Surface Energy Balance Closure Research Articles

How Does Turbulent Organized Structure Influence Surface Energy Balance Closure? A Study Utilizing Large-Eddy Simulation

How Does Turbulent Organized Structure Influence Surface Energy Balance Closure? A Study Utilizing Large-Eddy Simulation

Observational study on the surface radiation budget and energy balance closure of grassland in the eastern arid region of Northwest China

Based on the observation data of the meteorological environment monitoring system (QT-1010) and the open vorticity correlation system (LI-7500DS), we used the block aerodynamics and energy balance ratio method to analyze the surface radiation budget and energy balance closure characteristics of the grassland in the eastern arid region of Northwest China at different time scales.We found that (1) The daily variation curve of the surface radiation flux is unimodal, and the variation amplitude of each component is as follows: Rs↓> RL↑> RL↓> Rs↑. (2) The monthly peak of each radiation component occurs in summer, and the time of reaching the peak of different components has a lag. The changes of radiation components in sunny and cloudy days are multi-modal. In the precipitation weather, the fluctuation of each radiation flux is unimodal.The average annual surface albedo () is 0.24, which is higher in winter than in summer. There is a linear relationship between surface albedo and soil moisture. (3) The Net radiation (Rnet) dominates the sensible heat in spring and the latent heat in summer. H/Rnet and Gn/Rnet are both positive in a day, H/Rnet and LE/Rnet fluctuate wildly before and after sunrise, and Gn is dominant at night. (4) The energy closure is manifested as summer > winter > Autumn > spring, and the energy closure is good throughout the year.

Surface energy balance closure over melting snow and ice from in situ measurements on the Greenland ice sheet

Abstract Accurately quantifying all the components of the surface energy balance (SEB) is a prerequisite for the reliable estimation of surface melt and the surface mass balance over ice and snow. This study quantifies the SEB closure by comparing the energy available for surface melt, determined from continuous measurements of radiative fluxes and turbulent heat fluxes, to the surface ablation measured on the Greenland ice sheet between 2003 and 2023. We find that the measured daily energy available for surface melt exceeds the observed surface melt by on average 18 ± 30 W m−2 for snow and 12 ± 54 W m−2 for ice conditions (mean ± SD), which corresponds to 46 and 10% of the average energy available for surface melt, respectively. When the surface is not melting, the daily SEB is on average closed within 5 W m−2. Based on the inter-comparison of different ablation sensors and radiometers installed on different stations, and on the evaluation of modelled turbulent heat fluxes, we conclude that measurement uncertainties prevent a better daily to sub-daily SEB closure. These results highlight the need and challenges in obtaining accurate long-term in situ SEB observations for the proper evaluation of climate models and for the validation of remote sensing products.

Surface energy fluxes and energy balance closure using large aperture scintillometer-based ET station on heterogeneous agricultural landscape in north India

This study was carried out to understand the pattern of surface energy fluxes over a periodical scale and energy balance closure using Large Aperture Scintillometer and Micrometeorological tower. The standalone technique as ‘Scintillometry’ which observes the structure parameter of refractive index based on Monin-Obukhov Similarity theory, has the potential to measure the sensible heat flux precisely. This paper discusses the surface energy balance components and energy balance closure over a period of August 2017 to June 2018. The maximum mean energy fluxes Rn, G, H and LE were observed in September (98.6 Wm-2), May (13.9 Wm-2), June (53.3 Wm-2) and August (82.1 Wm-2), respectively. The overall mean ET was observed at the rate of 1.36 mm day-1 during the study period. This scintillometry technique may further use in evapotranspiration modelling from polar orbiting satellite to geostationary satellite over a heterogeneous and undulated landscape.

Linkage between surface energy balance non‐closure and horizontal asymmetric turbulent transport

AbstractA number of studies have reported that the traditional eddy covariance (EC) method generally underestimated vertical turbulent fluxes, leading to an outstanding non‐closure problem of the surface energy balance (SEB). Although it is recognized that the enlarged surface energy imbalance frequently coincides with the increasing wind shear, the role of large eddies in affecting the SEB remains unclear. On analyzing data collected by an EC array, considerable horizontal inhomogeneity of kinematic heat flux is observed. The results show that the combined EC method that incorporates the spatial flux contribution increases the kinematic heat flux by 21% relative to the traditional EC method, improving the SEB closure. Additionally, spectral analysis indicates that large eddies with scales ranging from 0.0005 to 0.01 (in the normalized frequency) mainly account for the horizontal inhomogeneity of kinematic heat flux. Under unstable conditions, this process is operating upon large eddies characterized by enlarged asymmetric turbulent flux transport. With enhanced wind shear, the increment of flux contribution associated with sweeps and ejections becomes disproportionate, contributing to the horizontal inhomogeneity of kinematic heat flux, and thus may explain the increased SEB non‐closure.

