Turbulent fluxes from Helipod flights above quasi-homogeneous patches within the LITFASS area

Turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat were measured with the helicopter-borne turbulence probe Helipod over a heterogeneous landscape around the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg during the STINHO-2 and LITFASS-2003 field experiments. Besides the determination of area-averaged heat fluxes, the analysis focused on different aspects of the response of the turbulent structure of the convective boundary layer (CBL) on the surface heterogeneity. A special flight pattern was designed to study flux profiles both over quasi-homogeneous sub-areas of the study region (representing the major land use types—forest, farmland, water) and over a typical mixture of the different surfaces. Significant differences were found between the heat fluxes over the individual surfaces along flight legs at about 80 m above ground level, in agreement with large-aperture scintillometer measurements. This flux separation was still present during some flights at levels near the middle of the CBL. Different scales for the blending height and horizontal heterogeneity were calculated, but none of them could be identified as a reliable indicator of the mixing state of the lower CBL. With the exception of the flights over water, the latent heat flux measurements generally showed a larger statistical error when compared with the sensible heat flux. Correlation coefficients a nd integral length scales were used to characterise the interplay between the vertical transport of sensible and latent heat, which was found to vary between ‘fairly correlated’ and ‘decoupled’, also depending on the soil moisture conditions.     

Airborne measurements of turbulent fluxes during LITFASS-98: Comparison with ground measurements and remote sensing in a case study

Summary ?Simultaneous flight measurements with the research aircraft Do 128 and the helicopter-borne turbulence probe Helipod were performed on 18 June 1998 during the LITFASS-98 field experiment. The area-averaged turbulent vertical fluxes of momentum, sensible, and latent heat were determined on a 15 km × 15 km and a 10 km × 10 km flight pattern, respectively. The flights were carried out over heterogeneous terrain at different altitudes within a moderately convective boundary layer with Cumulus clouds. Co-spectra-analysis demonstrated that the small scale turbulent transport was completely sampled, while the comparatively small flight patterns were possibly of critical size regarding the large-scale turbulence. The phygoide of the airplane was identified as a significant peak in some co-spectra. The turbulent fluxes of momentum and sensible heat at 80 m above the ground showed systematic dependence on the location of the flight legs above the heterogeneous terrain. This was not observed for the latent heat flux, probably due to the vertical distribution of humidity in the boundary layer. Statistical error analysis of the fluxes F showed that the systematic statistical error ΔF was one order of magnitude smaller than the standard deviation σ _F . The difference between area-averaged fluxes derived from simultaneous Helipod and Do 128 measurements was much smaller than σ _F , indicating that the systematic statistical error was possibly over-estimated by the usual method. In the upper half of the boundary layer the airborne-measured sensible heat flux agreed well with windprofiler/RASS data. A linear fit was the best approximation for the height dependence of all three fluxes. The linear extrapolations of the latent and sensible heat fluxes to the ground were in good agreement with tower, scintillometer, and averaged ground-station measurements on various surface types. Systematic discrepancies between airborne and ground-based measurements were not found. Received June 18, 2001; revised December 21, 2001; accepted June 3, 2002     

Measurement of the Sensible Eddy Heat Flux Based on Spatial Averaging of Continuous Ground-Based Observations

Using the standard eddy-covariance (EC) method to quantify mass and energy exchange at a single location usually results in an underestimation of vertical eddy fluxes at the surface. In order to better understand the reasons for this underestimation, an experimental set-up is presented that is based on spatial averaging of air temperature data from a network of ground-based sensors over agricultural land. For eight days during the 34-day observational period in May and June 2007, additional contributions to the sensible heat flux of more than 50Wm⁻² were measured in the lower surface layer by applying the spatial EC method as opposed to the standard temporal EC method. Smaller but still significant additional sensible heat fluxes were detected for four more days. The additional energy is probably transported in organised convective structures resulting in a mean vertical wind velocity unequal to zero at the tower location. The results show that convective transport contributes significantly to the surface energy budget for measurement heights as low as 2–3 m. Since these structures may be quasi-stationary, they can hardly be captured by a single-location measurement. The spatial EC set-up presented here is capable of quantifying contributions to the sensible heat flux from structures up to the scale of our spatial sensor network, which covered an area 3.5 × 3.5 km. For future experiments aiming at closing the energy balance, the spatial EC method should be employed to measure both the sensible and latent heat fluxes. Experimental determination of the horizontal advection of sensible and latent heat should also be considered, since such transport must occur due to convergence and divergence related to convection.     

