Eddy covariance measurements of carbon dioxide,latent and sensible energy fluxes above a meadow on a mountain slope

Carbon dioxide, latent and sensible heat fluxes were measured by means of the eddy covariance method above a mountain meadow situated on a steep slope in the Stubai Valley in Austria, based on the hypothesis that, due to the low canopy height, measurements can be made in the shallow equilibrium layer where the wind field exhibits characteristics akin to level terrain. In order to test the validity of this hypothesis and to identify effects of complex terrain in the turbulence measurements, data were subjected to a rigorous testing procedure using a series of quality control measures established for surface-layer flows. The resulting high quality dataset comprised 36% of the original observations, the substantial reduction being mainly due to a change in surface roughness and associated fetch limitations in the wind sector dominating during nighttime and transition periods. The validity of the high quality dataset was further assessed by two independent tests: (i) a comparison with the net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange measured by means of ecosystem chambers, and (ii) the ability of the eddy covariance measurements to close the energy balance. The net ecosystem CO₂ exchange measured by the eddy covariance method agreed reasonably well with ecosystem chamber measurements. The assessment of the energy balance closure showed that there was no significant difference in the correspondence between the meadow on the slope and another one situated on flat ground at the bottom of the Stubai Valley, available energy being underestimated by 28% and 29%, respectively. We thus conclude that, appropriate quality control provided, the eddy covariance measurements made above a mountain meadow on a steep slope are of similar quality as compared to flat terrain.     

Eddy-Covariance Flux Measurements in the Complex Terrain of an Alpine Valley in Switzerland

We measured the surface energy budget of an Alpine grassland in highly complex terrain to explore possibilities and limitations for application of the eddy-covariance technique, also for CO₂ flux measurements, at such non-ideal locations. This paper focuses on the influence of complex terrain on the turbulent energy measurements of a characteristic high Alpine grassland on Crap Alv (Alp Weissenstein) in the Swiss Alps during the growing season 2006. Measurements were carried out on a topographic terrace with a slope of 25^◦ inclination. Flux data quality is assessed via the closure of the energy budget and the quality flag method used within the CarboEurope project. During 93% of the time the wind direction was along the main valley axis (43% upvalley and 50% downvalley directions). During the transition times of the typical twice daily wind direction changes in a mountain valley the fraction of high and good quality flux data reached a minimum of ≈50%, whereas during the early afternoon ≈70% of all records yielded good to highest quality (CarboEurope flags 0 and 1). The overall energy budget closure was 74 ± 2%. An angular correction for the shortwave energy input to the slope improved the energy budget closure slightly to 82 ± 2% for afternoon conditions. In the daily total, the measured turbulent energy fluxes are only underestimated by around 8% of net radiation. In summary, our results suggest that it is possible to yield realistic energy flux measurements under such conditions. We thus argue that the Crap Alv site and similar topographically complex locations with short-statured vegetation should be well suited also for CO₂ flux measurements.     

Area-Averaged Surface Fluxes Over the Litfass Region Based on Eddy-Covariance Measurements

Micrometeorological measurements (including eddy-covariance measurements of the surface fluxes of sensible and latent heat) were performed during the LITFASS-2003 experiment at 13 field sites over different types of land use (forest, lake, grassland, various agricultural crops) in a 20 × 20 km² area around the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg (MOL) of the German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD). Significant differences in the energy fluxes could be found between the major land surface types (forest, farmland, water), but also between the different agricultural crops (cereals, rape, maize). Flux ratios between the different surfaces changed during the course of the experiment as a result of increased water temperature of the lake, changing soil moisture, and of the vegetation development at the farmland sites. The measurements over grass performed at the boundary-layer field site Falkenberg of the MOL were shown to be quite representative for the farmland part of the area. Measurements from the 13 sites were composed into a time series of the area-averaged surface flux by taking into account the data quality of the single flux values from the different sites and the relative occurrence of each surface type in the area. Such composite fluxes could be determined for about 80% of the whole measurement time during the LITFASS-2003 experiment. Comparison of these aggregated surface fluxes with area-averaged fluxes from long-range scintillometer measurements and from airborne measurements showed good agreement.     