Analytical framework based on thermodynamics to estimate spatially distributed surface energy fluxes from remotely sensed radiations

The Limited surface observations of turbulent heat fluxes result in incomplete knowledge about the surface energy balance that drives the climate system. The highly parameterized surface energy balance models suffer from significant uncertainties. Remote sensing information of incoming and outgoing radiation fluxes are important input variables for turbulent heat flux models, though analytical solutions of surface energy budget from these variables are yet to be derived. Here, we developed a novel, purely physics-based analytical method grounded on the thermodynamic principle of maximum power. The approach derives the total turbulent heat flux only from the four inputs of incoming and outgoing longwave and shortwave radiations at the land surface, which are available from remotely sensed satellite data. The proposed approach does not use any parameterization, unlike the existing surface energy balance models, and hence does not suffer from uncertainty due to the same. We validated our methodology with 102 eddy covariance observation stations around the globe with different land use land covers from FLUXNET2015 and available urban datasets. Based on monthly averages of the total turbulent flux estimates for the eddy covariance sites, we observed root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 23.2 ± 10.9 Wm−2, a mean bias error (MBE) of 11.9 ± 13.1 Wm−2 and R2 value of 0.86 ± 0.15. Using the satellite observations of radiation fluxes from CERES at a spatial resolution of 10, we obtained the global flux field of total turbulent flux (QJ) and land surface heat storage (ΔQs) fluxes. On validation of QJ with FLUXNET sites for six grids for different land use land cover, we found RMSE of 20.1 ± 7 Wm−2, MBE of 14.4 ± 9 Wm−2 and R2 value of 0.96 ± 0.02. Further, from the evaporative stress factor of GLEAM, which is based on microwave remotely sensed vegetation optical depth and root zone soil moisture, we have obtained spatially distributed global estimates of Sensible(H) and latent heat (LE). In addition, our analytical estimates address the distribution of residual energy associated with the surface energy balance closure problem driven by the land use land cover. The theoretical estimates of all surface energy balance components from remote sensing based observations will improve our understanding of surface warming for different land use land covers across the globe.

A study of the role of seven historically significant fast-response hygrometers and sensor calibration on eddy covariance H2O fluxes and surface energy balance closure

Water vapor fluxes are a major component of the surface energy balance, hydrological cycle, and ecosystem processes. As newer sensors are developed for eddy covariance measurements, the role of different technologies and calibration uncertainties on H2O fluxes and surface energy balance closure should be assessed. Here, a field intercomparison is described testing historically significant fast-response hygrometers: Lyman-α, KH2O, LI-7000, LI-7500, LI-7200, EC155, and EC150. This study occurred in southeastern Wyoming in September 2015. Three methods of calibration are investigated: standard calibration with a dew point generator and zero-air gas, referencing to a first principles slow-response hygrometer, and piecewise calibration between fast-response hygrometers based on blocks of time with consistent relationships between 5-minute data. Differences in fluxes among the infrared gas analyzers were largest when using the standard calibration (maximum difference of 15.9%, standard deviations of differences between 4.1–6.0%) with differences reduced by 0.3–0.6 × when the calibrations were referenced to a first principles hygrometer. The smallest differences occurred using the piecewise calibration, which emphasizes the intrinsic differences among the sensor technologies, where differences were further reduced by 0.04–0.09 × (maximum difference of 8.2%, standard deviations of differences between 2.3–3.0%). The Lyman-α and KH2O experienced severe drifts, though their piecewise calibrations were generally within the range of the others. The two most influential factors beyond calibration uncertainty were the oxygen correction for the ultraviolet absorption sensors, especially the KH2O, and the tube attenuation spectral correction for closed-path analyzers, mostly with the lower flow EC155. The effect of hygrometers on the energy balance closure was minor with some uncertainty associated with the standard calibration, though this was less than the change in closure associated with the choice of sonic anemometer. These results focus attention on the need to further develop accurate calibration methodologies that are suitable for all flux tower sites.

