Open AccessComparison of regional surface fluxes from boundary‐layer budgets and aircraft measurements above boreal forest
Author(s) -
Barr Alan G.,
Betts Alan K.,
Desjardins R. L.,
MacPherson J. I.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/97jd01104
Subject(s) - environmental science , sensible heat , atmospheric sciences , eddy covariance , latent heat , bowen ratio , boundary layer , planetary boundary layer , taiga , energy balance , energy budget , earth's energy budget , surface layer , boreal , meteorology , climatology , radiation , layer (electronics) , geology , physics , materials science , geography , mechanics , thermodynamics , ecosystem , ecology , forestry , composite material , biology , paleontology , quantum mechanics
Daytime surface sensible and latent heat fluxes ( H s and λ E s ) above boreal forest, derived independently from the boundary‐layer budgets of heat and water vapor and by eddy correlation from the Twin Otter aircraft, are compared. The aircraft and boundary‐layer budget values of H s + λ E s underestimated surface available energy by 25% and 4%, respectively, when the sum of the minor surface energy balance terms (storage and photosynthesis) was estimated as 17% of net radiation. The boundary‐layer budget estimate of the regional Bowen ratio (1.05) agreed to within 15% of the aircraft measurement (0.91). Both methods clearly have value for estimating land‐surface fluxes at a regional scale.