The soil heat flux sensor functioning checks, imbalances' origins, and forgotten energies
<p>Soil heat flux is an important component of the surface energy balance (SEB) equation. Measuring it requires an indirect measurement. Every used technique may present some possible errors tied with the utilized specific technique, soil inhomogeneities, or physical phenomena such as latent h...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2022-07-01
|
| Series: | Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems |
| Online Access: | https://gi.copernicus.org/articles/11/223/2022/gi-11-223-2022.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Soil heat flux is an important component of the surface energy
balance (SEB) equation. Measuring it requires an indirect measurement. Every
used technique may present some possible errors tied with the utilized
specific technique, soil inhomogeneities, or physical phenomena such as
latent heat conversion beneath the plates, especially in desiccation cracking
soil or vertisol. The installation place may also induce imbalances.
Finally, some errors resulting from the physical sensor presence, vegetation
presence, or soil inhomogeneities may occur and are not avoidable. For all
these reasons it is important to check the validity of the measurements. A
quick and easy way is to integrate results over 1 year. By consideration
of the inert core internal energy conservation law, it is shown that the
corresponding integration should be close to zero after a necessary
geothermal heat efflux subtraction. However, below-plate evaporation and
vegetation-absorbed water or rainwater infiltration may also contribute
to the observed short-scale and/or long-scale imbalance generating
convective heat fluxes not sensed by the heat flux sensors. Another energy
source is usually not included in the SEB equation: rainfall or irrigation.
Yet its importance for short- and long-term integration is notable. As an
example, the most used sensor, soil heat flux plates (SHFPs), is given.</p> |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2193-0856 2193-0864 |