者混合比水平梯度相对偏大。平流层中上层二者等值线在北半球夏季变成双峰形势，北半球冬季仍是单峰形势。中间层二者都主要表现为冬、夏季分布形势相反。在北半球夏季30°N，平流层中下层水汽和甲烷混合比纬向梯度很小，对流层上层以及中间层二者混合比纬向梯度明显。     

Spatial Variability of Both Turbulent Fluxes and Temperature Profiles in an Urban Roughness Layer

The spatial variability of both turbulent flow statistics in the roughness sublayer (RSL) and temperature profiles within and above the canopy layer (CL) were investigated experimentally in a densely built-up residential area in Tokyo, Japan. Using five towers with measuring devices, each tower isolated from the others by at least 200 m, we collected high-frequency measurements of velocity and temperature at a height z=1.8 z _H, where z _H, the mean building height in the area, is 7.3 m. Also, temperature profiles were measured from z=0.4 to 1.8 z _H. The ‘areal mean’ geometric parameters that were obtained for the areas within 200 m of each tower were fairly homogeneous among the tower sites. The main results are as follows: (1) The spatial variability of all RSL turbulent statistics, except the sensible heat flux, was comparable to that reported in a pine forest. Also, the variability decreased with increasing friction velocity. (2) The spatial variability of the RSL sensible heat flux was larger than that reported in a pine forest. Also, the variability depended on the time of the day and became larger in the morning. The difference among the sites was well related to the areal fraction of vegetation. (3) The spatial variability of the CL temperature profile depended on the time of the day and became larger in the morning. Nevertheless, the spatial standard deviation of CL temperature was always below 0.7 K. (4) It is suggested that the “warming-up” process in the morning when heat storage is dominant increases the spatial variation of RSL sensible heat flux and CL temperature according to the local properties around each tower and the variation decreases once there is further convective mixing in the midday     

The Spatial Variability of Energy and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes at the Floor of a Deciduous Forest

Fluxes of carbon dioxide, water and sensible heat were measured using three different eddy covariance systems above the forest floor of a closed deciduous forest (leaf area index approx 6). The primary objective was to examine the representativeness of a single eddy covariance system in estimating soil respiration for time scales ranging from one-half hour to more than one week. Experiments were conducted in which the eddy covariance sensors were in one of three configurations: i) collocated, ii) separated horizontally or iii) separated vertically. A measure of the variation between the three systems (CV',related to the coefficient of variation) for half-hour carbon dioxide fluxes was 0.14 (collocated systems), 0.34 (vertically separated systems at 1, 2 and 4 m above the surface), and 0.57 (systems horizontally separated by 30 m). A similar variation was found for other scalar fluxes (sensible and latent heat). Variability between systems decreased as the number of half-hour sampling periods used to obtain mean fluxes was increased. After forty-eight hours (means from ninety-six half-hour samples), CV' values for carbon dioxide fluxes were 0.07, 0.09 and 0.16 in the collocated, vertically separated and horizontally separated experiments, respectively. The time dependence of variability has implications on the appropriateness of using short-term measurements in modelling validation studies. There are also implications concerning the appropriate number of half-hour samples necessary to obtain reliable causal relationships between flux data and environmental parameters. Based on the longer-term measurements, we also discuss the representativeness of a single eddy covariance system in long-term monitoring of soil respiration and evaporation beneath forest canopies using the eddy covariance method.     

