Fluxnet-Canada Metadata Documentation Guidelines This is an outline of the required data set documentation for Fluxnet-Canada. It is based on the BERMS and BOREAS models. The data documentation includes: 1. Data Set Overview 2. Investigator(s) 3. Theory of Measurements 4. Equipment 5. Site Description 6. Data Acquisition Methods 7. Observations 8. Data Description 9. Data Manipulations 10 Errors and Limitations 11. Software 12. References 13. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms 14. Document Information Note: The text surrounded by square brackets ([..]) is an expanded instruction, or set of instructions, for the outline item which appears directly above it. Also, be aware that the metadata file will also be stored as a simple ASCII flat file. Special characters, maps, figures and other objects (including Microsoft Word equations), as well as special formats such as bold, underline and italics will not get translated when saving the file. If in doubt, please try saving your metadata file as a “.txt” file to determine if file integrity is maintained. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Data Set Overview [This section is aimed toward the person searching for a data set. Descriptions should be succinct and clear, and acronyms should be spelled out.] 1.1 Data Set Identification Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites (BERMS) Soil Moisture Data From the Southern Study Area 2002 Harvested Jack Pine Site 1.2 Study Overview [A short text describing the study/experiment, and its objective] The BERMS (Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites) project was designed as a 5 year partial follow-up to the BOREAS (Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study) experiment. A need to study the effects of harvesting on the carbon, water and energy budgets in forested ecosystems resulted in the establishment of a new flux site near the Old Jack Pine site, which was harvested in 2000, and scarified in 2002. The data set documented here, includes the soil moisture measurements at the 2002 Harvested Jack Pine site in support of carbon, water and energy flux measurements at this site. The climate monitoring program serves some of the following purposes: 1) to provide supporting measurements for flux monitoring, 2) to contribute to the development and validation of weather and climate models and 3) to provide information for interannual climate variability studies in the boreal forest. BERMS has been a participant in Fluxnet Canada since 2002. 1.3 Data Set Introduction [The nature of the data, including a summary of the key parameters/variables studied, and the primary instruments used. A full description will be given in section 7.] 1.4 Related Data Sets [Note any similar or related data collected by the investigator, other investigators, or other data centres. Something like five or six related data sets is a good number to provide.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Investigator(s) 2.1 Principal Investigator(s) Name and Title [Identify the Principal Investigator(s) for this data set, including general affiliation if applicable] Alan Barr (PI) Climate Research Branch Environment Canada National Hydrology Research Centre 11 Innovation Boulevard Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5 Canada Alan.Barr@ec.gc.ca (306)975-4324 2.2 Title of Investigation [Official name of group taken from the Fluxnet-Canada Experiment Plan.] BERMS Harvested Jack Pine 2002 Soil Moisture data. 2.3 Contact Information [Identify and give full coordinates of the person(s) most knowledgeable about the actual collection and processing of the data sets. In many cases this will be a person (or persons), other than the Principal Investigator.] Erin Thompson BERMS Secretariat Climate Research Branch Environment Canada National Hydrology Research Centre 11 Innovation Boulevard Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5 Canada Erin.Thompson@ec.gc.ca (306)975-4215 Charmaine Hrynkiw Climate Research Branch Environment Canada National Hydrology Research Centre 11 Innovation Boulevard Saskatoon, SK S7N 3H5 Canada Charmaine.Hrynkiw@ec.gc.ca (306)975-5627 2.4 Field and/or laboratory staff: Saskatoon: Dell Bayne, Bruce Cole, Joe Eley, Natasha Neumann, Craig Smith, Erin Thompson, Werner Bauer. 2.5 Acknowledgements : Students: Jodi Axelson, Andrea Eccleston, Matt Regier, Jenny Hill, Courtney Campbell, Lisa Christmas, Kim Kovacs, Justin Beckers, Brett Reynolds. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Theory of Measurements [Theoretical basis for the way in which the measurements were made (e.g. special procedures, characteristics of the instrument, etc.).] The CS615 Water Content Reflectometer provides a measure of the volumetric water content of porous media. The water content information is derived from the effect of changing dielectric constant on electomagnetic waves propagating along a wave guide. The relectometer output is a square wave and can be connected to Campbell Scientific dataloggers. The measured period can be converted to volumetric water content using calibration values (CS615 Water Content Reflectometer Instruction Manual, Campbell Scientific Inc. 10/96) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Equipment 4.1.1 Sensor/Instrument Description [This section provides a listing of the instrumentation and the characteristics of the instrumentation.] i) Campbell Scientific CS615 soil moisture probes - Description: Consists of 2 stainless steel rods connected to a printed circuit board. A shielded four-conductor cable is connected to the circuit board to supply power, enable the probe, and monitor the pulse output. - Manufacturer: Campbell Scientific - Calibration: Lab calibrated in Saskatoon prior to deployment. - Specs: +/-2% when using calibration for a specific soil. The accuracy depends on soil texture and mineral composition. - Frequency of Calibration: once prior to deployment. ii) Campbell Scientific Data Loggers - Description: provides the means to log information from sensors whose leads are connected to I/O cards. Control module functions include real-time task initiation, measurement processing, data storage, telecommunications and keyboard/display interaction. - Manufacturer: Campbell Scientific - Calibration: n/a - Specs: n/a - Frequency of Calibration: 4.1.2 Manufacturer of Sensor/Instrument [The company that produced the instrument and make and model, if applicable. If the measuring device was built by the investigator, or specially customized, please specify.] See section above. 4.1.3 Principles of Operation [Fundamental scientific basis for the way the instrument operates. This is a summary; where a full development is required, it should be placed in section 3.] See section above. 4.1.4 Source/Platform [What the instrument(s) is(are) mounted on, e.g. tower, hand held, aircraft.] - Soil moisture is measured below ground level, near the tower. For more details see section on Data Description 4.1.5 Sensor/Instrument Measurement Geometry [Describe the sensor location(s), orientation, and any other parameters that affect the collection or analysis of data, e.g. field of view, optical characteristics, height, etc.] -Soil moisture sensors were installed below the ground, beneath organic layers of leaf litter. See the section on Data Description for more information. 4.1.6 Collection Environment [Under what environmental conditions were the data collected and the instrumentation operated. This includes descriptions of the types of sites visited and factors that may effect the measurements such as temperature range experienced during data collection.] Temperatures ranged from a maximum of 35 deg C in the summer to a minimum of -45 deg C in the winter. On average, the region has a frost-free season of between 80 to 100 days (Phillips, 1990). Precipitation events in the summer ranged from trace amounts to approximately 35mm. Summer storms consisted of wind gusts up to 15 m per s, with rain, lightning and/or hail. In the winter it was common to have periods of snow, ice and frost. The average maximum snow depth for the region is between 50 and 70cm (Gray, 1981). Most of the instrumentation was exposed to these elements, with the exception of dataloggers and the instrumentation installed below the ground. 4.2 Calibration [Describe how the measurements made by the device(s) are calibrated with known standards. Specific details should be given in the subsections below.] See section on Equipment above. 4.2.1 Specifications [Record any specifications that affect the calibration of the device, its operations, or the analysis of the data collected with it.] See section on Sensor/Instrument Description above. 4.2.1.1 Tolerance [Describe the acceptable range of inputs and the precision of the output values.] See section on Sensor/Instrument Description above. 