ERRORS IN AIRBORNE FLUX MEASUREMENTS

We present a general approach for estimating systematic and random errors in eddy correlation fluxes and flux gradients measured by aircraft in the convective boundary layer as a function of the length of the flight leg, or of the cutoff wavelength of a highpass filter. The estimates are obtained from empirical expressions for various length scales in the convective boundary layer and they are experimentally verified using data from the First ISLSCP (International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Experiment) Field Experiment (FIFE), the Air Mass Transformation Experiment (AMTEX), and the Electra Radome Experiment (ELDOME). We show that the systematic flux and flux gradient errors can be important if fluxes are calculated from a set of several short flight legs or if the vertical velocity and scalar time series are high-pass filtered. While the systematic error of the flux is usually negative, that of the flux gradient can change sign. For example, for temperature flux divergence the systematic error changes from negative to positive about a quarter of the way up in the convective boundary layer.