The Effect of Chessboard Variability of the Surface Fluxes on the Aggregated Turbulence Fields in a Convective Atmospheric Surface Layer

To what degree the variability of surface features can be identified in the turbulent signals observed in the atmospheric boundary layer is still an unresolved problem. This was investigated by conducting an analytical experiment for a one-dimensional 'chessboard'-type surface-flux distribution on the basis of local free convection scaling. The results showed that, due to their nonlinear dependency on the surface fluxes, the dimensionless gradients of the mean quantities and the dimensionless standard deviations are altered by the surface-flux variability. Furthermore, passive scalars, such as humidity, are considerably more sensitive to surface variability than the main active scalar, temperature. However, the response of the gradients of the mean quantities is fairly negligible in the range of variability studied herein as compared to that of the standard deviations, which were found to be more sensitive to the surface-flux variability. In addition, the phase difference between the active and the passive scalar flux distribution strongly affects the passive scalar turbulence. This dissimilarity between passive and active scalars, or between passive scalars when their source distributions are different, brings into question the use of variance methods for the measurement of a scalar flux, such as evaporation, over variable surfaces. The classical Bowen ratio method, which depends on the validity of the Reynolds analogy for the vertical gradients of the mean quantities, was shown to be relatively more robust. However, under conditions of strong surface variability, it can also be expected to fail.     

Statistics of Air Temperature Spatial Variability in the Atmospheric Surface Layer

Surface-layer convection is investigated by analyzing multi-point measurements of temperature and velocity fluctuations at different sets of spatial points.The visual analysis of temperature and velocity fluctuations measured by sensors mounted on a mast of 36-m height clearly reveals the presence of large-scale convective cells (known as ramp structures) making large contributions to the heat transfer from the ground to lower atmosphere. The vertical temperature variability is described with the aid of empirical orthogonal functions derived from temperature covariance matrices for the heights of 1, 2, 5, 10, 18 and 36 m. Temporal-spatial correlation functions obtained allow estimates of a characteristic velocity scale, which may be interpreted as the downwind velocity of ramp structures.     

A New Method for the Determination of Area-Averaged Turbulent Surface Fluxes from Low-Level Flights Using Inverse Models

The low-level flight method (LLF) has been combined with linear inverse models (IM) resulting in an LLF+IM method for the determination of area-averaged turbulent surface fluxes. With this combination, the vertical divergences of the turbulent latent and sensible heat fluxes were calculated from horizontal flights. The statistical errors of the derived turbulent surface fluxes were significantly reduced. The LLF+IM method was tested both in numerical and field experiments. Large-eddy simulations (LES) were performed to compare ‘true’ flux profiles with ‘measurements’ of simulated flights in an idealised convective boundary layer. Small differences between the ‘true’ and the ‘measured’ fluxes were found, but the vertical flux divergences were correctly calculated by the LLF+IM method. The LLF+IM method was then applied to data collected during two flights with the Helipod, a turbulence probe carried by a helicopter, and with the research aircraft Do 128 in the LITFASS-98 field campaign. The derived surface fluxes were compared with results from eddy-covariance surface stations and with large-aperture scintillometer data. The comparison showed that the LLF+IM method worked well for the sensible heat flux at 77 and 200 m flight levels, and also for the latent heat flux at the lowest level. The model quality control indicated failures for the latent heat flux at the 200 m level (and higher), which were probably due to large moisture fluctuations that could not be modelled using linear assumptions. Finally the LLF+IM method was applied to more than twenty low-level flights from the LITFASS-2003 experiment. Comparison with aggregated surface flux data revealed good agreement for the sensible heat flux but larger discrepancies and a higher statistical uncertainty for the latent heat flux     

Sensitivity of Offshore Surface Fluxes and Sea Breezes to the Spatial Distribution of Sea-Surface Temperature

A series of numerical sensitivity experiments is performed to quantify the impact of sea-surface temperature (SST) distribution on offshore surface fluxes and simulated sea-breeze dynamics. The SST simulations of two mid-latitude sea-breeze events over coastal New England are performed using a spatially-uniform SST, as well as spatially-varying SST datasets of 32- and 1-km horizontal resolutions. Offshore surface heat and buoyancy fluxes vary in response to the SST distribution. Local sea-breeze circulations are relatively insensitive, with minimal differences in vertical structure and propagation speed among the experiments. The largest thermal perturbations are confined to the lowest 10% of the sea-breeze column due to the relatively high stability of the mid-Atlantic marine atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) suppressing vertical mixing, resulting in the depth of the marine layer remaining unchanged. Minimal impacts on the column-averaged virtual potential temperature and sea-breeze depth translates to small changes in sea-breeze propagation speed. This indicates that the use of datasets with a fine-scale SST may not produce more accurate sea-breeze simulations in highly stable marine ABL regimes, though may prove more beneficial in less stable sub-tropical environments.     

