TY - JOUR
T1 - High-frequency attenuation in eddy covariance measurements from the LI-7200 IRGA with various heating and filter configurations – a spectral correction approach
AU - Smidt, Jamie
AU - Wanner, Luise
AU - Ibrom, Andreas
AU - Schmid, HaPe
AU - Mauder, Matthias
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - The use of (en)closed-path Infrared Gas Analysers (IRGA) in the measurement of Eddy Covariance (EC) fluxes results in inadvertent high-frequency tube attenuation due to diffusion and mixing of sampled gas inside the tube. The application of tube heating and installation of particulate filters along the tube length also contributes to high-frequency attenuation. The goal of this research is first, to quantify the attenuation effects of different tube heating and filter configurations on CO2 and H2O fluxes. And second, to present a modified power spectral approach (PSA) based on theoretical power spectra to calculate the effective cut-off frequency fc. Measurements for each experimental configuration were performed at an Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) station equipped with the standard LI-7200 enclosed-path IRGA and Gill HS-50 3D sonic anemometer. Correction factors for each dataset were determined and implemented in post-processing. We found only very small attenuation effects of CO2 fluxes between the examined configurations. In agreement with previous studies, we found attenuation worsens with increasing relative humidity rH, in the fluxes of H2O. As expected, the highest (best) fc for H2O was found in the lowest examined rH class of 45-50 % with the configuration of heating on, no filter. The lowest (worst) fc for H2O was in the highest rH class of 90-95 % with the configuration of heating off with the 7 μm filter. Our results confirm that tube attenuation effects for the standard ICOS setup are negligible for CO2 and small for H2O, depending on tube heating settings and use of particulate filters. We also show that the post-processing of attenuation effects, especially for H2O, could improve the accuracy of long-term EC measurements. We recommend that this novel approach be considered by users of datasets collected with the LI-7200 enclosed-path IRGA.
AB - The use of (en)closed-path Infrared Gas Analysers (IRGA) in the measurement of Eddy Covariance (EC) fluxes results in inadvertent high-frequency tube attenuation due to diffusion and mixing of sampled gas inside the tube. The application of tube heating and installation of particulate filters along the tube length also contributes to high-frequency attenuation. The goal of this research is first, to quantify the attenuation effects of different tube heating and filter configurations on CO2 and H2O fluxes. And second, to present a modified power spectral approach (PSA) based on theoretical power spectra to calculate the effective cut-off frequency fc. Measurements for each experimental configuration were performed at an Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) station equipped with the standard LI-7200 enclosed-path IRGA and Gill HS-50 3D sonic anemometer. Correction factors for each dataset were determined and implemented in post-processing. We found only very small attenuation effects of CO2 fluxes between the examined configurations. In agreement with previous studies, we found attenuation worsens with increasing relative humidity rH, in the fluxes of H2O. As expected, the highest (best) fc for H2O was found in the lowest examined rH class of 45-50 % with the configuration of heating on, no filter. The lowest (worst) fc for H2O was in the highest rH class of 90-95 % with the configuration of heating off with the 7 μm filter. Our results confirm that tube attenuation effects for the standard ICOS setup are negligible for CO2 and small for H2O, depending on tube heating settings and use of particulate filters. We also show that the post-processing of attenuation effects, especially for H2O, could improve the accuracy of long-term EC measurements. We recommend that this novel approach be considered by users of datasets collected with the LI-7200 enclosed-path IRGA.
KW - Low-pass filtering
KW - Eddy covariance flux measurements
KW - (en)closed-path IRGA
KW - Spectral correction
KW - ICOS
U2 - 10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.110312
DO - 10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.110312
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0168-1923
VL - 361
JO - Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
JF - Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
M1 - 110312
ER -