The LATICE-Flux Infrastructure Lab

The LATICE-Flux Infrastructure Lab consist of a stationary and a mobile eddy-covariance flux system. The stationary flux-tower is installed at the Finse Alpine Research Centre – Norway. Both the stationary and the mobile instruments measure energy-, CO2- and H2O-fluxes, in addition to standard meteorological parameters. The lab is built up and managed by the research group LATICE, Dept. of Geosciences, UiO.

The flux-tower infrastructure at Finse is a robust research instrument with sensors to collect data for fluxes of heat, CO2 and H2O exchange processes in cold regions. Photo: LATICE, UiO

The flux-tower infrastructure at Finse is a robust research instrument with sensors to collect data for fluxes of heat, CO2 and H2O exchange processes in cold regions. Photo: LATICE, UiO

Booking and prices

The stationary and mobile instruments are currently only used in research and teaching purposes at the Dept of Geosciences and collaborating departments.


Contact information: 

Facility Manager: John Hulth
Location: Sem Sælands vei 1
0371 OSLO
Norway

 

Instruments:

  • The stationary flux tower: Situated in Finse, it allows for eddy-covariance analysis of the vertical fluxes of energy, CO2 and H2O. It consists of a 10 m tall mast equipped with high quality sensors. Detailed view of instrumentation:
    • Wind speed and direction is measured at 4.4 m and 10 m above ground level. The lower sensor provides information of the wind field in 3 dimensions, sampling at high frequency, which allows for characterisation of turbulence. The upper sensor provide the wind field in 2 dimensions
    • A gas analyser along side the 3D wind sensor at 4.4 m, measuring concentration of H2O and CO2
    • Temperatures probes at 2 m, 10 m and in the ground
    • Soil moisture probe
    • Soil heat flux plates + soil temperature
    • Relative humidity at 2 m and 10 m
    • Barometric pressure at 2 m
    • Short- and longwave incoming and outgoing radiation
    • Snow drift sensors to estimate snow drift fluxes within the lower 2 meter
    • Precipitation gauge
    • Precipitation detector
    • Dystrometer
    • Snow depth sensor
  • The Mobile flux tower: In addition to the stationary flux station, we are using a mobile flux station with a similar set of instruments to characterise vertical fluxes of energy, CO2 and H2O using the eddy-covariance technique. The primary idea is to allow relocation of the station with minimal logistic effort, as well as being able to reach remote locations that lack access to grid power. The station is transportable by car, snow mobile, or helicopter. Detailed view of instruments:
    • A power trailer providing autonomous power from the sun and wind to the sensors and the datalogger, and an independent tower where all the sensors are mounted.
    • Like the stationary flux station, the mobile flux tower includes a high frequency anemometer and gas analyser, a thermometer, a barometer, a radiometer, and a hygrometer.

Description of services:

  • As part of the LATICE project, the LATICE-team is developing and building a network of instruments able to provide high quality and high resolution data for detecting and tracking surface energy balance, CO2 and H2O fluxes in between the land and the atmosphere.

Finse Eco-Hydrological Observatory (Finse EcHO)

The research group Land-ATmosphere Interactions in Cold Environments (LATICE), has built up a network of towers with advanced instruments at Finse in the mountain plateau of western Norway. The plateau is over 1220 m above sea level. The infrastructure is named – Finse Eco-Hydrological Observatory (Finse EcHO).

The image/graphics show a detailed view of the research inbstruments at the stationary flux in the Finse EcHO Observatory. Photo/Graphics: LATICE, Norbert Pirk, UiO
The research instruments at the stationary flux-tower at the Finse EcHO Observatory. Photo/Graphics: LATICE, Norbert Pirk, UiO

The infrastructure system consists of two heavily equipped weather stations, one stationary and one mobile, together with a network of light weather stations distributed on land. The formers sample at high frequency the physical conditions of the atmosphere and of the soil, while the latter provide knowledge on the spatial variability of the atmospheric conditions such as temperature, wind, precipitation.

Thanks to this innovative installation, the infrastructure generates a refined picture of the physical processes occuring at the scale of a large catchement.

For detailed information about our work, please refer to these webpages:

The network of instruments in the Finse EcHO Observatory is currently in development at Finse, a high mountain area in Vestland, Norway. The Finse EcHO observatory is in the near surroundings of the long established Finse Research Station.

Finse is a small community in the west of Norway. It is a node for tourism, cottages, railway, and research. The high mountain area around Finse is a selected study area for the LATICE research group, UiO.

Published May 29, 2020 7:53 AM - Last modified June 23, 2022 9:34 AM