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On the relationship between the Bowen ratio and the near-surface air temperature

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Abstract

The sensitivity of land surface energy partitioning to near-surface air temperature (T a) is a critical issue to understand the interaction between land surface and climatic system. Thus, studies with in situ observed data compiled from various climates and ecosystems are required. The relations derived from such empirical analyses are useful for developing accurate estimation methods of energy partitioning. In this study, the effect of T a on land surface energy partitioning is evaluated by using flux measurement data compiled from a global network of eddy covariance tower sites (FLUXNET). According to the analysis of 25 FLUXNET sites (60 site-years) data, the Bowen ratio is found to have a linear relation with the bulk surface resistance normalized by aerodynamic and climatological resistance parameters in general, of which the slope and intercept are dependent on T a. Energy partitioning in warmer atmosphere is less sensitive to changes in land surface conditions. In addition, a negative relation is found between Bowen ratio and T a, and this relation is stronger above less vegetated surface and under low vapor pressure deficit and low received radiative energy condition. The empirical results obtained in this study are expected to be useful in gaining better understanding of alternating surface energy partitioning under increasing T a.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank editor and anonymous reviewers, whose comments were useful for revising this manuscript. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (22119009) and (S)(23226012), and Innovative program of climate change projection for the twenty-first century from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kasuya Research Forest, Kyushu University, Sasaguri, Fukuoka, 811-2415, Japan

    Jaeil Cho & Kyoichi Otsuki

  2. Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan

    Taikan Oki & Pat J.-F. Yeh

  3. National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, 3-1-3 Kannondai, Tsukuba, 305-8604, Japan

    Wonsik Kim

  4. Department of Mechanical and Environmental Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan

    Shinjiro Kanae

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Correspondence to Jaeil Cho.

Appendix A

Appendix A

ε can represented by the ratio of Δ to γ. γ can be simply calculated with atmospheric pressure, P (Pa).

$$ \gamma = \frac{{{C_{\text{p}}}\;P}}{{{R_{\text{air}}}\;\lambda }} = 664741.8P $$
(9)

where C p is 1,013 (J kg−1°C−1) for moist air at constant pressure, λ is 2.45 × 10−3 (J kg−1) at 20°C, and the ratio of molecular weight of water vapor divided by that of dry air (R air) is 0.622. P can be expressed with the elevation above the sea level z (m).

$$ P = 101,300{\left( {\frac{{293 - 0.0065z}}{{293}}} \right)^{{5.26}}} $$
(10)

Moreover, Δ (Pa°C−1) is the function of T a (°C).

$$ \Delta = \frac{{4,098,000\left[ {0.6108\exp \left( {\frac{{17.27{T_{\text{a}}}}}{{{T_{\text{a}}} + 237.3}}} \right)} \right]}}{{{{\left( {{T_{\text{a}}} + 237.3} \right)}^2}}} $$
(11)

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Cho, J., Oki, T., Yeh, P.JF. et al. On the relationship between the Bowen ratio and the near-surface air temperature. Theor Appl Climatol 108, 135–145 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0520-y

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