Analysing surface energy balance closure and partitioning over a semi-arid savanna FLUXNET site in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Abstract. Flux towers provide essential terrestrial climate, water and radiation budget information needed for environmental monitoring and evaluation of climate change impacts on ecosystems and society in general. They are also intended for calibration and validation of satellite-based earth observation and monitoring efforts, such as assessment of evapotranspiration from land and vegetation surfaces using surface energy balance approaches. In this paper, 15 years of Skukuza eddy covariance data, i.e. from 2000 to 2014, were analysed for surface energy balance closure (EBC) and partitioning. The surface energy balance closure was evaluated using the ordinary least squares regression (OLS) of turbulent energy fluxes (sensible (H) and latent heat (LE)) against available energy (net radiation (Rn) less soil heat (G)), and the energy balance ratio (EBR). Partitioning of the surface energy during the wet and dry seasons was investigated, as well as how it is affected by atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and net radiation. After filtering years with bad data (2004–2008), our results show an overall mean EBR of 0.93. Seasonal variations of EBR also showed summer (0.98) and spring (1.02) were closest to unity, with winter (0.70) having the least closure. Nocturnal surface energy closure was very low at 0.11, and this was linked to low friction velocity during night-time, with results showing an increase in closure with increase in friction velocity. The surface energy partitioning of this savanna ecosystem showed that sensible heat flux dominated the energy partitioning between March and October, followed by latent heat flux, and lastly the soil heat flux, and during the wet season where latent heat flux dominated the sensible heat flux. An increase in net radiation was characterized by an increase in both LE and H, with LE showing a higher rate of increase than H in the wet season, and the reverse happening during the dry season. An increase in VPD is characterized by a decrease in LE and increase in H during the wet season, and an increase of both fluxes during the dry season.

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Analysing surface energy balance closure and partitioning over a semi-arid savanna FLUXNET site in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-21-3401-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (7) ◽

pp. 3401-3415 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Nobuhle P. Majozi ◽

Chris M. Mannaerts ◽

Abel Ramoelo ◽

Renaud Mathieu ◽

Alecia Nickless ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Sensible Heat Flux ◽

Dry Season ◽

Energy Balance Closure ◽

Net Radiation ◽

Wet Season

Abstract. Flux towers provide essential terrestrial climate, water, and radiation budget information needed for environmental monitoring and evaluation of climate change impacts on ecosystems and society in general. They are also intended for calibration and validation of satellite-based Earth observation and monitoring efforts, such as assessment of evapotranspiration from land and vegetation surfaces using surface energy balance approaches. In this paper, 15 years of Skukuza eddy covariance data, i.e. from 2000 to 2014, were analysed for surface energy balance closure (EBC) and partitioning. The surface energy balance closure was evaluated using the ordinary least squares regression (OLS) of turbulent energy fluxes (sensible (H) and latent heat (LE)) against available energy (net radiation (Rn) less soil heat (G)), and the energy balance ratio (EBR). Partitioning of the surface energy during the wet and dry seasons was also investigated, as well as how it is affected by atmospheric vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and net radiation. After filtering years with low-quality data (2004–2008), our results show an overall mean EBR of 0.93. Seasonal variations of EBR also showed the wet season with 1.17 and spring (1.02) being closest to unity, with the dry season (0.70) having the highest imbalance. Nocturnal surface energy closure was very low at 0.26, and this was linked to low friction velocity during night-time, with results showing an increase in closure with increase in friction velocity. The energy partition analysis showed that sensible heat flux is the dominant portion of net radiation, especially between March and October, followed by latent heat flux, and lastly the soil heat flux, and during the wet season where latent heat flux dominated sensible heat flux. An increase in net radiation was characterized by an increase in both LE and H, with LE showing a higher rate of increase than H in the wet season, and the reverse happening during the dry season. An increase in VPD is correlated with a decrease in LE and increase in H during the wet season, and an increase in both fluxes during the dry season.