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     

A comparison of tropical oceanic heat fluxes determined by airborne eddy correlation and shipboard bulk aerodynamic techniques

Vertical turbulent transports of latent and sensible heat through the tropical marine boundary layer were measured with ship and airborne instruments in the GATE experimental area. The measurements from the two systems are compared for cases of simultaneous sampling in the same locations during undisturbed weather and during the wakes of convective disturbances. The paired average fluxes from the airborne eddy correlation measurements and the shipboard bulk aerodynamic measurements, for undisturbed weather, are related with correlation coefficients in the range of 0.6 to 0.9; the correlations depend primarily on stratifications of the aircraft data according to sampling altitude (15–153 m msl) and flight pattern relative to the mean wind. The agreement between the two types of measurements is best for ship data paired with aircraft samples from the lowest altitudes (15 and 30 m) and from alongwind rather than crosswind flights, as is appropriate since the stationary ships monitor the alongwind characteristics of the turbulence. The use of long (1–3 hr) versus short (10 min) ship samples did not significantly affect the comparability with the aircraft samples during undisturbed periods.The good baseline comparability demonstrated by the undisturbed-weather comparisons was applied to interpret the results from the wakes behind showers. Although these paired measurements were few, not only the sensible heat, but also the latent heat flux was shown to decrease substantially with altitude from 10 m to at least 150 m in the wakes, where the mixing was relatively intense. Variations in the fluxes were much greater at the higher level than nearer the sea surface.     

Radiative surface temperature and energy balance of a wheat canopy

The sensible heat loss from a stand of winter wheat was calculated from radiometric measurements of crop surface temperature, measurements of air temperature, and an atmospheric resistance to momentum transfer; corresponding latent heat flux was obtained through the energy balance equation. These estimates of sensible and latent heat were compared with fluxes from the Bowen Ratio method. When radiative temperature was derived using a measured canopy emissivity of 0.98, calculations of sensible heat flux were systematically 50–100 W m^-2 less than Bowen Ratio values. The two techniques agreed more closely when an apparent emissivity of 0.96 was used with an apparent reflectivity of 0.03. The mean difference between the estimates of latent heat flux was then -16 ± 32 W m^-2.The surface temperature method showed less systematic error in comparison with the Bowen Ratio values than did estimates using the aerodynamic method.On leave from: University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Loughborough LE12 5RD.     

Comparison of Aircraft and Ground-Based FluxMeasurements during OASIS95

Aircraft and ground-based measurements made during the1995 Australian OASIS field campaign are compared. The aircraft data were recorded during low-level flightsat 6 m above ground level and grid flights at altitudes of between 15 and 65 m, allin unstable atmospheric conditions. The low-level flights revealed an inadequate temperaturesensor response time, a correction for which was determined from subsequent work ina wind tunnel. Aircraft and ground-based measurements of mean wind speed, wind directionand air temperature agree to within 0.2 m s^-1, 4° and 0.9 °C respectively.Comparisons between aircraft and ground-based observations of the standarddeviations of vertical velocity, horizontal wind speed, air temperature and specifichumidity have slopes of 0.96, 0.97, 0.92 and 0.99 respectively but the observed scatter isroughly twice the random error expected due to the averaging length of the aircraft data andthe averaging period of the ground-based data. For the low-level flights, the ground-basedand aircraft measurements of sensible and latent heat flux show mean differences of 27 and-25 W m^-2 respectively, which reduce to 11 and -4 W m^-2 respectivelywhen analysis of aircraft data is limited to areas immediately adjacent to the fluxtowers. For the flights at 15 to 65 m above ground level, the mean differences between theground-based and aircraft measurements of sensible and latent heat flux are -22 and-1 W m^-2 respectively and these change to -1 and -7 W m^-2 respectively oncethe effect of surface heterogeneity is included. Aircraft and ground-based measurementsof net radiation agree to within 6% at one ground-based site but differ by 20% at a second.Aircraft measurements of friction velocity at 6 m above the ground agree well withground-based data, but those from flights between 15 and 65 m above ground level do not.This is because at these heights the aircraft measurements provide the local shear stress,not the surface shear stress. Overall, the level of agreement allows confidence in the aircraftdata provided due care is taken of instrument response times and differences in thesurfaces sampled by aircraft and ground-based systems.     