4.2.2 Frequency of Calibration [Indicate how often the instrument is measured against a standard. Also indicate any other routine procedures required to maintain calibration or detect miscalibrations. Describe also the actual practice with this device.] See section on Sensor/Instrument Description above. 4.2.3 Other Calibration Information [Give factory calibration coefficients, information about independent calibrations, history of modifications, etc.] See section on Sensor/Instrument Description above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Site description [Standard site description, should include site location in a well referenced coordinate system, site elevation, vegetation type, etc…] - Location 55km N of Smeaton. Lat: 53.944737 N, Long: -104.649340 W (Laura Chasmer - survey grade GPS), elev: 579.27m. - Topography: undulating - Predominant vegetation: Herbaceous colonizers and bare soil (severely disturbed due to scarification. - Soil properties: Sandy soil with very good drainage. The organic layer is mostly absent or turned under as a result of scarification. 6. Data Acquisition Methods [Describe the procedures for acquiring this data in sufficient detail so that someone else with similar equipment could duplicate your measurements. Should be sufficient to include in the Methods section of a paper] 6.1 Methods of data acquisition [How the instruments were actually installed and used to obtain the measurements and how the material was processed after the main measurements were obtained, e.g. analytical lab procedures to get nitrogen concentration following gas exchange measurements] 6.2 Sampling 6.2.1 Spatial Coverage/Geographic Location [May already be covered in section 5 (Site Description). If not, give enough information to locate the measurement site with suitable precision. This may be a list of sites visited, or a geographic range in the case of aircraft measurements or satellite imagery, or plot coordinates in UTM, including a clear reference to the coordinate system.] 6.2.2 Spatial sampling [Includes a description of spatial sampling: how many sites/samples; how were they selected, the coordinates (e.g. UTM) of the plots, how many replicates over space, etc…] See section on Data Description for more information. 6.2.3 Temporal coverage [The period(s) of time during which data was collected more or less continuously.] Data was continuously collected all year round. 6.2.4 Temporal sampling [Includes a description of the temporal sampling scheme: when was the sampling carried out (time of day), at what frequency were the measurements taken, how long did the measurements take, etc…] Most meteorological variables were sampled every 5seconds and averaged over 30min intervals. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 . Observations 7.1 Procedural Notes [Use this section to record observations made during actual data collection, which could bear on the analysis of the data, e.g. condition of site, peculiar procedures or operations, the presence of U.F.O.'s or bears, oddities in equipment function, etc.] n/a 7.2 Field Notes [If a large amount field notes exist, a reference to a separate file will be adequate.] See FieldNotes.txt --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 . Data Description [This section describes the data in the data set: what the data are, units, format, data characteristics.] 8.1 Data Organization [Describe how your data is organized, e.g.: by site and/or month.] 8.2 Image andData Format [Specify the format that the image or the data is (are) provided in.] 8.3 Numerical Data Characteristics [Describe the types of data submitted. On separate lines, indicate each column number followed by its header (variable name), the unit of measurement, and variable description. Example:] Variable Units Variable Description ---------- ------- ------------------------- 1 DataType="SM3" (n/a) Includes corrected, averaged and gapfilled soil moisture data. 2 Site="SK-HJP02" (n/a) Saskatchewan Harvested 2002 Jack Pine site 3 SubSite="FlxTwr" (n/a) Flux Tower sub-site. 4 Year (UTC) 4 digit year. 5 Day (UTC) Day of Year. 6 End_Time (UTC) End of 30min time period, in hours and minutes UTC. 7 AvgCS615_ (m3/m3) Average of two soil volumetric water content VWC_0to15cm measurements from 2 separate pits. Instruments installed at a 45 deg angle spanning 0-15cm below the soil surface. CS615 soil moisture sensor. 