ARS | Publication request: ENERGY BALANCE OF CORN-STUBBLE FIELD UNDER SNOW COVER

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 8, 1996
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Standing corn stubble affects snow capture and snowmelt hydrology. The objective of this research was to measure the surface energy balance components within a field of standing corn (Zea mays L.) Stubble during snowmelt events. Eddy correlation sensors, a net radiometer, and soil heat flow sensors were installed in a no-tillage field near Ames, IA during the winter of 1994-95. Data was collected continuously over two periods durin which snowcovers of 0.06 and 0.13m melted completely. For both periods, the net radiation term dominated the energy balance. The latent and sensible heat fluxes were initially very small but increased with time as the snow melted. Approximately 50% of the available energy was unaccounted for by the eddy correlation measurements. This energy was likely consumed in the freezing and melting of the snow/ice layer. Daytime evaporation was never greater than 0.85 mm.