Mean Profiles of Moisture Fluxes in Snow-Filled Boundary Layers

Profiles of moisture fluxes have been examined for convective boundary layers containing clouds and snow, using data derived from aircraft measurements taken on four dates during the 1983/1984 University of Chicago lake-effect snow project. Flux profiles were derived from vertical stacks of aircraft cross-wind flight legs taken at various heights over Lake Michigan near the downwind shore. It was found that, if ice processes are taken into account, profiles of potential temperature and water content were very similar to those presented in past studies of convective boundary layers strongly heated from below. Profiles of total water content and equivalent potential temperature adjusted for ice were nearly invariant with height, except very near the top of the boundary layer, suggesting that internal boundary-layer mixing processes were rapid relative to the rates at which heat and vapour were transported into the boundary layer through entrainment and surface fluxes. Ice was found to play a significant, measurable role in boundary-layer moisture fluxes. It was estimated that 40 to 57% of the upward vapour flux was returned to the surface in the form of snow, converting about 45 to 64% of the surface latent heat flux into sensible heat in the snow-producing process. Assuming advective fluxes are relatively small (thought to be appropriate after the first few tens of km over the lake as suggested by past studies), the boundary layer was found to warm at a rate faster than could be explained by surface heat fluxes and latent heat releases alone, the remainder of the heating presumably coming from radiational processes and entrainment. Discussions of moisture phase change processes throughout the boundary layer and estimates of errors of these flux measurements are presented.     

黑河实验区非均匀地表能量通量的数值模拟

利用三维非静力RAMS模拟研究了黑河实验区非均匀地表能量通量，模拟结果表明：绿洲地表净辐射通量较沙漠戈壁大；绿洲及沙漠戈壁下垫面上的Bowen比分别为0．4和4．0；夜间绿洲上整晚维持蒸发，并有负感热通量。模拟结果与测站实测结果与卫星反演值的对比研究指出，RAMS对绿洲下垫面潜热通量的模拟和沙漠戈壁下垫面感热通量的模拟与实测值基本一致。卫星遥感反演及数值模拟方法对净辐射的估算与实测较吻合，绿洲地表感热通量的卫星反演值较数值模拟结果更接近于实际，但潜热通量的模拟值则较卫星估算值更接近于实际；沙漠戈壁地表则是感热通量的模拟值较卫星反演值更接近于实际。上述分析为今后结合卫星遥感改进RAMS陆面过程参数化，使使用于模拟研究干旱区非均匀下垫面地气相互作用提供了可靠依据。     

城市近地层湍流通量及CO2通量变化特征

利用北京325m气象塔47m高度上2006年全年连续观测获得的湍流资料,分析了北京城市近地层动量通量、感热通量、潜热通量和CO2通量的典型日变化、月平均日变化和季节变化特征。分析结果显示:动量通量具有明显的单波峰日变化特征,在15时(北京时间)左右达到最大,季节变化中春季最大,冬季次之,夏、秋季最小;感热通量和潜热通量全年变化范围分别为-92～389W.m-2和-75～376W.m-2,其日变化也表现为单波峰特征。感热通量的日变化受城市下垫面和人为热源影响,入夜后虽然降为负值,但只略小于0。阴雨天感热通量和潜热通量均很小,降雨前后有明显区别。感热和潜热最大值分别在春季3月和夏季6月,最小值都在冬季1月;城市下垫面CO2通量总表现为正值,即净排放,最大值为3.88mg.m-2.s-1,不稳定情况下最小值小于-2mg.m-2.s-1。受到人类活动的影响,CO2通量的日变化特征在工作日与周末有明显区别;由于冬季采暖,CO2通量明显大于夏季;在夜间,CO2通量受进城车辆的影响也出现高值。     