Comparison of sensible and latent heat fluxes from optical-microwave scintillometers and eddy covariance systems with respect to surface energy balance closure

The eddy-covariance (EC) method has been widely used to measure sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat fluxes, however, it has limited spatial representativeness (hundreds of meters’ scale). Optical-microwave scintillometers (OMS) can directly measure kilometer-scale H and LE, which can be used to validate satellite remote sensing products and model simulations. Therefore, quantitative comparisons and analyses between H and LE measured by OMS and EC are important. In this study, the H and LE values measured by OMS and EC were compared and analyzed over two different surfaces: alpine meadow (homogeneous underlying surface) and irrigated cropland (heterogeneous underlying surface). Results showed that the H (LE) difference between OMS and EC measurements was approximately 17% (18%) and 27% (37%) over the homogeneous and heterogeneous underlying surfaces during the vegetation growing season, respectively. Furthermore, the difference in measured LE from OMS and EC (ΔLEOMS−EC) is caused by the combination of the difference in land surface hydrothermal conditions (LSHCs) and the different principles of OMS and EC measurements. On the one hand, ΔLEOMS−EC varied with the changing LSHCs within the instruments’ source areas over the heterogeneous surface, and the value could be decreased by irrigation and precipitation events. On the other hand, OMS averages large-scale measurements over both space and time and does not need to capture all-scale eddies (e.g., large-scale eddies), so the occurrence of advection increases ΔLEOMS−EC. Finally, compared with that of EC system, the energy balance closure ratio of OMS system was similar over the homogeneous underlying surface but significantly increased by 26% over the heterogeneous underlying surface. These results indicate that OMS has a potential advantage in measuring sensible and latent heat fluxes, particularly over heterogeneous underlying surfaces.

A Possible Reconciliation between Eddy Covariance Fluxes and Surface Energy Balance Closure

At the surface of the earth, the available radiative energy Rn is distributed between the ground heat flux and the sensible and latent heat fluxes according to the surface energy balance (SEB) equation. In the past decades, most attempts to measure the individual terms of this equation have revealed a non-closure problem, regardless of the site of observation or period of the year. Today, no definitive answer has been provided to this question. In general, it is suspected that the sensible and latent heat fluxes (H and LvE, respectively) that are calculated with the eddy-covariance technique are underestimated. This paper suggests two additional terms that should be considered in the SEB equation, which are based on thermodynamic considerations. They are directly related to H and LvE and appear to be interesting candidates for explaining (at least in part) the non-closure of the SEB. The distribution of the correction between H and LvE varies as a function of the Bowen ratio B. The correction relative to H is dominant for values of B that are greater than 0.2 and represents more than 80% of the total correction for values greater than unity. The impact of these corrections on the SEB closure was tested on a large set of observations from 24 FLUXNET sites around the world with different vegetation types. The closure defect, which is about 17% in the original dataset, is reduced to about 3% with the proposed corrections.

Land‐Atmosphere Interactions at a Semi‐Arid Region in the Deccan Plateau

AbstractComprehensive characterization of turbulent fluxes and land‐atmosphere interactions at a semi‐arid region in the Deccan Plateau of peninsular India is presented using 2‐year eddy covariance measurements. Contrary to previously reported results over the Indian region, surface energy partitioning is more into sensible heat flux than latent heat flux, even during the monsoon season. Irrespective of the seasons, the soil moisture and its response to rainfall drive the land‐atmosphere interactions and along with the net radiation, play crucial roles in deciding the surface fluxes and its partitioning. Time series comparison with ERA5 reanalysis data reveals the inadequate representation of land‐atmosphere interactions in ERA5 reanalysis over the peninsular Indian region, particularly the intensity and duration of rainfall and the feedbacks of soil moisture to the atmosphere. The surface energy balance closure improves by ∼3% when the soil heat storage term is considered and is the highest when the height and scatter of the roughness elements around the measurement site are the lowest. The influence of rainfall on energy balance closure is lower as compared to land surface heterogeneity. The present study also fills an existing gap of validating the surface fluxes and its partitioning in ERA5 reanalysis in the tropics and will provide deeper insights on the land‐atmosphere interactions in tropical semi‐arid regions.

Incorporating the effect of heterogeneous surface heating into a semi-empirical model of the surface energy balance closure.

