AmeriFlux Management Project: Overview and the Year of Remote Sensing
Authors
Margaret S. Torn1,2* (mstorn@lbl.gov), Sébastien Biraud1, You-Wei Cheah1, Trevor Keenan1,2, Christin Buechner1, Danielle S. Christianson1, Gilberto Pastorello1, Dennis Baldocchi1,2, Housen Chu1, Stephen Chan1, Sigrid Dengel1, Andre Santos1, Fianna O’Brien1, Sy-Toan Ngo1, Dario Papale3
Institutions
1Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA; 2University of California–Berkeley, CA; 3University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
URLs
Abstract
AmeriFlux is a network of sites and scientists measuring ecosystem carbon, water, and energy fluxes across the Americas using eddy covariance techniques and the many scientists who use these data. The DOE-funded AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) aims to enhance the value of AmeriFlux for Earth system modeling, terrestrial ecosystem ecology, remote sensing, and many other fields. To do this, AMP has teams focused on four tasks: (1) technical support and quality assessment/quality control (QA/QC), (2) data support and QA/QC, (3) core site support, and (4) outreach. The network continues to grow. In January 2024, AmeriFlux registered its 641st site. The team makes 3,360 site years of flux/met data from 478 sites publicly accessible. These data are used by a large community of scientists and practitioners worldwide. To maintain a high level of support, AMP invests in new data services and is pioneering a new mode of evaluating each site’s data quality (e.g., remote data “visits” and mini workshops). The project also benefits from productive partnerships. For example, the National Ecological Observatory Network’s 47 AmeriFlux sites make it the single largest network-within-the-network. Researchers co-develop data standards and products with the Integrated Carbon Observation System Ecosystem Thematic Centre. The team collaborates with the National Science Foundation–funded FLUXNET-Coop, which co-sponsors workshops, builds early career resources, and strengthens international connections among flux networks. This poster will highlight some of these recent activities, ongoing initiatives for remote sensing and urban fluxes, and special offerings for scientists regardless of previous level of experience, such as the Rapid Response Systems (loaner eddy flux systems for urban environments and other research opportunities) and systems available for DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement campaigns (e.g., in the Southeast United States). See also Housen Chu’s AMP poster on a new data paper and the AmeriFlux FLUXNET data product. Come by the poster or write to AMP to share how AMP and terrestrial flux data can enhance further work.