Validation of the “Lokal-Modell” over heterogeneous land surfaces using aircraft-based measurements of the REEEFA experiment and comparison with micro-scale simulations

Summary An aircraft-based experimental investigation of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) structure and of the energy exchange processes over heterogeneous land surfaces is presented. The measurements are used for the validation of the mesoscale atmospheric model “Lokal-Modell” (LM) of the German Weather Service with 2.8 km resolution. In addition, high-resolution simulations using the non-hydrostatic model FOOT3DK with 250 m resolution are performed in order to resolve detailed surface heterogeneities. Two special observation periods in May 1999 show comparable convective boundary layer (CBL) conditions. For one case study vertical profiles and area averages of meteorological quantities and energy fluxes are investigated in detail. The measured net radiation is highly dependent on surface albedo, and the latent heat flux exhibits a strong temporal variability in the investigation area. A reduction of this variability is possible by aggregation of multiple flight patterns. To calculate surface fluxes from aircraft measurements at low altitude, turbulent energy fluxes were extrapolated to the ground by the budget method, which turned out to be well applicable for the sensible heat flux, but not for the latent flux. The development of the ABL is well captured by the LM simulation. The comparison of spatiotemporal averages shows an underestimation of the observed net radiation, which is mainly caused by thin low-level clouds in the LM compared to observed scattered CBL clouds. The sensible heat flux is reproduced very well, while the latent flux is highly overestimated especially above forests. The realistic representation of surface heterogeneities in the investigation area in the FOOT3DK simulations leads to improvements for the energy fluxes, but an overestimation of the latent heat flux still persists. A study of upscaling effects yields more structures than the LM fields when averaged to the same scale, which are partly caused by the non-linear effects of parameter aggregation on the LM scale.     

Linking the Atmospheric Boundary Layer to the Amundsen Gulf Sea-Ice Cover: A Mesoscale to Synoptic-Scale Perspective from Winter to Summer 2008

The link between the sea-ice cover of the Amundsen Gulf and the overlying atmospheric boundary layer was explored on a weekly timestep from winter to summer 2008. The total sea-ice cover was around 97% (3% leads) from 7 January to 21 April. From 28 April to 12 May, the total sea-ice cover approached 100%. From May 19, the total sea-ice declined rapidly to its July minimum of 3%. During the winter, a turbulent internal boundary layer (IBL), attributed to the upward flux of sensible heat (mean = 46 W m⁻²), was present in most of the mean daily potential temperature profiles. The mean latent heat flux was 1.7 Wm⁻². A turbulent IBL was also present in most of the mean daily profiles for early spring. Surface fluxes were not estimated. During late spring and early summer, a stable IBL, attributed to the downward flux of sensible heat (mean = −19 W m⁻²), was present in most of the potential temperature profiles. Both downward and upward fluxes of latent heat occurred in this period (means = −3.3 and 1.1 W m⁻²). The sensible heat flux estimates are consistent with the results of others; however, the latent heat flux estimates may be too small due to condensation/deposition within the IBL. The unconsolidated nature of the pack ice in the Amundsen Gulf, and the low sea-surface temperatures following break-up, were critical factors controlling the presence and type of IBL.     

High resolution flight observations and numerical simulations: horizontal variability in the wintertime boreal boundary layer

Summary  High resolution aircraft observations made along flight tracks over inhomogeneous surface in the late wintertime boreal zone are described and compared to 2D mesoscale model simulations with surface properties defined at 2 km resolution from maps. All observations displayed the expected small-scale turbulence. On top of that, the near-surface wind speeds (but not directions) showed mesoscale variations related to local topography and roughness. Upward (but not downward) SW and LW radiative fluxes and ground temperature also displayed mesoscale variability; in SW radiation this was clearly due to local albedo changes. In the sensible heat flux there was strong horizontal variation near the surface in correlation with surface types. The above observed mesoscale along-track variations were reasonably well represented by the mesoscale model simulation. The track-averaged observed sensible and latent heat flux profiles were in rough agreement with a mixing length approach, which used the track-averaged wind, temperature and moisture profiles as input (mimicking a first-order turbulence closure scheme of a GCM). Received September 20, 1999 Revised January 21, 2000     

