Eddy Corr. Surface Flux: UNL (FIFE) - Micrometeorological Measurements

Surface flux and micrometeorological measurements were collected at one site within the northwest quadrant near the center of the FIFE study area during all five of the Intensive Field Campaigns. The station used an eddy correlation system to measure fluxes of net radiation, sensible heat, and latent heat, alongside soil heat flux and other parameters. The site had historically been ungrazed but was recently exposed to grazing at the time of data collection.

Use Cases

• Validating land-surface and climate models based on direct eddy correlation flux measurements.
• Studying the impact of land-use change (grazing) on surface energy balance components.
• Analyzing temporal dynamics of net radiation, sensible heat, and latent heat partitioning during intensive field campaigns.
• Investigating soil heat flux as a component of the surface energy budget in a grassland environment.

Strengths

• Data collection spans all five FIFE Intensive Field Campaigns, providing temporal coverage across four campaigns in 1987 and one in 1989.
• Measurements are derived from an eddy correlation system, a direct method for measuring turbulent fluxes.
• Cross-platform presence on datagov and nasa_earthdata signals established curation and importance.

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown.
• The last updated date conflicts between sources (1989 on nasa_earthdata vs. 2026 on datagov), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Spatial coverage is limited to a single measurement site within the FIFE study area.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field measurements collected via an eddy correlation system and associated meteorological sensors.

Time Range

1987 to 1989 (covering five Intensive Field Campaigns)

Freshness

2026-04-10 03:42:03.396116 (datagov), though this may reflect metadata refresh rather than data update.

Geography

One site within the northwest quadrant near the center of the FIFE (First ISLSCP Field Experiment) study area.