Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site

• Key Investigators/Institutional Affiliations:
  
  • Dave Fitzjarrald; email: fitz@asrc.albany.edu
    ASRC, SUNY Albany
  • Mike Goulden; email: mlg@io.harvard.edui
    Harvard University
  • Bill Munger; email: jwm@io.harvard.edu
    Harvard University
  • Kathy Moore; email: moore@asrc.albany.edu
    ASRC, SUNY Albany
  • Steve Wofsy; email: scw@io.harvard.edu
    Harvard University web-link
• Sponsors:
  • DOE-NIGEC NASA
• Location/Principal biome/main communities:
  • Harvard Forest is located in Petersham, Massachusetts (42^o32´ N, 72^o11´ W) at an elevation of 340 m, 100 km west of Boston, Massachusetts and 100 km northeast of Hartford, Connecticut. Mixed deciduous forest, dominated by red oak and red maple, extends at least 1 km in all directions from the measurement tower. Scattered white pines and stands of hemlock, along with plantations of red pine and spruce and small wetlands occur nearby. The forest is 60-90 years old and has mean height of ~ 24 m near the tower. The LAI is 3.4 for deciduous trees as determined by leaf collection. The surroundings are moderately hilly (relief 30 m).
• Time Frame:
  • The Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site (EMS) was established in the fall of 1989 in the Prospect Hill tract, about 1.6 km east of the Harvard Forest complex on Rt. 32 in Petersham, MA.
• Instrumentation:
  • Detailed table of instrumentation in use at Harvard Forest.
• Research topics:
  • Net carbon exchange: Quantification of net carbon exchange in a temperate deciduous forest and elucidation of physical and biological controls on carbon exchange in the forest.
  • Regional air quality: Quantification of forest-atmosphere interactions including pollutant deposition and emissions of reactive hydrocarbons by vegetation.
• Core Measurements:
  • Wind speed in three dimensions and trace gas concentrations, including NO_y, NO_x, CO₂, H₂O, O_3,, CO, and hydrocarbons. See schematic illustrating how the measurements are made. Solar radiation and photosynthetically active radiation measurements are made at a variety of locations to better understand the energy budget.
• Ancillary Measurements:
  • Tracer studies to better characterize the footprint of the tower, general environmental and meteorological measurements.