It was discovered several decades ago that eddy covariance measurements systematically underestimate sensible and latent heat fluxes, creating an imbalance in the surface energy budget. Since then, many studies have addressed this problem and proposed a variety of solutions to the problem, including improvements to instruments and correction methods applied during data postprocessing. However, none of these measures have led to the complete closure of the energy balance gap. The leading hypothesis is that not only surface-attached turbulent eddies but also sub-mesoscale atmospheric circulations contribute to the transport of energy in the atmospheric boundary layer, and the contribution from organized motions has been grossly neglected. The problem arises because the transport of energy through these secondary circulations cannot be captured by the standard eddy covariance method given the relatively short averaging periods of time (~30 minutes) used to compute statistics. There are various approaches to adjust the measured heat fluxes by attributing the missing energy to the sensible and latent heat flux in different proportions. However, few correction methods are based on the processes causing the energy balance gap. Several studies have shown that the magnitude of the energy balance gap depends on the atmospheric stability and the heterogeneity scale of the landscape around the measurement site. Based on this, the energy balance gap within the surface layer has already been modelled as a function of a nonlocal atmospheric stability parameter by performing a large-eddy simulation study with idealized homogeneous surfaces. We have further developed this approach by including thermal surface heterogeneity in addition to atmospheric stability in the parameterization. Specifically, we incorporated a thermal heterogeneity parameter that was shown to relate to the magnitude of the energy balance gap. For this purpose, we use a Large-Eddy Simulation dataset of 28 simulations with seven different atmospheric conditions and three heterogeneous surfaces with different heterogeneity scales as well as one homogeneous surface. The newly developed model captures very well the variability in the magnitude of the energy balance gap under different conditions. The model covers a wide range of both atmospheric stabilities and landscape heterogeneity scales and is well suited for application to eddy covariance measurements since all necessary information can be modelled or obtained from a few additional measurements.

Energy-Based Approaches in Estimating Actual Evapotranspiration Focusing on Land Surface Temperature: A Review of Methods, Concepts, and Challenges

The surface energy balance (SEB) model is a physically based approach in which aerodynamic principles and bulk transfer theory are used to estimate actual evapotranspiration. A wide range of different methods have been developed to parameterize the SEB equation; however, few studies addressed solutions to the SEB considering the land surface temperature (LST). Therefore, in the current review, a clear and comprehensive classification is provided for energy-based approaches considering the key role of LST in solving the energy budget. In this regard, three general approaches are presented using LSTs derived by climate and land surface models (LSMs), satellite-based data, and energy balance closure. In addition, this review surveys the concepts, required inputs, and assumptions of energy-based LSMs and SEB algorithms in detail. The limitations and challenges of aforementioned approaches including land surface temperature, surface energy imbalance, and calculation of surface and aerodynamic resistance network are also assessed. According to the results, since the accuracy of resulting LSTs are affected by weather conditions, surface energy closure, and use of vegetation/meteorological information, all approaches are faced with uncertainties in determining ET. In addition, for further study, an interactive evaluation of water and energy conservation laws is recommended to improve the ET estimation accuracy.

Analysis of Land Surface Energy and Water Cycle Changes in Naqu Region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during 2005-2016

In order to improve the integrity of the research on the thermal conditions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the plateau energy cycle, and strengthen the understanding of the climate change and water cycle in the Nagqu area, this article uses the 2005—provided by the Naqu Alpine Climate and Environmental Observation and Research Station of the Northwest Institute of Eco- Environmental Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2016, the hour by hour high-resolution data set of atmospheric, soil and eddy observations analyzed the surface radiation budget, energy conversion, energy balance, and energy closure in the Naqu region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The following conclusions are obtained: compared with sunny days, the diurnal variation of the various components of surface energy in Nagqu in cloudy weather is very irregular, and the reflectivity of cloudy weather becomes larger. In cloudy weather, the thermal process between the surface and the atmosphere and deep soil is more violent than short-wave radiation. The albedo at each moment of the day in winter is greater than that in summer because of the unique surface characteristics of the plateau. Both summer and winter sensible heat flux and latent heat flux have the same diurnal variation trend as net radiation. The sensible heat flux and latent heat flux in summer are significantly higher than those in winter, but the latent heat flux changes more significantly with the seasons. When considering the soil heat storage term, the energy closure degree in summer is 0.301 and that in winter is 0.701. The energy closure degree in winter is significantly higher than that in summer.

