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

Abstract

The results offour years of observation ofthe partitioning of energyat three sites in the Wolf Creek Research Basin are presented. Thesites are representative of the major land use classes in the basin,boreal forest, high bush tundra and alpine tundra, and range in elevationfrom 750 to 1600 m. The instrumentation deployed allows for the determinationof the complete energy and water balances at these sites. The datafrom these sites are also used in the development of parameterizationsfor the modelling of evapotranspiration and the application of remotesensing to the estimate of regional evapotranspiration. The energybalances are derived and presented for the three WolfCreek sites.Net radiation and soil heat fluxes are measured directly, and theturbulent fluxes are derived from measurements of temperature, humidityand wind speeds observed at the sites. Results from the 1994-1997snow-free periods are presented. Seasonal trends, as well as thedifferences between the sites (land cover and elevation), are demonstrated.