北京325米气象塔上CO2梯度观测数据质量控制与评价

近些年涡度相关系统在城市通量研究中得到了广泛应用,因城市下垫面的特殊性和复杂性,以及系统观测原理和仪器精度存在着局限性,使得结果存在10%以上偏差,故必须对原始观测数据进行质量控制和评价。本文对北京325 m气象塔七层高度上的CO₂(二氧化碳)、能量等通量进行了长期观测,研究了涡度相关技术在城市环境通量观测中的适用性,设计出了一套适合于复杂城市下垫面上的涡度相关系统资料前处理和质量控制方案,并对比了不同修正方案效果。分析结果表明,城市下垫面环境中计算CO₂通量的最优周期为30 min;二次坐标旋转法优于平面拟合法;频率响应修正后的感热通量提高5.21%,潜热通量和CO₂通量均提高9.42%。空气密度脉动修正Liu法(Liu,2005)优于WPL法(Webb et al.,1980);湍流谱在惯性副区满足-2/3次方定律,协方差谱满足-4/3次方定律。经过这套前处理和质量控制方案,原始数据中有79%能够用于基础研究,该质量控制与评价体系可为复杂城市下垫面通量研究提供参考。     

A Re-Evaluation of Long-Term Flux Measurement Techniques Part I: Averaging and Coordinate Rotation

Experience of long term flux measurements over tall canopiesduring the last two decades has revealed that the eddy flux of sensible plus latentheat is typically 30% smaller than the available radiant energy flux. This failureto close the energy balance is less common close to the surface over short roughnessbut is still sometimes seen, especially in complex topography. These observationscast doubt on the results obtained from long term flux studies where daily and annualnet ecosystem exchange is usually the small difference between large positive andnegative fluxes over 24 h. In this paper we investigate this problem by examiningsome fundamental assumptions entailed in analysis of surface exchange by the eddyflux method.In particular, we clarify the form and use of the scalar conservation equation thatunderlies this analysis and we examine the links between averaging period androtation of coordinates in the situation where coordinates are aligned with thewind vector. We show that rotating coordinates so that the x axis is alignedwith the mean wind vector has the effect of high pass filtering the scalar covariance,¯wc, such that contributions to the aerodynamic flux from atmosphericmotions with periods longer than the averaging period are lost while those of shorterperiod are distorted.We compare the effect of computing surface exchange by averaging many shortperiods, in each of which the coordinates are rotated so that the mean verticalvelocity is zero (the method currently adopted in most long-term flux studies),with analysis in long-term coordinates and show a systematic underestimationof surface exchange in the former case. This is illustrated with data from threelong-term forest field sites where underestimations of sensible and latent heatfluxes of 10–15% averaged over many days are seen.Crucial factors determining the loss of flux are the averaging period T, themeasurement height and the content of the scalar cospectrum at periods longerthan T. The properties of this cospectrum over tall canopies in both homogeneousand complex terrain are illustrated by measurements at our three sites and we see thatover tall canopies on flat ground in convectiveconditions, or on hilly sites in near neutralflow, the scalar cospectra have much more low frequency contentthan classical surface-layerspectral forms would predict. We believe that the filtering of this low frequencycovariance by the averaging-rotation operations in common use is a large contributoryfactor to the failure to close the energy balance over tall canopies.     

Vertical divergence of fogwater fluxes above a spruce forest

Two almost identical eddy covariance measurement setups were used to measure the fogwater fluxes to a forest ecosystem in the “Fichtelgebirge” mountains (Waldstein research site, 786 m a.s.l.) in Germany. During the first experiment, an intercomparison was carried out with both setups running simultaneously at the same measuring height on a meteorological tower, 12.5 m above the forest canopy. The results confirmed a close agreement of the turbulent fluxes between the two setups, and allowed to intercalibrate liquid water content (LWC) and gravitational fluxes. During the second experiment, the setups were mounted at a height of 12.5 and 3 m above the canopy, respectively. For the 22 fog events, a persistent negative flux divergence was observed with a greater downward flux at the upper level. To extrapolate the turbulent liquid water fluxes measured at height z to the canopy of height h_c, a conversion factor 1/[1+0.116(z−h_c)] was determined. For the fluxes of nonvolatile ions, no such correction is necessary since the net evaporation of the fog droplets appears to be the primary cause of the vertical flux divergence. Although the net evaporation reduces the liquid water flux reaching the canopy, it is not expected to change the absolute amount of ions dissolved in fogwater.     