Spatiotemporal Variability of Heat Storage in Major U.S. Cities—A Satellite-Based Analysis

Heat storage, ΔQs, is quantified for 10 major U.S. cities using a method called the thermal variability scheme (TVS), which incorporates urban thermal mass parameters and the variability of land surface temperatures. The remotely sensed land surface temperature (LST) is retrieved from the GOES-16 satellite and is used in conjunction with high spatial resolution land cover and imperviousness classes. New York City is first used as a testing ground to compare the satellite-derived heat storage model to two other methods: a surface energy balance (SEB) residual derived from numerical weather model fluxes, and a residual calculated from ground-based eddy covariance flux tower measurements. The satellite determination of ΔQs was found to fall between the residual method predicted by both the numerical weather model and the surface flux stations. The GOES-16 LST was then downscaled to 1-km using the WRF surface temperature output, which resulted in a higher spatial representation of storage heat in cities. The subsequent model was used to predict the total heat stored across 10 major urban areas across the contiguous United States for August 2019. The analysis presents a positive correlation between population density and heat storage, where higher density cities such as New York and Chicago have a higher capacity to store heat when compared to lower density cities such as Houston or Dallas. Application of the TVS ultimately has the potential to improve closure of the urban surface energy balance.

Is the energy balance in a tropical lowland rice paddy perfectly closed?

A two-year (2015 and 2016) field experiment was carried out to study the surface energy budget and energy balance closure (EBC) in a tropical lowland rice paddy in Cuttack, India. Maintenance of a standing water layer in lowland irrigated rice ecosystem makes it unique and this strongly influences the surface energy balance which may alter the surface runoff, ground water storage, water cycle, surface energy budget, and possibly microclimate of the region. To study this, an experiment was conducted using eddy covariance system to measure the surface energy balance components during two cropping seasons (dry season, DS and wet season, WS) and two consecutive fallow periods (dry fallow, DF and wet fallow, WF). The rice was grown in puddled wet lands in DS and WS and the ground was left fallow (DF and WF) during the rest of the year. Results displayed that daily average latent heat flux at surface (LE) and at canopy height (LEc) dominated over sensible heat flux at surface (H) and canopy height (Hc), respectively due to the presence of water source coming from the standing water in the rice field. The EBC was evaluated by ordinary least square (OLS), energy balance ratio (EBR) and residual heat flux (RHF). In OLS, the slope ranged 0.38-0.89 (2015) and 0.28-0.99 (2016) during the study period. Average RHF was 10.3-12.0% higher in WS as compared to DS. It was concluded that the EBC estimated using RHF is the most suitable way to calculate closure for lowland rice paddy since it can distinguish different seasons distinctively, followed by OLS. Much variation was not observed in EBR after inclusion of storage terms (water, soil, photosynthesis, canopy) to the classical EBR.

A Scheme to Estimate Diurnal Cycle of Evapotranspiration from Geostationary Meteorological Satellite Observations

The diurnal cycle of evapotranspiration (ET) is significant in studying the dynamics of land–atmosphere interactions. The diurnal ET cycle can be considered as an indicator of dry/wet surface conditions. However, the accuracy of current models in estimating the diurnal ET cycle is generally low. This study developed an improved scheme to estimate the diurnal cycle of ET by solving the surface energy balance equation combined with simplified parameterization, with daily ET as the constraint. Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) land surface temperature, and longwave and shortwave radiation products were the primary inputs. Daily ET was from the remote sensing-based ETMonitor model. The estimated instantaneous (30 min) ET from the improved scheme outperformed the official MSG instantaneous ET product when compared with in situ half-hourly measurements at 35 flux sites from the FLUXNET2015 dataset, and was also comparable with European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5 ET data, with an R2 of 0.617 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 65.8 W/m2 for the improved scheme. Results were largely improved compared with those without daily ET as the constraint. The improved method was stable for the estimation of ET’s diurnal cycle at the similar atmospheric conditions and the accuracy was comparative at different land cover surfaces. Errors in the input variables and the simplification of surface heat flux parameterization affected surface energy balance closure, which can lead to instability of the solution of constants in the simplified parameterization and further to the uncertainty of ET’s diurnal cycle estimation. Measurement errors, different source areas in measured variables, and inconsistent spatial representativeness between remote sensing and site measurements also impacted the evaluation.

