Title data
Schaller, Carsten ; Göckede, Mathias ; Foken, Thomas:
Flux calculation of short turbulent events : comparison of three methods.
In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.
Vol. 10
(2017)
Issue 3
.
- pp. 869-880.
ISSN 1867-8548
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-869-2017
Abstract in another language
The eddy covariance method is commonly used to calculate vertical turbulent exchange fluxes between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Besides other assumptions, it requires steady-state flow conditions. If this requirement is not fulfilled over the averaging interval of, for example, 30 min, the fluxes might be miscalculated. Here two further calculation methods, conditional sampling and wavelet analysis, which do not need the steady-state assumption, were implemented and compared to eddy covariance. All fluxes were calculated for 30 min averaging periods, while the wavelet method – using both the Mexican hat and the Morlet wavelet – additionally allowed us to obtain a 1 min averaged flux.The results of all three methods were compared against each other for times with best steady-state conditions and well-developed turbulence. An excellent agreement of the wavelet results to the eddy covariance reference was found, where the deviations to eddy covariance were of the order of At a glance, the Mexican hat wavelet flux offers the possibility of a detailed analysis of non-stationary times, where the classical eddy covariance method fails. Additionally, the Morlet wavelet should be used to provide a trustworthy flux in those 30 min periods where the eddy covariance method provides low-quality data due to instationarities.