The Footprint for Estimation of Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Fluxes by Profile Techniques

The flux footprint, that is the contribution per unit emission from each element of the upwind surface area to measurement of the vertical flux of a passive scalar, is calculated for fluxes estimated by micrometeorological profile techniques. It is found that the upwind extent of the footprint for concentration-profile flux estimates is similar to that of the footprint for eddy-covariance flux measurements, when the eddy-covariance measurement is made at a height equal to the arithmetic mean of the highest and lowest profile measurement heights for stable stratification or the geometric mean for unstable stratification. The concentration-profile flux footprint depends on the ratio of the highest to the lowest measurement height, but is insensitive to the number of measurement levels. The concentration-profile flux footprint extends closer to the measurement location than does the 'equivalent eddy-covariance flux footprint, and the difference becomes more pronounced as the ratio of the profile measurement heights increases. The flux footprint for the Bowen-ratio technique is identical to that for a two-level profile measurement only for very limited circumstances. In the more general case, a flux footprint cannot be defined for the Bowen-ratio technique and the uniform upwind fetch required for representative flux measurements depends on the specific spatial distribution of surface fluxes.     

Wind Flow Over Complex Terrain: A Historical Perspective and the Prospect for Large-Eddy Modelling

The development of our understanding of turbulent flow overcomplex terrain is described. Despite considerable advances, there are still gaps in our knowledge. Large-eddy simulation of such flows is now becoming possible. This may stimulate further advances but it is computationally very demanding. The application of this technique to flow over hills is discussed.     

Turbulent Flux Measurements Above and Below the Overstory of a Boreal Aspen Forest

Turbulent flux measurements both above and beneath the canopy of a boreal aspen forest are described. Velocity skewness showed that, beneath the aspen canopy, turbulence was dominated by intermittent, downward penetrating gusts. Eulerian horizontal length scales calculated from integration of the autocorrelation function or spectral peaks were 9.0 and 1.4 times the mean aspen height of 21.5 m respectively. Above-canopy power spectral slopes for all velocity components followed the -2/3 power law, whereas beneath-canopy slopes were closer to -1 and showed a spectral short cut in the horizontal and vertical components. Cospectral patterns were similar both above and beneath the canopy. The Monin–Obukhov similarity function for the vertical wind velocity variance was a well-defined function of atmospheric stability, both above and beneath the canopy. Nocturnal flux underestimation and departures of this similarity function from that expected from Monin–Obukhov theory were a function of friction velocity. Energy balance closure greater than 80% was achieved at friction velocities greater than 0.30 and 0.10 m s-1, above and below the aspen canopy, respectively. Recalculating the latent heat flux using various averaging periods revealed a minimum of 15 min were required to capture 90% of the 30-min flux. Linear detrending reduced the flux at shorter averaging periods compared to block averaging. Lack of energy balance closure and erratic flux behaviour led to the recalculation of the latent and sensible heat fluxes using the ratio of net radiation to the sum of the energy balance terms.     

黄土高原复杂地形受中尺度运动影响的稳定边界层湍流特征

利用兰州大学半干旱气候与环境观测站(Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University,简称SACOL)2008年12月观测资料,研究了稳定边界层湍流特征.使用涡动相关资料研究湍流通量时,定义湍流的平均时间τ内的中尺度运动是造成湍流统计量变化范围大的主要原因,稳定情形? τ取几十秒至几分钟.对梯度理查森数大于0.3的强稳定情形的湍流尺度分解(MRD)谱分析表明,感热通量在112.4～449.9 s存在谱隙,尺度大于谱隙的中尺度运动造成了通量观测资料离散性大,甚至有支配性影响.动量通量的谱隙在112.4～224.9 s之间.弱风时,中尺度运动的影响更大,垂直风速标准差以0.1的比率随中尺度风速变化;垂直风速标准差同广义风速表现出很好的相关性,并随着广义风速消失而消失.三维风速标准差与摩擦速度呈很好的线性关系,垂直、水平、横风风速的无量纲标准差分别为1.35、2.54、2.21.对湍流动能的研究发现,在梯度理查森数大于0.3的条件下,仍然存在连续的湍流.以湍动能为依据,分析了湍流的平稳时间长度,其长度随稳定度变化而变化,2008年12月7～11日从133.5 s变化到856.2 s,湍流平稳时间长度反映了中尺度运动的发生频率.     

