Estimation of ground heat flux and its impact on the surface energy budget for a semi-arid grassland

Three approaches, i.e., the harmonic analysis (HA) technique, the thermal diffusion equation and correction (TDEC) method, and the calorimetric method used to estimate ground heat flux, are evaluated by using observations from the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University (SACOL) in July, 2008. The calorimetric method, which involves soil heat flux measurement with an HFP01SC self-calibrating heat flux plate buried at a depth of 5 cm and heat storage in the soil between the plate and the surface, is here called the ITHP approach. The results show good linear relationships between the soil heat fluxes measured with the HFP01SC heat flux plate and those calculated with the HA technique and the TDEC method, respectively, at a depth of 5 cm. The soil heat fluxes calculated with the latter two methods well follow the phase measured with the HFP01SC heat flux plate. The magnitudes of the soil heat flux calculated with the HA technique and the TDEC method are close to each other, and they are about 2 percent and 6 percent larger than the measured soil heat flux, respectively, which mainly occur during the nighttime. Moreover, the ground heat fluxes calculated with the TDEC method and the HA technique are highly correlated with each other (R² = 0.97), and their difference is only about 1 percent. The TDEC-calculated ground heat flux also has a good linear relationship with the ITHP-calculated ground heat flux (R² = 0.99), but their difference is larger (about 9 percent). Furthermore, compared to the HFP01SC direct measurements at a depth of 5 cm, the ground heat flux calculated with the HA technique, the TDEC method, and the ITHP approach can improve the surface energy budget closure by about 6 percent, 7 percent, and 6 percent at SACOL site, respectively. Therefore, the contribution of ground heat flux to the surface energy budget is very important for the semi-arid grassland over the Loess Plateau in China. Using turbulent heat fluxes with common corrections, soil heat storage between the surface and the heat flux plate can improve the surface energy budget closure by about 6 to 7 percent, resulting in a closure of 82 to 83 percent at the SACOL site.