 Chapter 5: Night time Flux correctionAubinet, Marc  ; ; Heinesch, Bernard et alin Aubinet, Marc; Vesala, Timo; Papale, Dario (Eds.) Eddy Covariance: A Practical Guide to Measurement and Data Analysis (2012) Detailed reference viewed: 18 (2 ULg) Spatiotemporal evolution of CO2 concentration, temperature, and wind field during stable nights at the Norunda forest site; ; et al in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2010), 150(5), 692-701 Unusually high CO2 concentrations were frequently observed during stable nights in late summer 2006 at the CarboEurope-Integrated Project (CEIP) forest site in Norunda, Sweden. Mean CO2 concentrations in ... [more ▼] Unusually high CO2 concentrations were frequently observed during stable nights in late summer 2006 at the CarboEurope-Integrated Project (CEIP) forest site in Norunda, Sweden. Mean CO2 concentrations in the layer below the height of the eddy-covariance measurement system at 30 m reached up to 500 mu mol mol(-1) and large vertical and horizontal gradients occurred, leading to very large advective fluxes with a high variability in size and direction. CO2 accumulation was found to build up in the second part of the night, when the stratification in the canopy sub-layer turned from stable to neutral. Largest vertical gradients of temperature and CO2 were shifted from close to the ground early in the night to the crown space of the forest late at night, decoupling the canopy sub-layer from the surface roughness layer. At the top of the canopy at 25 m CO2 concentrations up to 480 mu mol mol(-1) were observed at all four tower locations of the 3D cube setup and concentrations were still high (>400 mu mol mol(-1)) at the 100 m level of the Central tower. The vertical profiles of horizontal advective fluxes during the nights under investigation were similar and showed largest negative horizontal advection (equivalent to an additional CO2-sink) to occur in the crown space of the forest, and not, as usually expected, close to the ground. The magnitude of these fluxes was sometimes larger than 50 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)and they were caused by the large horizontal CO2 concentration gradients with maximum values of up to 1 mu mol mol(-1) m(-1). As a result of these high within canopy CO2 concentrations, the vertical advection also became large with frequent changes of direction according to the sign of the mean vertical wind component, which showed very small values scattering around zero. Inaccuracy of the sonic anemometer at such low wind velocities is the reason for uncertainty in vertical advection, whereas for horizontal advection, instrument errors were small compared to the fluxes. The advective fluxes during these nights were unusually high and it is not clear what they represent in relation to the biotic fluxes. Advection is most likely a scale overlapping process. With a control volume of about 100 m x 100 m x 30 m and the applied spatial resolution of the sensors, we obviously miss relevant information from processes in the mesoscale as well as in the turbulent scale. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 8 (1 ULg)Plot-scale vertical and horizontal transport of CO2 modified by a persistent slope wind system in and above an alpine forest; ; Aubinet, Marc in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2010), 150(5), 665-673 Data from the flux tower site Renon/Ritten, Italy, located at 1735 m. a.s.l. on a south exposed steep (11 degrees) forested alpine slope, is analyzed. In spite of the complex terrain, a persistent slope ... [more ▼] Data from the flux tower site Renon/Ritten, Italy, located at 1735 m. a.s.l. on a south exposed steep (11 degrees) forested alpine slope, is analyzed. In spite of the complex terrain, a persistent slope wind system prevailed at the site during most of the ADVEX campaign from April to September 2005. We describe in detail how CO2 is transported parallel to the slope and how this transport affects net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in the diurnal course. The local slope wind system may be strongly modified by two different large scale synoptic situations. The "Tramontana", a persistent strong wind from the north, amplified the drainage flow during nighttime and suppressed the upslope flow above the forest canopy during daytime. Vice versa, we observed periods with continuing flow from the south, which supported the local daytime upslope flow and partly suppressed the nighttime downslope flow. This led to periods of several hours with opposite flow directions in and above the canopy. Depending on the prevailing situation, the trunk space is coupled and/or decoupled with/from the roughness sublayer above the forest canopy. In particular, vertical and horizontal mixing of CO2 was strongly dependent on the dominating wind field with essential impact on the horizontal advective flux of CO2. The most common "Local" situation, dominated by the slope wind system, showed positive horizontal and vertical advection (with typical values around 7 and 3 mu mol m(-2) s(-1), respectively) together with downslope winds at night and slightly negative horizontal advection (typical values around 2 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)) together with upslope winds during the day. This pattern was amplified at night when the wind was consistently (day and night) blowing downslope (the "Tramontana" situation) and, vice versa, attenuated during the night, when the wind was blowing permanently upslope (the "Southerlies" situation). Taking into account these advective fluxes would significantly reduce the reported annual CO2 uptake of this forest. Related effects are expected to occur at flux tower sites with similar topography and vegetation. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 17 (1 ULg)Direct advection measurements do not help to solve the night-time CO2 closure problem: Evidence from three different forestsAubinet, Marc ; ; Heinesch, Bernard et alin Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2010), 150(5), 655-664 The ADVEX project involved conducting extensive advection measurements at three sites, each with a different topography. One goal of the project was to measure the [CO2] balance under night-time ... [more ▼] The ADVEX project involved conducting extensive advection measurements at three sites, each with a different topography. One goal of the project was to measure the [CO2] balance under night-time conditions, in an attempt to improve NEE estimates. Four towers were arranged in a square around a main tower, with the sides of the square about 100 m long. Equipped with 16 sonic anemometers and [CO2] sampling points, the towers were installed to measure vertical and horizontal advection of [CO2]. Vertical turbulent fluxes were measured by an eddy covariance system at the top of the main tower. The results showed that horizontal advection varied greatly from site to site and from one wind sector to another, the highest values being reached when there were large friction velocities and fairly unstable conditions. There was less variation in vertical advection, the highest values being reached when there were low friction velocities and stable conditions. The night-time NEE estimates deduced from the mass balance were found to be incompatible with biologically driven fluxes because (i) they varied strongly from one wind sector to another and this variation could not be explained in terms of a response of the biologic flux to climate, (ii) their order of magnitude was not realistic and (iii) they still showed a trend vs. friction velocity. From a critical analysis of the measurement and data treatment we concluded that the causes of the problem are related to the representativeness of the measurement (control volume size, sampling resolution) or the hypotheses underlying the derivation of the [CO2] mass balance (ignoring the horizontal turbulent flux divergence). This suggests that the improvement of eddy flux measurements by developing an advection completed [CO2] mass balance at night would be practically difficult. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 25 (3 ULg)Direct CO2 advection measurements and the night flux problemAubinet, Marc ; in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2010), 150(5), 651-654 Detailed reference viewed: 46 (3 ULg)Treatment and assessment of the CO2-exchange at a complex forest site in Thuringia, Germany; ; et al in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2010), 150(5), 684-691 Eddy covariance measurements were carried out at the Wetzstein site in Thuringia, Germany since December 2001. Soon after the start of the measurements night-time fluxes well above average CO2-fluxes ... [more ▼] Eddy covariance measurements were carried out at the Wetzstein site in Thuringia, Germany since December 2001. Soon after the start of the measurements night-time fluxes well above average CO2-fluxes measured in temperate forest ecosystems were detected which could not be explained by biological processes but were valid with respect to standard quality criteria. The Wetzstein site is part of the CarboEurope-IP flux-network and the CO2-exchange of this spruce forest is of general ecological interest as the site is typical for central European spruce forest ecosystems at mountainous elevation. Additional investigations were made in order to identify the causes for the large difference between the flux balance and the inventory based NEP. Specific weather patterns and micrometeorological situations were identified during which a decoupling of the flows above and below the canopy leads to additional CO2-effluxes at the tower site which are not part of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at night. Rejecting data from these periods and gap-filling thereafter results in yearly sums of NEE, GPP and TER which are in better agreement with the biometric measurements at the tower site and comparable to other spruce forest sites. In this process ecosystem respiration was determined not only from extrapolation of nighttime data but also from flux partitioning based on day-time data using the hyperbolic light response function. It can be shown that flux measurements at this complex site need to be treated in a modified procedure compared to what is generally performed, namely extrapolating ecosystem respiration from night-time data. Using multiple data sources and applying a careful filtering of the data, confidence in the estimates of the carbon balance components increased. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 18 (8 ULg)Application of a mass consistent flow model to study the CO2 mass balance of forests; ; et al in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2010), 150(5), 712-723 The reconstruction of the wind field is one of the main issues in the mass conservation approach for calculation of CO2 advection in forest ecosystems and still remains a challenging problem. In the ... [more ▼] The reconstruction of the wind field is one of the main issues in the mass conservation approach for calculation of CO2 advection in forest ecosystems and still remains a challenging problem. In the current study, we present an advancement of this approach: the use of a mass consistent flow model (WINDS) which takes into account measured wind data and simulates the 3-D flow field, while imposing airmass conservation in the control volume. We apply the WINDS model to alculate half hourly mean total advective flux terms at the CarboEurope-IP site of Renon (Bozen/Bolzano Autonomous Province), in Northern Italy. The data used refer to six time periods of one day representing three different meteorological conditions observed during the ADVEX campaign from April to September 2005. Current results are compared with results obtained in two other studies for the same time periods. One of these studies is based on the mass conservation approach as well, but applies only interpolations to reconstruct the wind field; the other study makes use of tilt correction (sectorwise planar fit method) for the vertical wind component. In the present study, the effect of the wind field reconstruction method on the estimation of the advective fluxes is discussed. The possibility of using reduced input wind data (i.e. number of towers) for WINDS is also investigated. The results suggest that the representativeness of wind tower measurements is of primary importance for estimating CO2 advection terms and their uncertainty in complex terrain. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 15 (4 ULg)Analysis of periods with strong and coherent CO2 advection over a forested hill; ; et al in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2010), 150(5), 674-683 Horizontal and vertical advective fluxes of CO2 measured during the CarboEurope-IP advection experiment (ADVEX) at the Wetzstein spruce forest site in Thuringia, Germany, were related to wind direction ... [more ▼] Horizontal and vertical advective fluxes of CO2 measured during the CarboEurope-IP advection experiment (ADVEX) at the Wetzstein spruce forest site in Thuringia, Germany, were related to wind direction, stratification regime and friction velocity u*. Measurements of wind speed and direction carried out at one of the slopes of the ridge revealed the existence of reverse flow below the canopy on the downwind side. This uphill flowoccurred concurrently with the advective fluxes measured at the top of the hill. Such result is in agreement with recent modeling works that support the existence of advection at low hills covered with a canopy. Another experimental evidence that suggest a link between advection at this site with the flow over the hill came from the analysis of the horizontal gradient of CO2 inside the volume formed by the ADVEX towers. It was observed that CO2 accumulated near the downwind side of the crest for cross-ridge flows, what is consistent with another modeling work of the transport of scalars across a low hill covered with a canopy. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 16 (7 ULg) Climate control of terrestrial carbon exchange across biomes and continents; ; et al in Environmental Research Letters (2010), 5(3), Understanding the relationships between climate and carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems is critical to predict future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide because of the potential accelerating ... [more ▼] Understanding the relationships between climate and carbon exchange by terrestrial ecosystems is critical to predict future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide because of the potential accelerating effects of positive climate-carbon cycle feedbacks. However, directly observed relationships between climate and terrestrial CO2 exchange with the atmosphere across biomes and continents are lacking. Here we present data describing the relationships between net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) and climate factors as measured using the eddy covariance method at 125 unique sites in various ecosystems over six continents with a total of 559 site-years. We find that NEE observed at eddy covariance sites is (1) a strong function of mean annual temperature at mid-and high-latitudes, (2) a strong function of dryness at mid-and low-latitudes, and (3) a function of both temperature and dryness around the mid-latitudinal belt (45 degrees N). The sensitivity of NEE to mean annual temperature breaks down at similar to 16 degrees C (a threshold value of mean annual temperature), above which no further increase of CO2 uptake with temperature was observed and dryness influence overrules temperature influence. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 112 (3 ULg)Available energy and energy balance closure at four coniferous forest sites across Europe; Aubinet, Marc ; et alin Theoretical & Applied Climatology (2009), 98(3-4), 397-412 The available energy (AE), driving the turbulent fluxes of sensible heat and latent heat at the earth surface, was estimated at four partly complex coniferous forest sites across Europe (Tharandt, Germany ... [more ▼] The available energy (AE), driving the turbulent fluxes of sensible heat and latent heat at the earth surface, was estimated at four partly complex coniferous forest sites across Europe (Tharandt, Germany; Ritten/Renon, Italy; Wetzstein, Germany; Norunda, Sweden). Existing data of net radiation were used as well as storage change rates calculated from temperature and humidity measurements to finally calculate the AE of all forest sites with uncertainty bounds. Data of the advection experiments MORE II (Tharandt) and ADVEX (Renon, Wetzstein, Norunda) served as the main basis. On-site data for referencing and cross-checking of the available energy were limited. Applied cross checks for net radiation (modelling, referencing to nearby stations and ratio of net radiation to global radiation) did not reveal relevant uncertainties. Heat storage of sensible heat J (H), latent heat J (E), heat storage of biomass J (veg) and heat storage due to photosynthesis J (C) were of minor importance during day but of some importance during night, where J (veg) turned out to be the most important one. Comparisons of calculated storage terms (J (E), J (H)) at different towers of one site showed good agreement indicating that storage change calculated at a single point is representative for the whole canopy at sites with moderate heterogeneity. The uncertainty in AE was assessed on the basis of literature values and the results of the applied cross checks for net radiation. The absolute mean uncertainty of AE was estimated to be between 41 and 52 W m(-2) (10-11 W m(-2) for the sum of the storage terms J and soil heat flux G) during mid-day (approximately 12% of AE). At night, the absolute mean uncertainty of AE varied from 20 to about 30 W m(-2) (approximately 6 W m(-2) for J plus G) resulting in large relative uncertainties as AE itself is small. An inspection of the energy balance showed an improvement of closure when storage terms were included and that the imbalance cannot be attributed to the uncertainties in AE alone. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 19 (4 ULg)Estimating nocturnal ecosystem respiration from the vertical turbulent flux and change in storage of CO2; ; et al in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2009), 149(11), 1919-1930 Micrometeorological measurements of night time ecosystem respiration can be systematically biased when stable atmospheric conditions lead to drainage flows associated with decoupling of air flow above and ... [more ▼] Micrometeorological measurements of night time ecosystem respiration can be systematically biased when stable atmospheric conditions lead to drainage flows associated with decoupling of air flow above and within plant canopies. The associated horizontal and vertical advective fluxes cannot be measured using instrumentation on the single towers typically used at micrometeorological sites. A common approach to minimize bias is to use a threshold in friction velocity, u*, to exclude periods when advection is assumed to be important, but this is problematic in situations when in-canopy flows are decoupled from the flow above. Using data from 25 flux stations in a wide variety of forest ecosystems globally, we examine the generality of a novel approach to estimating nocturnal respiration developed by van Gorsel et al. (van Gorsel, E., Leuning, R., Cleugh, H.A., Keith, H., Suni, T., 2007. Nocturnal carbon efflux: reconciliation of eddy covariance and chamber measurements using an alternative to the u*-threshold filtering technique. Tellus 59B, 397-403, Tellus, 59B, 307-403). The approach is based on the assumption that advection is small relative to the vertical turbulent flux (F-C) and change in storage (F-S) of CO2 in the few hours after sundown. The sum of F-C and F-S reach a maximum during this period which is used to derive a temperature response function for ecosystem respiration. Measured hourly soil temperatures are then used with this function to estimate respiration R-Rmax. The new approach yielded excellent agreement with (1) independent measurements using respiration chambers, (2) with estimates using ecosystem light-response curves of F-c + F-s extrapolated to zero light, R-LRC, and (3) with a detailed process-based forest ecosystem model, R-cast. At most sites respiration rates estimated using the u*-filter, R-ust, were smaller than R-Rmax, and R-LRC. Agreement of our approach with independent measurements indicates that R-Rmax, provides an excellent estimate of nighttime ecosystem respiration. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 77 (17 ULg)Advection mechanism and their impact on CO2 net ecosystem exchange at three Carboeurope forest sites; ; Heinesch, Bernard et alPoster (2008) Detailed reference viewed: 10 (1 ULg)Comparison of horizontal and vertical advective CO2 fluxes at three forest sites; ; et al in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2008), 148(1), 12-24 Extensive field measurements have been performed at three CarboEurope-Integrated Project forest sites with different topography (Renon/Ritten, Italian Alps, Italy; Wetzstein, Thuringia, Germany; Norunda ... [more ▼] Extensive field measurements have been performed at three CarboEurope-Integrated Project forest sites with different topography (Renon/Ritten, Italian Alps, Italy; Wetzstein, Thuringia, Germany; Norunda, Uppland, Sweden) to evaluate the relevant terms of the carbon balance by measuring CO2 concentrations [CO2] and the wind field in a 3D multi-tower cube setup. The same experimental setup (geometry and instrumentation) and the same methodology were applied to all the three experiments. It is shown that all sites are affected by advection in different ways and strengths. Everywhere, vertical advection (F-VA) occurred only at night. During the day, F-VA disappeared because of turbulent mixing, leading to a uniform vertical profile of [CO2]. Mean F-VA was nearly zero at the hilly site (wetzstein) and at the flat site (Norunda). However, large, momentary positive or negative contributions occurred at the flat site, whereas vertical non-turbulent fluxes were generally very small at the hilly site. At the slope site (Renon), F-VA was always positive at night because of the permanently negative mean vertical wind component resulting from downslope winds. Horizontal advection also occurred mainly at night. It was positive at the slope site and negative at the flat site in the mean diurnal course. The size of the averaged non-turbulent advective fluxes was of the same order of magnitude as the turbulent flux measured by eddy-covariance technique, but the scatter was very high. This implies that it is not advisable to use directly measured quantities of the non-turbulent advective fluxes for the estimation of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) on e.g. an hourly basis. However, situations with and without advection were closely related to local or synoptic meteorological conditions. Thus, it is possible to separate advection affected NEE estimates from fluxes which are representative of the source term. However, the development of a robust correction scheme for advection requires a more detailed site-specific analysis of single events for the identification of the relevant processes. This paper presents mean characteristics of the advective CO2 fluxes in a first site-to-site comparison and evaluates the main problems for future research. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [less ▲] Detailed reference viewed: 47 (2 ULg) |
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