Processing and quality control of flux data during LITFASS-2003

Different aspects of the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of micrometeorological measurements were combined to create a comprehensive algorithm which was then applied to experimental data from LITFASS-2003 (Lindenberg Inhomogeneous Terrain—Fluxes between Atmosphere and Surface: a long term Study). Eddy-covariance measurements of the latent heat flux were the main focus of the QA/QC efforts. The results of a turbulence sensor intercomparison experiment showed deviations between the different eddy-covariance systems on the order of 15%, or less than 30 W m⁻², for the latent heat flux and 5%, or less than 10 W m⁻², for the sensible heat flux. In order to avoid uncertainties due to the post-processing of turbulence data, a comprehensive software package was used for the analysis of experimental data from LITFASS-2003, including all necessary procedures for corrections and quality control. An overview of the quality test results shows that for most of the days more than 80% of the available latent heat flux data are of high quality so long as there are no instrumental problems. The representativeness of a flux value for the target land-use type was analysed using a stochastic footprint model. Different methods to calculate soil heat fluxes at the surface are discussed and a sensitivity analysis is conducted to select the most robust method for LITFASS-2003. The lack of energy balance closure, which was found for LITFASS-2003, can probably be attributed to the presence of low-frequency flux contributions that cannot be resolved with an averaging time of 30 min. Though the QA/QC system has been developed for the requirements of LITFASS-2003, it can also be applied to other experiments dealing with similar objectives.     

The energy balance experiment EBEX-2000. Part II: Intercomparison of eddy-covariance sensors and post-field data processing methods

The eddy-covariance method is the primary way of measuring turbulent fluxes directly. Many investigators have found that these flux measurements often do not satisfy a fundamental criterion—closure of the surface energy balance. This study investigates to what extent the eddy-covariance measurement technology can be made responsible for this deficiency, in particular the effects of instrumentation or of the post-field data processing. Therefore, current eddy-covariance sensors and several post-field data processing methods were compared. The differences in methodology resulted in deviations of 10% for the sensible heat flux and of 15% for the latent heat flux for an averaging time of 30 min. These disparities were mostly due to different sensor separation corrections and a linear detrending of the data. The impact of different instrumentation on the resulting heat flux estimates was significantly higher. Large deviations from the reference system of up to 50% were found for some sensor combinations. However, very good measurement quality was found for a CSAT3 sonic together with a KH20 krypton hygrometer and also for a UW sonic together with a KH20. If these systems are well calibrated and maintained, an accuracy of better than 5% can be achieved for 30-min values of sensible and latent heat flux measurements. The results from the sonic anemometers Gill Solent-HS, ATI-K, Metek USA-1, and R.M. Young 81000 showed more or less larger deviations from the reference system. The LI-COR LI-7500 open-path H₂O/CO₂ gas analyser in the test was one of the first serial numbers of this sensor type and had technical problems regarding direct solar radiation sensitivity and signal delay. These problems are known by the manufacturer and improvements of the sensor have since been made. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is supported by the National Science Foundation.     

复杂地形下黑河流域的太阳辐射计算

基于数字高程模型(DEM)数据,在充分考虑了地形因子对太阳直接辐射和散射辐射的影响后,实际计算了起伏地形下黑河流域的太阳辐射。在忽略地表和大气之间的多次反射后,地表太阳总辐射计为三项:按起伏坡面上实际入射角考虑的太阳直接辐射、经过下垫面天空视角因子订正的坡面天空散射辐射和考虑周围地形反射效应的附加辐射。计算结果表明:局地地形起伏对太阳直接辐射、总辐射空间分布的影响非常强烈,使得复杂地形下不同坡向间总辐射和直接辐射平均计算差额十分显著,且太阳天顶角从较小增大至中等大小时,这两种平均计算差额均加大一倍多;在较小和中等大小太阳天顶角下,不同坡向间总辐射平均计算差额,均较相同条件下直接辐射平均计算差额为小,这是因为总辐射还包括了天空漫射和邻近地形反射辐射因子,这两个因子和坡面上太阳入射方位的变化共同影响地表入射太阳辐射;起伏地形主要使得太阳辐射在局地区域内背阴、向阳坡向间发生显著的重新分配。因此,在复杂地形地区进行太阳辐射计算时必须考虑地形的影响。     

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.     

An Alternative Approach for CO2 Flux Correction Caused by Heat and Water Vapour Transfer

Energy and CO₂ fluxes are commonly measured above plant canopies using an eddy covariance system that consists of a three-dimensional sonic anemometer and an H₂O/CO₂ infrared gas analyzer. By assuming that the dry air is conserved and inducing mean vertical velocity, Webb et al. (Quart. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc. 106, 85-100, 1980) obtained two equations to account for density effects due to heat and water vapour transfer on H₂O/CO₂ fluxes. In this paper, directly starting with physical consideration of air-parcel expansion/compression, we derive two alternative equations to correct for these effects that do not require the assumption that dry air is conserved and the use of the mean vertical velocity. We then applied these equations to eddy flux observations from a black spruce forest in interior Alaska during the summer of 2002. In this ecosystem, the equations developed here led to increased estimates of CO₂ uptake by the vegetation during the day (up to about 20%), and decreased estimates of CO₂ respiration by the ecosystem during the night (approximately 4%) as compared with estimates obtained using the Webb et al. approach.     