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The surface energy balance of a polygonal tundra site in northern Siberia – Part 1: Spring to fall

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-5-151-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 151-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

M. Langer ◽

S. Westermann ◽

S. Muster ◽

K. Piel ◽

J. Boike

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Snow Cover ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Latent Heat Flux ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Heat Fluxes ◽

Net Radiation ◽

Ground Heat Flux

Abstract. In this article, we present a study on the surface energy balance of a polygonal tundra landscape in northeast Siberia. The study was performed during half-year periods from April to September in each of 2007 and 2008. The surface energy balance is obtained from independent measurements of the net radiation, the turbulent heat fluxes, and the ground heat flux at several sites. Short-wave radiation is the dominant factor controlling the magnitude of all the other components of the surface energy balance during the entire observation period. About 50% of the available net radiation is consumed by the latent heat flux, while the sensible and the ground heat flux are each around 20 to 30%. The ground heat flux is mainly consumed by active layer thawing. About 60% of the energy storage in the ground is attributed to the phase change of soil water. The remainder is used for soil warming down to a depth of 15 m. In particular, the controlling factors for the surface energy partitioning are snow cover, cloud cover, and the temperature gradient in the soil. The thin snow cover melts within a few days, during which the equivalent of about 20% of the snow-water evaporates or sublimates. Surface temperature differences of the heterogeneous landscape indicate spatial variabilities of sensible and latent heat fluxes, which are verified by measurements. However, spatial differences in the partitioning between sensible and latent heat flux are only measured during conditions of high radiative forcing, which only occur occasionally.

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The surface energy balance in a cold-arid permafrost environment, Ladakh Himalaya, India

10.5194/tc-2019-286 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

John Mohd Wani ◽

Renoj J. Thayyen ◽

Chandra Shekhar Prasad Ojha ◽

Stephan Gruber

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Latent Heat Flux ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Sensible Heat Flux ◽

Longwave Radiation ◽

Sensible Heat ◽

The Alps

Abstract. Cryosphere of the cold-arid trans-Himalayan region is unique with its significant permafrost cover. While the information on the permafrost characteristics and its extent started emerging, the governing energy regimes of this cryosphere region is of particular interest. This paper present the results of Surface Energy Balance (SEB) studies carried out in the upper Ganglass catchment in the Ladakh region of India, which feed directly to the River Indus. The point SEB is estimated using the one-dimensional mode of GEOtop model from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2017 at 4727 m a.s.l elevation. The model is evaluated using field monitored radiation components, snow depth variations and one-year near-surface ground temperatures and showed good agreement with the respective simulated values. The study site has an air temperature range of −23.7 to 18.1 °C with a mean annual average temperature (MAAT) of −2.5 and ground surface temperature range of −9.8 to 19.1 °C. For the study period, the surface energy balance characteristics of the cold-arid site show that the net radiation was the major component with mean value of 28.9 W m−2 followed by sensible heat flux (13.5 W m−2) and latent heat flux (12.8 W m−2), and the ground heat flux was equal to 0.4 W m−2. The partitioning of energy balance during the study period shows that 47 % of Rn was converted into H, 44 % into LE, 1 % into G and 7 % for melting of seasonal snow. Both the study years experienced distinctly different, low and high snow regime. Key differences due to this snow regime change in surface energy balance characteristics were observed during peak summer (July–August). The latent heat flux was higher (lower) during this period with 39 W m−2 (11 W m−2) during high (low) snow years. The study also shows that the sensible heat flux during the early summer season (May, June) of the high (low) snow was much smaller (higher) −3.4 W m−2 (36.1 W m−2). During the study period, snow cover builds up in the catchment initiated by the last week of December facilitating the ground cooling by almost three months (October to December) of sub-zero temperatures up to −20 °C providing a favourable environment for permafrost. It is observed that the Ladakh region have a very low relative humidity in the range of 43 % as compared to, e.g., ~ 70 % in the Alps facilitating lower incoming longwave radiation and strongly negative net longwave radiation averaging ~ −90 W m−2 compared to −40 W m−2 in the Alps. Hence, the high elevation cold-arid region land surfaces could be overall colder than the locations with more RH such as the Alps. Further, it is apprehended that high incoming shortwave radiation in the region may be facilitating enhanced cooling of wet valley bottom surfaces as a result of stronger evaporation.

