.. _gen_ameriflux:

Ameriflux
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Observations of land energy fluxes from observation towers in the AmeriFlux network. Data are obtained  from the `AmeriFlux <https://ameriflux.lbl.gov/data/data-policy/>`_ network.


**Dataset Name**: ameriflux

**Data Source**: ameriflux

**Data Collection or Processing Notes:**

    We query data from AmeriFlux monthly. Each monthly job collects all observations available for sites that report on our supported variables.

    Note that raw hourly data is saved in UTC while raw daily data is saved with respect to the local site time zone. 

    To maintain the integrity and traceability back to the original sources, our team conducts very limited data manipulation on the queried data. This includes the following:

    - Unit translation into SI units   - Standardization of NaN/missing values

    - Consolidating multiple concurrent data series

      - The AmeriFlux data sometimes provides multiple concurrent observation series for the same variable for the same site. In these cases, we consolidate the multiple series into a single series following these prioritizations:

      - We prioritize series without any suffix in the original variable names. If none is present, we prioritize variables with a "PI" suffix in the variable name, to indicate the data has been QA/QC reviewed by the tower team. 

    

Variables
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This describes the available variables of the dataset.
Use the dataset, variables and temporal_resolution in python access functions as described in the Working with Gridded Data, and Working with Point Observations.

.. list-table:: Atmospheric Variables
    :widths: 25 60 30 20 20 20
    :header-rows: 1

    * - variable
      - description
      - temporal_resolution
      - units
      - aggregation
      - 3D
    * - downward_shortwave
      - Downward shortwave radiation
      - hourly
      - w/m2
      - mean
      - no
    * - downward_longwave
      - Downward longwave radiation
      - hourly
      - w/m2
      - mean
      - no
    * - vapor_pressure_deficit
      - Vapor pressure deficit
      - hourly
      - hpa
      - mean
      - no
    * - air_temp
      - Air temperature
      - hourly
      - c
      - mean
      - no
    * - wind_speed
      - Wind speed
      - hourly
      - m/s
      - mean
      - no


.. list-table:: Land Surface Variables
    :widths: 25 60 30 20 20 20
    :header-rows: 1

    * - variable
      - description
      - temporal_resolution
      - units
      - aggregation
      - 3D
    * - sensible_heat
      - Sensible heat from canopy height to atmosphere
      - hourly
      - w/m2
      - sum
      - no
    * - latent_heat
      - Latent heat flux from canopy height to atmosphere
      - hourly
      - w/m2
      - sum
      - no