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A Simple Method of Estimating Scalar Fluxes Over Forests

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Abstract

A simple aerodynamic-variance method is proposed to fill gaps in continuous CO2 flux measurements in rainy conditions, when open-path analysers do not function. The method requires turbulent conditions (friction velocity greater than 0.1 ms–1), and uses measurements of mean wind speed, and standard deviations of temperature and CO2 concentration fluctuations to complement, and at times replace, eddy-covariance measurements of friction velocity, sensible heat flux and CO2 flux. Friction velocity is estimated from the mean wind speed with a flux-gradient relationship modified for the roughness sublayer. Since normalised standard deviations do not follow Monin-Obukhov similarity theory in the roughness sublayer, a simple classification scheme according to the scalar turbulence scale was used. This scheme is shown to produce sensible heat and CO2 flux estimates that are well correlated with the measured values.

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Author notes

  1. Jinkyu Hong

    Present address: Global Environment Lab, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Environmental Physics, The University of Georgia, Griffin, GA, USA

    Nelson Luis Dias, Jinkyu Hong & Monique Y. Leclerc

  2. Lemma—Laboratory for Environmental Monitoring and Modelling Analysis, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil

    Nelson Luis Dias

  3. Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    T. Andrew Black, Z. Nesic & P. Krishnan

Authors
  1. Nelson Luis Dias
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  2. Jinkyu Hong
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  3. Monique Y. Leclerc
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  4. T. Andrew Black
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  5. Z. Nesic
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  6. P. Krishnan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nelson Luis Dias.

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Dias, N.L., Hong, J., Leclerc, M.Y. et al. A Simple Method of Estimating Scalar Fluxes Over Forests. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 132, 401–414 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9408-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9408-0

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