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Determination of soil ground heat flux through heat pulse and plate methods: Effects of subsurface latent heat on surface energy balance closure

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.06.008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 260-261 ◽

pp. 176-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sen Lu ◽

Hesong Wang ◽

Ping Meng ◽

Jinsong Zhang ◽

Xiao Zhang

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Heat Pulse ◽

Energy Balance Closure ◽

Ground Heat Flux

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The surface energy balance of a polygonal tundra site in northern Siberia – Part 2: Winter

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-5-509-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 509-524 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

M. Langer ◽

S. Westermann ◽

S. Muster ◽

K. Piel ◽

J. Boike

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Latent Heat Flux ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Sensible Heat ◽

Net Radiation ◽

Northern Siberia ◽

Ground Heat Flux

Abstract. In this study, we present the winter time surface energy balance at a polygonal tundra site in northern Siberia based on independent measurements of the net radiation, the sensible heat flux and the ground heat flux from two winter seasons. The latent heat flux is inferred from measurements of the atmospheric turbulence characteristics and a model approach. The long-wave radiation is found to be the dominant factor in the surface energy balance. The radiative losses are balanced to about 60 % by the ground heat flux and almost 40 % by the sensible heat fluxes, whereas the contribution of the latent heat flux is small. The main controlling factors of the surface energy budget are the snow cover, the cloudiness and the soil temperature gradient. Large spatial differences in the surface energy balance are observed between tundra soils and a small pond. The ground heat flux released at a freezing pond is by a factor of two higher compared to the freezing soil, whereas large differences in net radiation between the pond and soil are only observed at the end of the winter period. Differences in the surface energy balance between the two winter seasons are found to be related to differences in snow depth and cloud cover which strongly affect the temperature evolution and the freeze-up at the investigated pond.

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Updated cloud physics in a regional atmospheric climate model improves the modelled surface energy balance of Antarctica

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-8-125-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 125-135 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

J. M. van Wessem ◽

C. H. Reijmer ◽

J. T. M. Lenaerts ◽

W. J. van de Berg ◽

M. R. van den Broeke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Climate Model ◽

Sensible Heat Flux ◽

Sensible Heat ◽

Ice Cloud ◽

Long Wave ◽

Regional Atmospheric Climate Model

Abstract. In this study the effects of changes in the physics package of the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2 on the modelled surface energy balance, near-surface temperature and wind speed of Antarctica are presented. The physics package update primarily consists of an improved turbulent and radiative flux scheme and a revised cloud scheme that includes a parameterisation for ice cloud super-saturation. The ice cloud super-saturation has led to more moisture being transported onto the continent, resulting in more and optically thicker clouds and more downward long-wave radiation. Overall, the updated model better represents the surface energy balance, based on a comparison with >750 months of data from nine automatic weather stations located in East Antarctica. Especially the representation of the turbulent sensible heat flux and net long-wave radiative flux has improved with a decrease in biases of up to 40%. As a result, modelled surface temperatures have increased and the bias, when compared to 10 m snow temperatures from 64 ice-core observations, has decreased from −2.3 K to −1.3 K. The weaker surface temperature inversion consequently improves the representation of the sensible heat flux, whereas wind speed biases remain unchanged. However, significant model biases remain, partly because RACMO2 at a resolution of 27 km is unable to resolve steep topography.

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Analysing surface energy balance closure and partitioning over a semi-arid savanna FLUXNET site in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa

10.5194/hess-2016-76 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nobuhle P. Majozi ◽

Chris M. Mannaerts ◽

Abel Ramoelo ◽

Renaud Mathieu ◽

Alecia Nickless ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Heat Fluxes ◽