8 AvgCS615_ (m3/m3) Average of two soil volumetric water content VWC_15to30cm measurements from 2 separate pits. Instruments installed at a 45 deg angle spanning 15-30cm below the soil surface. CS615 soil moisture sensor. 9 AvgCS615_ (m3/m3) Average of two soil volumetric water content VWC_30to60cm measurements from 2 separate pits. Instruments installed at a 45 deg angle spanning 30-60cm below the soil surface. CS615 soil moisture sensor. 10 AvgCS615_ (m3/m3) Average of two soil volumetric water content VWC_60to90cm measurements from 2 separate pits. Instruments installed at a 45 deg angle spanning 60-90cm below the soil surface. CS615 soil moisture sensor. 11 AvgCS615_ (m3/m3) Average of two soil volumetric water content VWC_90to120cm measurements from 2 separate pits. Instruments installed at a 45 deg angle spanning 90-120cm below the soil surface. CS615 soil moisture sensor. 12 AvgCS615_VWC (m3/m3) Average of two soil volumetric water content _120to150cm measurements from 2 separate pits. Instruments installed at a 45 deg angle spanning 120-150cm below the soil surface. CS615 soil moisture sensor. 13 Certification (n/a) CPI: checked by PI; PRE: preliminary. Code 14 RevisionDate (dymoyear) Date data last revised by PI. 8.3.1 .6 Sample Data Record DataType,Site,SubSite,Year,Day,End_Time,AvgCS615_VWC_0to15cm,AvgCS615_VWC_15to30cm,AvgCS615_VWC_30to60cm,AvgCS615_VWC_60to90cm,AvgCS615_VWC_90to120cm,AvgCS615_VWC_120to150cm,CertificationCode,RevisionDate (n/a),(n/a),(n/a),(UTC),(UTC),(UTC),(m3/m3),(m3/m3),(m3/m3),(m3/m3),(m3/m3),(m3/m3),(n/a),(dymoyear) SM3,SK-HJP02,FlxTwr,2006,91,400,0.0872232,0.0848774,0.0895708,0.0985553,0.0814034,0.0876347,PRE,13072006 SM3,SK-HJP02,FlxTwr,2006,91,800,0.0877227,0.0848659,0.0893259,0.0989183,0.0814546,0.0876904,PRE,13072006 SM3,SK-HJP02,FlxTwr,2006,91,1200,0.0878209,0.0848289,0.0898103,0.0986391,0.0819663,0.0877125,PRE,13072006 8.4 Image Data [Describe the data submitted, with subsections 7.4.1 through 7.4.13 (below) being represented as columns in a tableExample: Identifier:OBS02031HH.PIX Date of Acquisition (UTC):31 January 2002 Time of Acquisition (UTC):16:13 Sensor / Mode:RADARSAT-1 SAR Standard Beam S1 Wavelength (nm) / Frequency (GHz):Standard Platform Altitude (magl):N/A Spatial Ground Resolution (m):30 Incidence Angle – Average:N/A Incidence Angle – Minimum:20.0 Incidence Angle – Maximum:27.4 Polarization:HH Gain Control:Automatic Flight Azimuth:Ascending Scene Centre:53.80206 N 104.61797 W 8.4.1 1 Image Identifier [A unique image file name that the image will be archived as, e.g. OBS02031HH.PIX.] 8.4.2 2 Date of Acquisition [As UTC.] 8.4.3 Time of Acquisition [Time as UTC; to allow later users to reproduce such things as sun angle.] 8.4.4 Sensor [Identify the imaging sensor and mode used.] 8.4.5 Wavelength [The wavelength range or frequency used. If settings are fixed, the descriptor “standard” can be used.] 8.4.6 Platform Altitude [The height of the sensor above the ground surface (m). If the altitude is fixed, such as for satellite platforms, N/A may be used.] 8.4.7 Ground Spatial Resolution [The smallest resolvable unit on the ground (m).] 8.4.8 .7 Incidence Angle – Average [The average angle from vertical.] 8.4.9 .8 Incidence Angle – Minimum [The minimum angle from vertical.] 8.4.10 Incidence Angle – Maximum [The maximum angle from vertical.] 8.4.11 Polarization [The polarization set on the sensor.] 8.4.12 Gain Control [Automatic or manual gain control.] 8.4.13 Flight Azimuth [Identify the direction of travel of the platform. For satellite-based platforms, Ascending or Descending is sufficient.] 8.4.14 Scene Centre [Give the scene centre in lat/long format.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 . Data Manipulations [This section describes the steps by which the data were processed to their final form if not covered in section 8 (Data Description).] 9.1 Post Processing and Calculated Variables [Specify all post-treatment of data, including data processing steps and calculations. Include relevant equations with definitions of terms and units.] 9.2 Special Corrections/Adjustments [List any 'special' corrections/adjustments made to portions but not all of the data to make it compatible with the data set as a whole.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 . Errors and Limitations [This section describes an error analysis for the data.] 10.1 Sources of Error [Describe what factors of the instrument or environment may have introduced errors in the observations]. 