秋季珠峰复杂地形下地表能量通量卫星遥感研究

依据目前较为成熟的地表能量通量遥感参数化方案,利用2006年9～10月珠峰地区秋季近地面大气梯度实测资料,结合中分辨率成像光谱仪MODIS卫星资料,遥感估算了包括珠峰地区在内的青藏高原南部地区地表能量通量的空间分布情况.结果表明:地表净辐射峰值约为420.0 W·m-2,介于200.0～620.0 W·m-2之间;地热通量峰值约为110.0 W·m-2,介于50.0～180.0 W·m-2之间;感热通量峰值约为270.0 W·m-2,介于120.0～280.0 W·m-2之间;潜热通量峰值约为90.0 W·m-2,介于0.0～250.0 W·m-2之间.由此可见,在高原季风期后的秋季,该地区白天地面加热场主要通过感热传输加热大气,地气之间水汽传输耗热是地表净辐射平衡中的小量.     

青藏高原上空H2O和CH4的分布和变化趋势分析

采用UARS卫星1993—2004年卤素掩星试验的观测资料(HALOE),分析了青藏高原(下称高原)上空大气中H2O和CH4的分布和季节变化,也与同纬度其它地区作对比,找出它们的差异,并分析了H2O和CH4的多年变化趋势。结果表明:高原上空H2O混合比在对流层上层随高度迅速减少,在对流层顶和平流层底达到极小值,平流层里水汽混合比随高度增加。高原上空CH4混合比从140 hPa直至1 hPa随高度递减。在对流层上部和平流层下部H2O和CH4混合比季节差异最明显。高原上空H2O和CH4混合比与同纬度带其它地区相比有不少差异,这种差异在对流层上部和平流层下部更明显。分析还表明:高原上空对流层上部和平流层下部H2O和CH4的分布明显受到高原热力作用引起的垂直运动的影响,高原区域是平流层和对流层交换的活跃区。平流层中上层H2O和CH4的关系很密切,其原因主要是在平流层中上层CH4很容易被氧化成H2O。趋势分析表明,在对流层顶附近,水汽在1993—2004年呈下降趋势,而CH4在1998年以前和2001年以后也呈下降趋势;平流层中层1993—2000年H2O混合比呈增加趋势,CH4呈下降趋势,2000—2004年H2O混合比呈下降趋势,而CH4呈增加趋势。     

Quantifying the Spatial Characteristics of the Moisture Transport Affecting Precipitation Seasonality and Recycling Variability in Central Asia

Moisture contribution and transport pathways for Central Asia(CA)are quantitatively examined using the Lagrangian water cycle model based on reanalysis and observational data to explain the precipitation seasonality and the moisture transport variation during 1979-2015.Westerly-related(northwesterly and westerly)transport explains 42%of CA precipitation and dominates in southwest CA,where precipitation is greatest in the cold season.Southeast CA,including part of Northwest China,experiences its maximum precipitation in the warm season and is solely dominated by southerly transport,which explains about 48%of CA precipitation.The remaining 10%of CA precipitation is explained by northerly transport,which steadily impacts north CA and causes a maximum in precipitation in the warm season.Most CA areas are exposed to seasonally varying moisture transport,except for southeast and north CA,which are impacted by southerly and northerly transport year-round.In general,the midlatitude westerlies-driven transport and the Indian monsoon-driven southerly-related transport explain most of the spatial differences in precipitation seasonality over CA.Moreover,the contribution ratio of local evaporation in CA to precipitation exhibits significant interdecadal variability and a meridionally oriented tripole of moisture transport anomalies.Since the early 2000s,CA has experienced a decade of anomalously low local moisture contribution,which seems jointly determined by the weakened moisture contribution from midlatitudes(the Atlantic,Europe,and CA itself)and the enhanced contribution from high latitudes(West Siberia and the Arctic)and tropical areas(South Asia and the Indian Ocean).     