Surface turbulent flux measurements over the Loess Plateau for a semi-arid climate change study

In order to provide high quality data for climate change studies, the data quality of turbulent flux measurements at the station of SACOL (Semi-Arid Climate & Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University), which is located on a semi-arid grassland over the Loess Plateau in China, has been analyzed in detail. The effects of different procedures of the flux corrections on CO₂, momentum, and latent and sensible heat fluxes were assessed. The result showed that coordinate rotation has a great influence on the momentum flux but little on scalar fluxes. For coordinate rotation using the planar fit method, different regression planes should be determined for different wind direction sectors due to the heterogeneous nature of the ground surface. Sonic temperature correction decreased the sensible heat flux by about 9%, while WPL correction (correction for density fluctuations) increased the latent heat flux by about 10%. WPL correction is also particularly important for CO₂ fluxes. Other procedures of flux corrections, such as the time delay correction and frequency response correction, do not significantly influence the turbulent fluxes. Furthermore, quality tests on stationarity and turbulence development conditions were discussed. Parameterizations of integral turbulent characteristics (ITC) were tested and a specific parameterization scheme was provided for SACOL. The ITC test on turbulence development conditions was suggested to be applied only for the vertical velocity. The combined results of the quality tests showed that about 62%–65% of the total data were of high quality for the latent heat flux and CO₂ flux, and as much as about 76% for the sensible heat flux. For the momentum flux, however, only about 35% of the data were of high quality.     

南亚夏季风爆发前后青藏高原地表热通量的长期变化特征分析

青藏高原作为世界第三极,其热力强迫作用不仅对亚洲季风系统的发展和维持十分重要,也会对大气环流场产生深远影响。利用欧洲中期天气预报中心（ECMWF）的ERA-Interim中1979-2016年3-10月青藏高原及其周边地区的地表热通量月平均再分析资料,通过分析得出以下结论:3-5月青藏高原主体由感热占据,感热强度快速上升且呈西高东低的分布态势,潜热强度较小但随时间而增强。季风爆发后的6-8月,青藏高原感热强度减弱,潜热强度迅速增强且呈东高西低的分布特征。季风消退后的9-10月,感热与潜热强度相当,但感热呈现出西高东低的分布特征。过去38年,青藏高原地表感热总体呈现微弱下降趋势,潜热呈较弱上升趋势。青藏高原西部地区感热呈微弱下降趋势,潜热呈上升趋势。东部感热呈较为明显的下降趋势且近年来变化趋势增强,东部潜热通量则呈现较为明显的上升趋势,分析结论与近期全球变暖条件下青藏高原气候变暖变湿这一变化状况一致,通过对青藏高原地表热通量的变化分析为下一步运用第三次青藏高原大气科学试验所获资料分析青藏高原上空大气热源的变化以及地表加热场如何影响大气环流奠定基础。      

Estimating heat fluxes by merging profile formulae and the energy budget with a variational technique

A variational technique (VT) is applied to estimate surface sensible and latent heat fluxes based on observations of air temperature, wind speed, and humidity, respectively, at three heights (1 m, 4 m, and 10 m), and the surface energy and radiation budgets by the surface energy and radiation system (SERBS). The method fully uses all information provided by the measurements of air temperature, wind, and humidity profiles, the surface energy budget, and the similarity profile formulae as well. Data collected at Feixi experiment station installed by the China Heavy Rain Experiment and Study (HeRES) Program are used to test the method. Results show that the proposed technique can overcome the well-known unstablility problem that occurs when the Bowen method becomes singular; in comparison with the profile method, it reduces both the sensitivities of latent heat fluxes to observational errors in humidity and those of sensible heat fluxes to observational errors in temperature, while the estimated heat fluxes approximately satisfy the surface energy budget. Therefore, the variational technique is more reliable and stable than the two conventional methods in estimating surface sensible and latent heat fluxes.     

