An eddy covariance system mounted on a tower near the Skukuza Camp in Kruger National Park, South Africa, has been operating continuously since early 2000. Meteorological measurements started in February 2000, and the first flux measurements were made in April 2000. The site is unique in that the micrometeorological instruments are positioned on a tower located between two distinct savanna types, a broad-leafed Combretum savanna and a fine-leafed Acacia savanna. These contrasting savanna types are found on soils of differing texture, water holding capacity, and nutrient status, and are characterized by different physical structure, physiology, and phenology. It was expected that the tower placement and prevailing wind directions would allow for the sampling of net ecosystem fluxes from both of these ecosystems.
Measurements on the main eddy covariance tower include net ecosystem exchange of CO2, water, and energy, and measurements of a range of meteorological variables with 30-minute averaging period. Additional continuous measurements in both adjacent savanna systems include soil heat flux, soil moisture and soil temperature profiles (from the soil surface to bedrock), and canopy profiles of CO2 concentration, humidity, and air temperature. Intermittent measurements include soil surface CO2 flux and spatially-distributed soil moisture and soil temperature.
The data files contain 30-minute averages from meteorological instrumentation mounted on the Skukuza tower from 2000-2002. See table below for included measurements. The data files are stored as ASCII table files, one file per year, in comma-separated-value (.csv) format, with column headers.
Additional information about the meteorological and flux measurements can be found at: http://www.nrel.colostate.edu/projects/kruger/ and in the companion file at: http://daac.ornl.gov/daacdata/safari2k/climate_meteorology/knp_met/comp/knp_met_readme.pdf.
Cite this data set as follows:
Hanan N., R. Scholes, and M. Coughenour. 2004. SAFARI 2000 Meteorological Tower Measurements, Kruger National Park, 2000-2002. Data set. Available on-line [http://daac.ornl.gov/] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. doi:10.3334/ORNLDAAC/761.
Hanan, N. P., H. Biggs, A. Potgeiter, M. Mavundla, and R. J. Scholes. 2000. Function and fire in African savanna ecosystems: New and long-term research in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Proceedings of Ecological Society of America, 85th Annual Meeting, LTER All Scientists Meeting, Snowbird, Utah, U.S.A.
Hanan, N. P., R. J. Scholes, and J. L. Privette. 2001. Carbon, water and energy fluxes in an African savanna ecosystem. Proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting, San Fransisco, CA, U.S.A.
The data files contain numeric values that represent 30-minute averages from instrumentation mounted on the Skukuza tower from 2000-2002. The data files are stored as ASCII table files, one file per year, in comma-separated-value (.csv) format, with column headers. The files are:
skukuza_met_tower_2000.csv
skukuza_met_tower_2001.csv
skukuza_met_tower_2002.csv
All variables are 30-minute averages, except for rainfall, which is total for the 30-minute period. Missing data values are represented by a value of -9999. The content of the files are described below:
| Column | Column Name | Description | Units/Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Year | year | YYYY |
| 2 | Day of year | day of year | DDD |
| 3 | Local time | end of time period of measurement | 24hhmm |
| 4 | Day+Hour | fractional date, midpoint of the time period of measurement | doy.fractional_day |
| 5 | Rh | relative humidity | percent |
| 6 | Tair | air temperature | degrees Celsius |
| 7 | SW_in1 | shortwave incoming radiation | W m-2 |
| 8 | Wspeed | wind speed | m s-1 |
| 9 | Rain | precipitation | mm |
| 10 | VP | vapor pressure | kPa |
| 11 | PAR | photosynthetically active radiation | W m-2 |
Additional information about the site location, parameters measured, instrumentation, and data format is found in the companion file: http://daac.ornl.gov/daacdata/safari2k/climate_meteorology/knp_met/comp/knp_met_readme.pdf.
2004/9/24
2004/9/24
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