Abstract
Sonic thermometry and anemometry are fundamental to all eddy-covariance studies of surface energy balance. Recent studies have suggested that sonic anemometers with non-orthogonal transducers can underestimate vertical wind velocity (w) and sensible heat flux (H) when compared to orthogonal designs. In this study we tested whether a non-orthogonal sonic anemometer (CSAT3, Campbell Scientific, Inc.) measures lower w and H than an orthogonal sonic anemometer (SATI/3Vx, Applied Technologies, Inc.) and through experimental manipulation we tested if this difference can be attributed to errors in the CSAT3. Four CSAT3s and one SATI/3Vx were mounted symmetrically in a horizontal array on top of the Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site (GLEES) AmeriFlux scaffold (southeastern Wyoming, USA) and in close enough proximity to allow covariance measurements between neighboring sonic anemometers.
Keywords
eddy covariance,
energy balance closure,
sonic anemometry,
surface energy balance,
systematic flux error
Citation
Frank, John M.; Massman, William J.; Ewers, Brent E. 2013. Underestimates of sensible heat flux due to vertical velocity measurement errors in non-orthogonal sonic anemometers. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 171-172: 72-81.
