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Evaluation and Modification of a Domeless Net Radiometer
Author(s) -
Cobos Douglas R.,
Baker John M.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj2003.1770
Subject(s) - radiometer , pyranometer , environmental science , remote sensing , calibration , precipitation , meteorology , radiation , physics , geography , mathematics , optics , statistics
The use of net radiation as a critical variable in models of surface–atmosphere exchange is routine; however, its measurement is not. The discrete measurement of incoming and outgoing solar radiation with pyranometers and long‐wave radiation with pyrgeometers is widely thought to be the most accurate method for estimating net radiation, but deployment at multiple sites is cost prohibitive. A recently developed single‐sensor net radiometer differs from other commonly used net radiometers in that it has no domes covering the thermopile sensor. Long‐term field data from this net radiometer were compared to reference net radiation calculated as the sum of the four independently measured components. The domeless net radiometer agreed well with the reference measurements, out‐performing a similarly priced, widely used, domed net radiometer under most conditions. However, our analyses suggest that the domeless net radiometer has differing sensitivities to short and long‐wave radiation, which is not accounted for in the calibration. Additionally, precipitation affected the domeless net radiometer much more severely than the domed model, which could be a significant limitation in areas with frequent rainfall. Despite these shortfalls, the domeless net radiometer evaluated here could be useful in a variety of field settings.