Mapping of Land-Atmosphere Heat Fluxes and Surface Parameters with Remote Sensing Data

A variational data assimilation scheme is used to infer two key parameters ofthe surface energy balance that control the partitioning of available energy intolatent, sensible, and ground heat fluxes (LE, H, and G). Remotely sensedland surface temperature (LST) is the principal data source. Maps ofdiurnal energy balance components are presented for a basin with varied landcover (Arno Basin, Italy) for a 18-day period in July 1996.Given available energy, the major unknown (dimensionless) parameters requiredfor partitioning among fluxes are: (1) Landscape effects on near-surfaceturbulence as captured by the bulk heat transfer coefficient C_BN underneutral conditions and (2) surface control of the relative magnitudes of LEand H as represented by the evaporative fraction E_F. The data assimilationscheme merges 1.1-km resolution remotely sensed LST images (based onoptical, thermal and microwave measurements from two different satelliteplatforms) into a parsimonious model of heat diffusion. Both the measurementsand the model predictions are considered uncertain. Posterior error statisticsthat represent uncertainty of the estimated parameters are also derived.Maps of C_BN show spatial patterns consistent with the dominant land useand basin physiography. Daily maps of E_F exhibit spatial variationscorresponding to land cover and land use – the day-to-day variations inE_F show fluctuations consistent with rain events and drydowns experiencedduring the period. Based on these parameters and available environmentalvariables, maps of diurnal LE and H may be produced (in this paper daytimeLE maps are reported).The application demonstrates that remotely sensed land surface temperaturesequences contain significant amount of information of the partitioning ofavailable energy among the fluxes. The variational data assimilation frameworkis shown to be an efficient and parsimonious approach without reliance onempirical relationships such as those based on vegetation indices.     

On the Variability of the Fluxes of Momentum and Sensible Heat

Direct measurements of the air–sea turbulent fluxes of momentum and heat, along with surface currents, waves and supporting meteorological variables, were acquired during a recent field campaign. Surface currents, measured from a very high frequency radar, were found to steer the stress away from the mean wind direction. Although this effect has been reported in a recent scatterometer study, this is the first time it has been observed in an in situ study with co-located flux, wind and surface current measurements. Data collected during a week of stationary conditions are used to investigate and quantify the sampling variability of the air–sea fluxes of momentum and sensible heat.     

不同平均时间对LOPEX10资料涡动相关湍流通量计算结果影响的探讨

通过处理涡动相关系统观测的近地层湍流脉动量可以获取地—气间感热和潜热通量,然而选择不同平均时间对通量计算的结果有较大影响。采用黄土高原陆面过程野外观测试验(LOPEX10)期间获得的涡动相关系统观测资料,分析了不同平均时间对湍流通量计算的影响,并采用雷诺平均和分解方法推导了平均时间引起的通量差值的数学表达式(Flux Compensation,FC)。结果表明:(1)FC公式可以说明采用不同平均时间数据之间的关系,也可以直接计算低频涡旋对湍流通量的贡献。FC公式计算的结果与直接计算的不同平均时间通量计算之差的相关系数在0.95以上,并可以确定计算湍流通量的最佳平均时间。(2)通过采用Ogive函数确定了计算LOPEX10期间通量的最佳平均时间长度为30min,印证了利用雷诺平均和分解方法计算湍流通量补偿的准确性。(3)通过进一步的数学变换,证明了平均时间对湍流通量计算的影响直接与湍流低频变化相关,FC公式可以用来确定涡动相关观测数据的最佳平均时间,并且在获得较高时间分辨率的湍流通量数据的同时,补偿因平均时间过短而遗漏的低频信息。     

