Error characterization of methane fluxes and budgets derived from a long-term comparison of open- and closed-path eddy covariance systems

摘要

Wetlands represent the dominant natural source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. Thus, substantial effort has been spent examining the CH4 budgets of global wetlands via continuous ecosystem-scale measurements using the eddy covariance (EC) technique. Robust error characterization for such measurements, however, remains a major challenge. Here, we quantify systematic, random and gap-filling errors and the resulting uncertainty in CH4 fluxes using a 3.5 year time series of simultaneous open- and closed path CH4 flux measurements over a sub-boreal wetland.