Energy and Mass Flux Measurements in Daintree Rainforest

Comprising eddy covariance measurements of energy and mass exchange between the surface and atmosphere in a lowland tropical rainforest near Cow Bay, Queensland. The station was established in December 2008 and is managed by James Cook University, measuring fluxes of heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. Supplementary meteorological measurements include temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall, and radiation.

Use Cases

• Analyze carbon dioxide flux patterns in relation to temperature, humidity, and rainfall to study rainforest carbon dynamics.
• Model energy balance using net radiation, heat flux, and water vapor flux data to understand surface-atmosphere interactions.
• Investigate the impact of wind speed and direction on measured fluxes of heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide.
• Study long-term trends in incoming and reflected shortwave radiation, accounting for known shadowing artifacts on the radiometers.

Strengths

• Provides long-term data from a station established in December 2008, part of the TERN Australian SuperSite Network.
• Site characteristics are well-documented, including an average tree height of 22m, elevation of 90m, and mean annual precipitation of 3935mm.
• Measures a comprehensive suite of fluxes (heat, water vapor, CO2) and supplementary meteorological variables above the canopy.

Limitations

• The early years (2009-2012) contain several data gaps, reducing temporal continuity.
• Shadowing of radiometric equipment causes artifacts, visible as reductions in downwelling radiation with solar inclination.
• Data format availability is limited to HTML and PNG, which may complicate direct numerical analysis compared to structured formats like CSV.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Measurements gathered using open-path eddy covariance techniques from instruments mounted on a 35m tower.

Time Range

Data collection began in December 2008.

Freshness

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Geography

Daintree Discovery Centre near Cow Bay in Far North Queensland, Australia, a lowland tropical rainforest site.