10.2 Quality Assessment 10.2.1 Data Validation by Source [Describe all efforts to validate the data by the submitter, e.g. comparisons with data from other investigators.] Data were quality assured by comparing simiar variables at the same site and also by comparing variables at different sites within the BERMS area. This was done weekly, in near real time, to ensure that problems were flagged and fixed in a timely manner. 10.2.2 Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgment [Subjective discussion of data quality.] The data submitted are of good quality with minimal amount of errors. However, any measurement is not perfect, and the user must be aware of the limitations of the instrumentation. 10.2.3 Measurement Error for Parameters [Quantitative error estimates.] 10.2.4 Additional Quality Assessments [May include visual review of plots, etc.] 10.3 . Limitations and Representativeness [Provide warnings on the use of the data, e.g. data were collected under drought conditions relations between variables may be different when things are wet. Discuss how representative your data is, eg: of the landscape, climate, footprint, etc.] See section on Known Problems below for more information. 10.4 . Known Problems With the Data [Note any problems, such as sensor error or miscalculations that may have affected the data set. Examples: a) Beware that frost on radiometers periodically produced inaccurate measurements during 2003-04. b) Improper range set on sensor resulted in missing data below -20C.] - 2009 Feb 26 (DOY 057) at 16:00 UTC to May 26 (DOY 146) at 20:00 UTC: VWC is missing due to a power supply problem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 . Software 11.1 Software Description [Describe all software that was used to process the data.] Various kinds of plotting and housekeeping software were used to view and process BERMS meteorology data. Some software was commercially available (like PC208 from Campbell Scientific), while others were programs written in C++ and Matlab. 11.2 Software Access [Describe any software that may be available for use by someone who may want to perform further processing of the data. Also describe where a user can get it -- commercial source, Web site, FTP archive, e-mail to author, etc.] Please feel free to contact the following people to discuss software availability and usage: Steve Enns Phone: (306) 975-5683 Email: Steve.Enns@ec.gc.ca Alan Barr Phone: (306) 975-4324 Email: Alan.Barr@ec.gc.ca --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 . References 12.1 Platform/Sensor/Instrument/Data Processing Documentation [List any published documentation relevant to the data collected, such as manufacturer's instruction manuals, government technical manuals, user's guides, etc.] Campbell Scientific. 1996. CS615 Water Content Reflectometer Instruction Manual. Campbell Scientific Inc. 12.2 Journal Articles and Study Reports [List technical reports and scientific publications that concern the methods, instruments, or data described in this document. Publications by the Principal Investigator or investigating group that would help a reader understand or analyze the data are particularly important.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms [Define discipline-related jargon and the wealth of scientific notations/symbols that may be used in the text, as well all "local" acronyms. Items from the following list may be included. BERMS - Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites BOREAS - BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study PANP - Prince Albert National Park FCDIS - Fluxnet-Canada Data Information System MSC - Meteorological Service of Canada (a branch of Environment Canada) BERMS - Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites BOREAS - Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study BORIS - BOREAS Information System NHRC - National Hydrology Research Centre NWRI - National Water Research Institute SRC - Saskatchewan Research Council UTC - Universal Coordinated Time --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 . Document Information 14.1 Document Revision Date [Use yyyy-mm-dd-mmm format] 14.2 Document Author 14.3 Keywords [Include a list of appropriate key words to assist in searching for information.] Soil moisture, climate, jack pine, southern boreal forest, harvested jack pine