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Snow Depth Derived from Passive Microwave Remote Sensing Data in Kazakhstan

Snow cover plays an important role in the hydrological cycle and water management in Kazakhstan.However, traditional observations do not meet current needs. In this study, a snow depth retrieval equation was developed based on passive microwave remote sensing data. The average snow depth in winter(ASDW),snow cover duration(SCD), monthly maximum snow depth(MMSD), and annual average snow depth(AASD) were derived for each year to monitor the spatial and temporal snow distribution. The SCD exhibited significant spatial variations from 30 to 250 days. The longest SCD was found in the mountainous area in eastern Kazakhstan, reaching values between 200 and 250 days in 2005. The AASD increased from the south to the north and maintained latitudinal zonality. The MMSD in most areas ranged from 20 to30 cm. The ASDW values ranged from 15 to 20 cm in the eastern region and were characterized by spatial regularity of latitudinal zonality. The ASDW in the mountainous area often exceeded 20 cm.     

Spatial Variation of Sea-Spray Fluxes over a Mediterranean Coastal Zone Using a Sea-State Model

We first deal with sea-spray flux estimates for short fetch conditions in coastal Mediterranean areas. To this end, a sea-state dependent model for the whitecap fraction was included in three different formulations for the sea-spray source function. A comparison with the sea-spray fluxes, calculated on the basis of aerosol size distributions measured at the island of Porquerolles located south off the French Riviera, evaluates the predictions of different whitecap dependant flux formulations. Then we deal with the spatial distribution of the whitecap fraction and the sea-spray fluxes in the study area. To achieve this, a whitecap dependant flux formulation was forced by a wave numerical model that was implemented in the study area. Experimental results on wave conditions have been used to adjust the model in the Mediterranean coastal area. Numerical simulations of wave and whitecap coverage have been carried out during typical regional wind events, and they show a nonhomogeneous distribution of the sea-surface production over the northern Mediterranean as a consequence of the spatial variation of the sea state. In particular, we note the occurrence of a narrow band of high sea-surface production following the northern coast and along the east part of the Gulf of Lions.     

High Resolution Simulation of the Variability of Surface Energy Balance Fluxes Across Central London with Urban Zones for Energy Partitioning

The parameterization of surface heat-flux variability in urban areas relies on adequate representation of surface characteristics. Given the horizontal resolutions (e.g. $\approx $ 0.1–1 km) currently used in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, properties of the urban surface (e.g. vegetated/built surfaces, street-canyon geometries) often have large spatial variability. Here, a new approach based on Urban Zones to characterize Energy partitioning (UZE) is tested within a NWP model (Weather Research and Forecasting model; WRF v3.2.1) for Greater London. The urban land-surface scheme is the Noah/Single-Layer Urban Canopy Model (SLUCM). Detailed surface information (horizontal resolution 1 km) in central London shows that the UZE offers better characterization of surface properties and their variability compared to default WRF-SLUCM input parameters. In situ observations of the surface energy fluxes and near-surface meteorological variables are used to select the radiation and turbulence parameterization schemes and to evaluate the land-surface scheme and choice of surface parameters. For radiative fluxes, improved performance (e.g. $>$ 25 W m $^{-2}$ root-mean-square error reduction for the net radiation) is attained with UZE parameters compared to the WRF v3.2.1 default for all three methods from the simplest to the most detailed. The UZE-based spatial fluxes reproduce a priori expectations of greater energy storage and less evaporation in the dense city centre compared to the residential surroundings. Problems in Noah/SLUCM partitioning of energy between the daytime turbulent fluxes are identified with the overestimation of the turbulent sensible heat and underestimation of the turbulent latent heat fluxes.