Title :
X-band opacity of a tropical tree canopy and its relation to intercepted rain, eddy fluxes and other meteorological variables
Author :
Schneebeli, Marc ; Mätzler, Christian ; Wolf, Sebastian ; Eugster, Werner
Author_Institution :
Inst. of Appl. Phys., Bern Univ., Bern
Abstract :
During summer and autumn 2007, we deployed a 11 GHz microwave radiometer in an experimental tree plantation in Sardinilla, Panama, in the vicinity of the Panama Canal. With this instrument, we determined the opacity of the tree canopy. A collocated eddy-covariance flux tower measured water vapor and carbon dioxide fluxes as well as other meteorological variables such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and rain. We observed a pronounced diurnal cycle of the opacity during dry periods and a close relation of the opacity to canopy intercepted rain during rainy periods. The diurnal opacity cycle shows a strong correlation with PAR, VPD and the water vapor flux.
Keywords :
atmospheric boundary layer; atmospheric composition; atmospheric humidity; atmospheric precipitation; atmospheric pressure; atmospheric radiation; atmospheric techniques; meteorological radar; radiometers; radiometry; vegetation; AD 2007; PAR; Panama; Sardinilla; VPD; carbon dioxide flux; eddy covariance flux tower; eddy flux; frequency 11 GHz; meteorological variables; microwave radiometer; opacity diurnal cycle; photosynthetically active radiation; rain; tropical tree canopy X-band opacity; vapor pressure deficit; water vapor flux; Dielectric measurements; Instruments; L-band; Meteorology; Microwave radiometry; Monitoring; Optical attenuators; Rain; Satellite broadcasting; Spaceborne radar;
Conference_Titel :
Microwave Radiometry and Remote Sensing of the Environment, 2008. MICRORAD 2008
Conference_Location :
Firenze
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1986-9
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1987-6
DOI :
10.1109/MICRAD.2008.4579514
