The Walker Branch and Chestnut Ridge Ameriflux Sites; Can They be Combined to Create a Multi-Decadal Quasi-Continuous Dataset

Established in 1995, the Walker Branch Ameriflux site was one of the first long-term eddy covariance sites in the world. In 2007, it was closed due to concerns over environmental effects caused by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Spallation Neutron Source. In 2005, two years before the Spallation Neutron Source became operational, the Chestnut Ridge Ameriflux site (US-ChR) was established 5 km away, upwind of the Spallation Neutron Source, and on the same ridge as the Walker Branch Ameriflux site (US-WBW). Both sites are at similar elevations, and are representative of the mixed deciduous hardwood forests that are predominant throughout the region. We will briefly describe the two sites, which are part of the NOAA Surface Energy Budget Network. In addition, measurements from the two year period when both sites were running concurrently will be examined. The long-term goal is to create a quasi-continuous dataset available for the evaluation of the effects of climate change on the energy, water and carbon cycles of this important ecosystem in the southeastern U.S.