Otway Flux Tower Energy and Mass Exchange Measurements

Encompassing flux tower measurements of energy and mass exchange between the surface and atmosphere using eddy covariance techniques. The data were processed with PyFluxPro (v3.5.0) to produce a final, gap-filled product including Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), and Ecosystem Respiration (ER). Measurements were taken from a tower in a grazed pasture in southwest Victoria, Australia.

Use Cases

• Partition Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) into Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER) using the PyFluxPro-processed data.
• Analyze the relationship between carbon dioxide flux and supplementary measurements like photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and soil temperature.
• Model the exchange of heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide fluxes in a grazed pasture ecosystem using eddy covariance data.
• Study seasonal variations in energy fluxes by correlating them with measured temperature and rainfall data from the site.

Strengths

• Data is processed into a final, gap-filled product using the established PyFluxPro (v3.5.0) software.
• Includes partitioned carbon flux components: Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), and Ecosystem Respiration (ER).
• Site metadata is detailed, including average grass height (0.1 m), annual rainfall (~800 mm), and temperature range (12-25 °C).
• Supplementary measurements provide context, including temperature, humidity, rainfall, solar radiation, PAR, net radiation, and soil measurements.

Limitations

• The specific number of rows (time points), columns (variables), and total data size are unknown.
• Data is from a single geographic location (Nirranda South, Victoria), limiting generalizability to other ecosystems.
• Primary file formats listed are HTML and PNG, which may not be the most convenient for direct quantitative analysis compared to CSV or NetCDF.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery, originally from CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.

Collection Method

Fluxes measured using the open-path eddy covariance technique from a 10 m tower, with data processed by PyFluxPro (v3.5.0).

Time Range

The flux station was established in February 2007; the specific end date for this release is unknown.

Freshness

The dataset record was last updated on 2026-03-20.

Geography

Nirranda South, southwest Victoria, Australia (a grazed dairy pasture).