Partitioning of energy during the snow-free season at the Wolf Creek Research Basin

• Main Author: Raoul J. Granger
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1998
• Subjects: Tundra
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.527.9888; http://www.taiga.net/wolfcreek/Proceedings_04.pdf

The results of four years of observation of the partitioning of energy at three sites in the Wolf Creek Research Basin are presented. The sites are representative of the major land use classes in the basin, boreal forest, high bush tundra and alpine tundra, and range in elevation from 750 to 1600 m. The instrumentation deployed allows for the determination of the complete energy and water balances at these sites. The data from these sites are also used in the development of parameterizations for the modelling of evapotranspiration and the application of remote sensing to the estimate of regional evapotranspiration. The energy balances are derived and presented for the three Wolf Creek sites. Net radiation and soil heat fluxes are measured directly, and the turbulent fluxes are derived from measurements of temperature, humidity and wind speeds observed at the sites. Results from the 1994-1997 snow-free periods are presented. Seasonal trends, as well as the differences between the sites (land cover and elevation), are demonstrated.