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Abstract. Accurate air temperature measurements are essential in eddy covariance systems, not only for determining sensible heat flux but also for applying density effect corrections (DECs) to water vapor and CO2 fluxes. However, the influence of wind-induced vibrations of mounting structures on temperature fluctuations remains a subject of investigation. This study examines 30 min average temperature variances and fluxes using eddy covariance systems, combining Campbell Scientific sonic anemometers with closely co-located fine-wire thermocouples alongside LI-COR CO2–H2O gas analyzers at multiple heights above a sagebrush ecosystem. The variances of sonic temperature after humidity corrections (Ts) and sensible heat fluxes derived from Ts are underestimated (e.g., by approximately 5 % for temperature variances and 4 % for sensible heat fluxes at 40.2 m, respectively) as compared with those measured by a fine-wire thermocouple (Tc). Spectral analysis illustrates that these underestimated variances and fluxes are caused by the lower energy levels in the Ts spectra than the Tc spectra in the low-frequency range (natural frequency < 0.02 Hz). These underestimated Ts spectra in the low-frequency range become more pronounced with increasing wind speeds, especially when wind speed exceeds 10 m s−1. Moreover, the underestimated temperature variances and fluxes cause overestimated water vapor and CO2 fluxes through DEC. Our analysis suggests that these underestimations when using Ts are likely due to wind-induced vibrations affecting the tower and mounting arms, altering the time of flight of ultrasonic signals along three sonic measurement paths. This study underscores the importance of further investigations to develop corrections for these errors.
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Intercomparison of eddy-covariance software for urban tall-tower sites
Abstract. Long-term tall-tower eddy-covariance (EC) measurements have been recently established in three European pilot cities as part of the ICOS-Cities project. We conducted a comparison of EC software to ensure a reliable generation of interoperable flux estimates, which is the prerequisite for avoiding methodological biases and improving the comparability of the results. We analyzed datasets covering 5 months collected from EC tall-tower installations located in urbanized areas of Munich, Zurich, and Paris. Fluxes of sensible heat, latent heat, and CO2 were calculated using three software packages (i.e., TK3, EddyPro, and eddy4R) to assess the uncertainty of flux estimations attributed to differences in implemented postprocessing schemes. A very good agreement on the mean values and standard deviations was found across all three sites, which can probably be attributed to a uniform instrumentation, data acquisition, and preprocessing. The overall comparison of final flux time series products showed a good but not yet perfect agreement among the three software packages. TK3 and EddyPro both calculated fluxes with low-frequency spectral correction, resulting in better agreement than between TK3 and the eddy4R workflow with disabled low-frequency spectral treatment. These observed flux discrepancies indicate the crucial role of treating low-frequency spectral loss in flux estimation for tall-tower EC systems.
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- PAR ID:
- 10523739
- Publisher / Repository:
- EGU
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 1867-8548
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2649 to 2669
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2649-2024
