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Quantifying the complexity in mapping energy inputs and hydrologic state variables into land‐surface fluxes
Author(s) -
Katul Gabriel G.,
Lai ChunTa,
Albertson John D.,
Vidakovic Brani,
Schäfer Karina V. R.,
Hsieh ChengI,
Oren Ram
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2000gl012154
Subject(s) - environmental science , sensible heat , scalar (mathematics) , entropy (arrow of time) , hydrology (agriculture) , atmospheric sciences , physics , mathematics , geology , thermodynamics , geometry , geotechnical engineering
This study explores the complexity (or disorder) in mapping energy ( R n ) forcing to land surface fluxes of sensible heat ( H s ), water vapor ( LE ), and carbon dioxide (or net ecosystem exchange, NEE ) for different soil water states (θ). Specifically, we ask, does the vegetation act to increase or dissipate statistical entropy injected from R n ? We address this question using novel scalar complexity measures applied to a long‐term time series record of R n , θ, H s , LE , and NEE collected over a uniform pine forest. This analysis is the first to demonstrate that vegetation dissipates scalar flux entropy injected through R n . We also find that the entropy or disorder in scalar fluxes increases with increasing R n and that the complexity in mapping R n to scalar fluxes is reduced with increasing θ.