Instruments that Measure Surface Energy Exchange

Atmospheric Pressure

• SMOS - at extended facilities (including one at central facility) - surface barometric pressure
• THWAPS -- at the boundary facilities and central facility - surface barometric pressure as a reference for radiosondes

Heat Flux

• EBBR - energy balance bowen ratio stations at certain extended facilities (including one at central facility); surface sensible and latent heat flux densities
• ECOR - eddy correlation systems at other extended facilities (including one at central facility and two on 60-m tower at central facility; surface sensible and latent heat flux densities
  

Wind, Temperature and Humidity Measurements
Radiation processes in the atmosphere are influenced greatly by the variation of wind, temperature and humidity as a function of height.

• 915-MHz Doppler radar wind profiler (RWP915) -- provides information on mean wind speed in the lowest few kilometers of the atmosphere. When the profiler is operated in conjunction with an acoustic source, the resulting radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) provides information on temperature as a function of height.
• 50-MHz radar wind profiler and RASS system (RWP50) -- make observations to greater heights but with less vertical resolution.
• Raman lidar (RL) -- is used to continuously observe vertical profiles of water vapor in the lower troposphere.
• BBSS -- radiosondes released on balloons one to eight times per day to sample vertical profiles of the wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity. Typically, the balloons travel horizontally about 130 kilometers (80 miles) before they burst
• SMOS -- at extended facilities (including one at central facility) - rainfall rate, snow depth
• THWAPS -- at the boundary facilities and central facility - wind, temperature, and humidity as a references for radiosondes
  

• MWR -- Water vapor in the atmosphere gives off very small amounts of microwave energy, which can be detected. Microwave radiometers that point vertically help infer the amounts of water vapor and liquid integrated in a column of sky. They observe sky radiance at 23.8 GHz and 31.4 GHz.

Momentum Flux

• ECOR -- at other extended facilities (including one at central facility and two on 60-m tower at central facility) - surface momentum flux

Surface Energy Exchange Measurements