Testing of the bandpass eddy covariance method for a long-term measurement of water vapour flux over a forest

The bandpass eddy covariance method has been used to measure the turbulent flux of scalar quantities using a slow-responsescalar sensor. The method issimilar in principle to the traditional eddy correlation method but includes the estimation of high-frequency components of the flux on the basis of cospectral similarity in the atmospheric surface layer. In order to investigate the performance of the method, measurements of the water vapour flux over a forest with the bandpass eddy covariance method and the direct eddy correlation method were compared. The flux obtained by the bandpass eddy covariance method agreed with that by the eddy correlation method within ±20% for most cases, in spite of a rather slow sensor-response of the adopted hygrometer. This result supports its relevance to a long-term continuous operation, since a stable, low-maintenance,general-purpose sensor canbe utilized for scalar quantities. Oneweak point of the method isits difficulty in principle to measure the correct flux when the magnitude of the sensible heat flux is very small, because the method uses the sensible heat flux as a standard reference for the prediction of undetectable high-frequency components of the scalar flux. An advanced method is then presented to increase its robustness. In the new method, output signals from a slow-response sensor are corrected using empirical frequency-responsefunctions for the sensor,thereby extending the width of the bandpass frequency region where components of the flux are directly measured (not predicted). The advanced method produced correct fluxes for all cases including the cases of small sensible heat flux. The advanced bandpass eddy covariance method is thus appropriate for along-term measurement of the scalar fluxes.     

复杂山地近地层强风特性分析

利用在贵州省西南部复杂山地上获取的近地层梯度风观测资料和三维超声测风仪观测资料,从中筛选出具有该地气候特征的强风样本,利用数量统计和谱分析等方法,计算分析了由于复杂地形影响而导致的局地低层强风的平均和脉动特征.平均风场主要表现在受当地主要特征地形(西北-东南走向的深切峡谷)影响,其全年的主导风向和最大风速出现的方向几乎完全转为沿峡谷走向,即使在符合中性大气层结条件下,风的垂直廓线也完全不满足幂指数分布,风攻角远远大于规范推荐的值,并且不同风向的强风攻角因地形影响其差异可达20°;强风条件下脉动风场的主要特征是:不同风向强风的湍流强度有所不同,在纵、横和垂直方向的湍流强度比值与现行设计规范给出的三维湍流强度比值有明显差异,其中垂直方向的湍流强度显著偏大是突出特征;湍流积分尺度偏大,其中纵向值偏大20%-60%,横向值在某些风向上可偏大3倍以上,垂直方向则普遍较平坦地形偏大一个量级左右;在桥梁结构较为敏感的频域范围内,各风向的湍流谱密度值有显著差异,其中不同风向在纵向上最大差值可达8倍,横向和垂直向可相差6倍,但无论哪个方向的湍流谱密度值均比台风中心要小1-2个量级.     

On the relationship between the eddy covariance,the turbulent flux,and surface exchange for a trace gas such as CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

In the context of CO₂ surface exchange estimation, an analysis combining the basic principles of diffusion and scalar conservation shows that the mixing ratio is the appropriate variable both for defining the (eddy covariance) turbulent flux and also for expressing the relationship between the turbulent flux and surface exchange in boundary-layer budget equations. Other scalar intensity variables sometimes chosen, both the CO₂ density and molar fraction, are susceptible to the influence of surface exchange of heat and water vapour. The application of a hypsometric analysis to the boundary-layer “control volume” below the tower measurement height reveals flaws in previously applied approaches: (a) incompressibility cannot be assumed to simplify mass conservation (the budget in terms of CO₂ density); (b) compressibility alone makes the analysis of mass conservation vulnerable to uncertainties associated with resultant non-zero vertical velocities too small to measure or model over real terrain; and (c) the WPL (Webb et al. (1980) Quart J Roy Meteorol Soc 106:85–100) “zero dry air flux” assumption is invalidated except at the surface boundary. Nevertheless, the definition and removal of the WPL terms do not hinge upon this last assumption, and so the turbulent CO₂ flux can be accurately determined by eddy covariance using gas analysers of either open- or closed-path design. An appendix discusses the necessary assumptions and appropriate interpretations for deriving the WPL terms.