A new free-convection form to estimate sensible heat and latent heat fluxes for unstable cases

Free convection limit (FCL) approaches to estimate surface fluxes are of interest given the evidence that they may extend up to near neutral stability conditions. For measurements taken in the inertial sublayer, the formulation based on surface renewal theory and the analysis of small eddies (SRSE) to estimate the sensible heat flux (H) was extended to latent heat flux (LE) with the aim to derive their FCL approaches. For sensible heat flux (HFCL), the input requirements are traces of the fast-response (such as 10–20 Hz) air temperature and the zero-plane displacement. For latent heat flux (LEFCL), input requirements are fast response traces of water vapor density, mean temperature of the air, the available net surface energy (Rn-G, where Rn and G are the net radiation and soil heat flux, respectively) and the zero-plane displacement. Taking eddy covariance (EC) as a reference method, the performance of the FCL method was tested over a growing cotton field that involved three contrasting surfaces: partly mulched bare soil, a sparse canopy and a homogeneous canopy. Using traces at 10 Hz and 20 Hz, HFCL overestimated and underestimated the EC sensible heat flux (HEC), respectively. In general, LEFCL tended to slightly underestimate LEEC. The surface energy balance closure show that (HEC + LEEC) underestimated (Rn-G) in a range of 19% (homogeneous canopy) and 8% (sparse canopy). Given that, in general (HFCL + LEFCL) was closer to (Rn-G) than (HEC + LEEC), the FCL method may be recommended for field applications, especially when the wind speed is not available.

A Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic Approach for Surface Energy Balance Closure

AbstractThe surface energy imbalance, viz. that the turbulent dissipation does not fully account for available energy, has for long been an outstanding challenge in geophysical studies. In this study, we developed a novel approach based on nonequilibrium thermodynamics by representing the atmospheric boundary layer as a heat engine. In addition, an analytically tractable approach was used to estimate the ground heat flux based on Green's function approach, which in turn determines the available energy that drives the atmospheric heat engine. The proposed model was evaluated using heat fluxes measured by eight AmeriFlux eddy covariance towers with atmospheric temperature profiles recorded at adjacent radiosonde sites. The surface energy balance closure can be improved by ~11% over various landscapes, by including the estimated power production from the atmospheric heat engine.

Surface Turbulent Fluxes during Persistent Cold-Air Pool Events in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. Part I: Observations

AbstractThe land surface is coupled to the atmospheric boundary layer through surface turbulent fluxes. Persistent cold-air pools (PCAPs) form in topographic depressions where cold, dense air fills the valley basin and in the presence of air pollution is accompanied by poor air quality. For the first time, the surface turbulence dataset from seven monitors during the Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study conducted in Salt Lake Valley, Utah (December 2010–February 2011), are analyzed. We found that the surface sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat fluxes were lower during strong PCAP events compared with non-PCAPs. The higher ratio of heat flux to net radiation (H/Rn and LE/Rn) for strong PCAPs compared with weak PCAPs is suspected to be related to the presence of boundary layer clouds, which could enhance the turbulent mixing through cloud top–down mixing. The daily average ground heat flux (G) was a similar order of magnitude toHand LE during wintertime. The highest surface turbulent fluxes and energy balance closure occurred in the stability range of −0.05 <ξ≤ −0.02, or under slightly unstable conditions, near the neutral stability range. The median surface exchange coefficient (Ch), a crucial parameter to determine surface turbulent fluxes in land surface models, was slightly higher at the bare land site (BL) than the short vegetation sites (PH and CR) in wintertime, suggesting the importance of dynamic land-use information in numerical models.

Micrometeorological measurements in an arid environment: Diurnal characteristics and surface energy balance closure

Abstract The goal of this study is to assess the surface energy balance closure (SEBC) in an arid environment through a comprehensive analysis of surface radiation, heat fluxes, and other micrometeorological measurements. These were taken from a 2.3-m eddy covariance (EC) flux tower at Al Ain (24°16′26.5535″ N, 55°37′03.2196″ E; 243 m a.m.s.l.) during the periods April – October 2017 and February 2018 – January 2019. The SEBC is investigated on seasonal and diurnal time-scales using the Energy Balance Ratio (EBR) and residual flux (ΔE) values. An analyses of the SEBC reveals that during daytime a three-way balance between the sensible heat, ground heat fluxes and the net surface radiative flux prevails, while at night the last two essentially balance each other. These fluxes are roughly 25% larger in the summer compared to the winter season. The surface downward shortwave radiation flux and latent heat flux peak in spring, despite the latter having rather small magnitudes (