Surface Energy Budget ◽

Radiation Budget ◽

Energy Balance Closure ◽

Flux Tower ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Flux tower sites and data are in great demand to provide essential terrestrial climate, water and radiation budget information needed for environmental monitoring and evaluation of climate change impacts on ecosystems and society in general. They are also intended for calibration and validation of satellite-based earth observation and monitoring efforts, such as for example assessment of evapotranspiration from land and vegetation surfaces using surface energy balance approaches. Surface energy budget methods for ET estimation rely to a large extend on the basic assumption of a surface energy balance closure, assuming the full conversion of net solar radiation reaching the land surface into soil heat conduction and turbulent fluxes, i.e. the sensible (or convection) and latent heat components of the energy balance. Evapotranspiration is the conversion of the latent heat exchange fraction of the balance. In this paper, the Skukuza flux tower data were analysed in order to verify their use for validation of satellite–based evapotranspiration methods, under development in South Africa.Data series from 2000 until 2014 were used in the analysis. The energy balance ratio (EBR) concept, defined as the ratio between the sum of the turbulent convective and latent heat fluxes and radiation minus soil heat was used. At first typical diurnal patterns of EB partitioning were derived for four different seasons, well illustrating how this savannah-type biome responses to the weather conditions. Also the particular behaviour of the EB components during sunrise and sunset conditions, being important but usually neglected periods of energy transitions and inversions were noted and analysed. Annual estimates of the surface energy balance and its components were generated, including an evaluation of the balance closure. The seasonal variations were also investigated as well as the impact of nocturnal observations on the overall EB behaviour.

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Diurnal Energy Balance in a Mango Orchard in the Northeast of Pará, Brazil

Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia ◽

10.1590/0102-7786333012 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 537-546 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paulo Jorge de Oliveira Ponte de Souza ◽

Juliana Chagas Rodrigues ◽

Adriano Marlisom Leão de Sousa ◽

Everaldo Barreiros de Souza

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Latent Heat Flux ◽

Soil Cover ◽

Sensible Heat Flux ◽

Sensible Heat ◽

Net Radiation ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Available Energy

Abstract This study aimed to evaluate the diurnal energy balance during the reproductive stage of two growing seasons of a mango orchard in the northeast of Pará, Brazil. Therefore, a micrometeorological tower was installed and instrumented, in the center of the experimental area, to monitor meteorological variables, besides the phenological evaluation of the mango orchard, which was carried out during growing seasons of 2010-2011 (October 2010 to January 2011) and of 2011-2012 (September 2011 to January 2012). The energy balance was obtained by the bowen ration technique, and the available energy partitioned into heat flux to the ground, sensible heat and latent heat. The amount of rainfall was crucial to the partition of the net radiation in the energy balance components. It provided the variation in the consumption of available energy between 69% and 78% as latent heat flux, and between 23% and 32% as sensible heat flux. The heat flux to the ground was small, representing less than 1% of the net radiation, showing that the mango orchard exhibits good soil cover preventing large variations in soil heating.

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Application of the Priestley–Taylor Approach in a Two-Source Surface Energy Balance Model

Journal of Hydrometeorology ◽

10.1175/2009jhm1124.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 185-198 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Nurit Agam ◽

William P. Kustas ◽

Martha C. Anderson ◽

John M. Norman ◽

Paul D. Colaizzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heat Flux ◽

Energy Balance ◽

Surface Energy ◽

Vapor Pressure ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Latent Heat Flux ◽

Vapor Pressure Deficit ◽

Surface Energy Balance ◽

Area Index ◽

Wide Range

Abstract The Priestley–Taylor (PT) approximation for computing evapotranspiration was initially developed for conditions of a horizontally uniform saturated surface sufficiently extended to obviate any significant advection of energy. Nevertheless, the PT approach has been effectively implemented within the framework of a thermal-based two-source model (TSM) of the surface energy balance, yielding reasonable latent heat flux estimates over a range in vegetative cover and climate conditions. In the TSM, however, the PT approach is applied only to the canopy component of the latent heat flux, which may behave more conservatively than the bulk (soil + canopy) system. The objective of this research is to investigate the response of the canopy and bulk PT parameters to varying leaf area index (LAI) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in both natural and agricultural vegetated systems, to better understand the utility and limitations of this approximation within the context of the TSM. Micrometeorological flux measurements collected at multiple sites under a wide range of atmospheric conditions were used to implement an optimization scheme, assessing the value of the PT parameter for best performance of the TSM. Overall, the findings suggest that within the context of the TSM, the optimal canopy PT coefficient for agricultural crops appears to have a fairly conservative value of ∼1.2 except when under very high vapor pressure deficit (VPD) conditions, when its value increases. For natural vegetation (primarily grasslands), the optimal canopy PT coefficient assumed lower values on average (∼0.9) and dropped even further at high values of VPD. This analysis provides some insight as to why the PT approach, initially developed for regional estimates of potential evapotranspiration, can be used successfully in the TSM scheme to yield reliable heat flux estimates over a variety of land cover types.

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