• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.100-108
• /
• 2007

The Gwangneung KoFlux supersite, located in a rugged mountain region, is characterized by a low wind speed due to a mountain-valley circulation and rolling terrain. Therefore, it is essential to understand the effect of coordinate rotation on flux measurements by the eddy-covariance method. In this paper, we review the properties of three orthogonal coordinate frames (i.e., double, triple, and planar fit rotations) and apply to flux data observed at the Gwangneung supersite. The mean offset of vertical wind speed of sonic anemometer was inferred from the planar fit (PF) coordinate rotation, yielding the diurnal variation of about $\pm0.05ms^{-1}$. Double rotation $(\bar{v}=\bar{w}=0)$ produced virtually the same turbulent fluxes of heat, water, and $CO_2$ as those from the PF rotation under windy conditions. The former, however, resulted in large biases under calm conditions. The friction velocity, an important scaling parameter in the atmospheric surface layer, was more sensitive to the choice of coordinate rotation method.