Examination of the Surface Energy Budget: A Comparison of Eddy Correlation and Bowen Ratio Measurement Systems

Abstract A reliable method for monitoring the surface energy budget is critical to the development and validation of numerical models and remote sensing algorithms. Unfortunately, closure of the energy budget remains difficult to achieve among measurement systems. Reasons for nonclosure still are not clearly understood, and, until recently, few long-term datasets were available to address this issue of nonclosure. This contribution examined 108 days of a year dataset collected from collocated eddy correlation (EC) and Bowen ratio (BR) systems. Differences between systems were examined across seasonal and diurnal cycles to better understand nonclosure of the energy budget. Closure by the EC system was observed to vary with season and with time of day, primarily as a function of latent heat flux. Furthermore, the EC and BR methods partitioned energy differently, with the EC system favoring latent heat flux and the BR system favoring sensible heat flux. Instrument error, surface heterogeneity, and the theore...

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