Which are more accurate, orthogonal or non-orthogonal sonic anemometers?
Abstract
Sonic anemometry is fundamental to all eddy-covariance studies of surface energy, ecosystem carbon, and water balance. Recent studies have shown the potential underestimation of the vertical wind fluctuations among the most commonly encountered anemometer models, but thus far testing has been focused on non-orthogonal sonic anemometer designs. We hypothesize that these underestimates are systematic to the non-orthogonal design and not attributable to a single manufacturer. If so, orthogonal measurements of vertical wind should be more accurate. We tested this by conducting an experiment to measure the relative consistency between vertical and horizontal wind measurements for three sonic anemometer designs: orthogonal, non-orthogonal, and quasi-orthogonal. Both the orthogonal and non-orthogonal models were from a single manufacturer (K-probe and A-probe, Applied Technologies, Inc.) while the quasi-orthogonal design featured non-orthogonal u- and v-axes but with an orthogonal w-axis (CSAT3V, Campbell Scientific, Inc.). We conducted a 12-week experiment, testing four sonic anemometers relative to a control (CSAT3, Campbell Scientific, Inc.), each week randomly selecting at least one of each model from a pool of twelve instruments (three of each model) and randomly locating the test anemometers around the control. Half-way through the week the test anemometers were re-mounted in a horizontal position. Work was done at the GLEES AmeriFlux site (southeastern Wyoming, USA) which experiences large, uni-directional wind and turbulence. Results are discussed.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.B21C0498M
- Keywords:
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- 0434 BIOGEOSCIENCES Data sets;
- 0315 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE Biosphere/atmosphere interactions