高温和台风影响下的苏州城市粗糙子层湍流通量特征

利用苏州地区2011 年12月20 日-2012年8 月13 日的湍流观测资料对不同季节、高温、台风强天气过程下的湍流特征进行分析.结果表明:城市地区不同季节动量通量、感热通量、潜热通量日变化明显,各通量的夏季平均值、最大值均高于冬春季,夏季感热通量日最大值为160.2 W·m-2,感热在城市地表能量平衡中的作用大于潜...     

Estimating the components of the sensible heat budget of a tall forest canopy in complex terrain

Ultrasonic wind measurements, sonic temperature and air temperature data at two heights in the advection experiment MORE II were used to establish a complete budget of sensible heat including vertical advection, horizontal advection and horizontal turbulent flux divergence. MORE II took place at the long-term Carbo-Europe IP site in Tharandt, Germany. During the growing period of 2003 three additional towers were established to measure all relevant parameters for an estimation of advective fluxes, primarily of CO₂. Additionally, in relation to other advection experiments, a calculation of the horizontal turbulent flux divergence is proposed and the relation of this flux to atmospheric stability and friction velocity is discussed. In order to obtain a complete budget, different scaling heights for horizontal advection and horizontal turbulent flux divergence are tested. It is shown that neglecting advective fluxes may lead to incorrect results. If advective fluxes are taken into account, the sensible heat budget based upon vertical turbulent flux and storage change only, is reduced by approximately 30%. Additional consideration of horizontal turbulent flux divergence would in turn add 5–10% to this sum (i.e., the sum of vertical turbulent flux plus storage change plus horizontal and vertical advection). In comparison with available energy horizontal advection is important at night whilst horizontal turbulent flux divergence is rather insignificant. Obviously, advective fluxes typically improve poor nighttime energy budget closure and might change ecosystem respiration fluxes considerably.     

Pilot study using SPOT satellite imagery over Apalachicola national forest to determine appropriate spatial scale for area-wide aggregation of surface fluxes

Summary High resolution radiances from SPOT satellite imagery converted to Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) over a 16×16 km² mixed ground cover study-area in the Apalachicola National Forest in northwest Florida, along with in situ measurements from a Bowen ratio surface flux monitoring system and physical modeling techniques, are used to determine the length manifold beyond which degraded resolution satellite imagery fails to capture flux variability over the scene. The investigation is relevant to an understanding of how bias error is generated in methods designed to produce scale-invariant surface flux estimates from satellite measurements. Error estimates are based on assigning characteristic NDVI values to the four predominant types of ground cover found within the study-area. An open site near the center of the study-area, which satisfies the conditions for surface flux monitoring, is used for obtaining input data for a biosphere-atmosphere exchange model designed to calculate representative fluxes for the different ground covers. Continuous 6-minute meteorological and surface flux measurements were made at the monitoring site for a period of 22 days. These measurements are used in conjunction with surface layer theory to provide surface layer profile estimates of wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity at the tops of the forested sites. The measured and derived meteorological parameters, together with representative biophysical parameters, are used as input to the biosphere-atmosphere exchange model. By representing sensible and latent heat flux distributions due to the variable ground cover with characteristic NDVI values at 20-m resolution, baseline area-wide sensible and latent heat flux quantities are calculated. Error-growth curves as a function of spatial resolution for the fluxes are found by degrading the resolution of the SPOT radiances used to calculate NDVI, and rationing the associated area-wide fluxes to the baseline values. The point at which an error-growth curve becomes invariant represents the edge of a length manifold beyond which the satellite input no longer contains information on surface flux variability, even though NDVI variability continues at all scales up to that of the complete SPOT scene. The error-growth curves are non-linear, with all the error build-up taking place between 20 m and 1.6 km. Decreasing the spatial resolution of the NDVI information down to or below 1.6 km, introduces bias errors in the area-wide surface flux estimates of 10% for sensible heat and 8% for latent heat. The underlying assumptions and modeling produce uncertainty in estimating the manifold limits, however, the principal objective is to show that in using satellite data for scale-invariant surface flux retrieval, there is an optimal spatial resolution factor that can be objectively quantified.With 10 Figures