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Surface Renewal: An Advanced Micrometeorological Method for Measuring and Processing Field-Scale Energy Flux Density Data
Published on: December 12, 2013
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Surface renewal: an advanced micrometeorological method for measuring and processing field-scale energy flux density
Andrew J McElrone1, Thomas M Shapland, Arturo Calderon
1Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service.
Journal of Visualized Experiments : Jove
|January 1, 2014
Summary
This study simplifies advanced micrometeorological methods for soil and crop scientists. An open-source program makes measuring crop water use and improving irrigation decisions more accessible.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Soil Science
- Crop Science
- Atmospheric Science
Background:
- Advanced micrometeorological techniques are crucial but inaccessible to many scientists.
- Surface renewal and flux measurement methods require specialized knowledge in meteorology and data management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance the accessibility of surface renewal flux measurement techniques.
- To provide a user-friendly system for data acquisition and processing.
Main Methods:
- Describing the theory behind surface renewal measurements.
- Demonstrating field station setup for surface renewal with eddy covariance calibration.
- Utilizing an open-source, turnkey data logger program for flux data acquisition and processing.
Main Results:
- The open-source program simplifies data processing, returning corrected fluxes and quality control parameters.
- Eliminates the need for researchers to use multiple data processing programs.
- Successfully demonstrated crop water use measurement for irrigation decisions.
Conclusions:
- The developed system significantly improves the accessibility of advanced micrometeorological methods.
- The technique provides valuable data for growers to optimize irrigation strategies in diverse agricultural ecosystems.
- The system is currently deployed in various crop experiments by researchers and the California Department of Water Resources.
