Conference: Energy Balance Closure Problem--Causes, Corrections, and Implications

The surface energy balance in atmospheric terms refers to the concept that incoming and outgoing fluxes of energy must be balanced between radiation, heat fluxes, and energy storage. While this idea is straightforward, it is very difficult to measure these terms to determine how the individual components are contributing to the balance. These ideas will be discussed in a conference which will bring scientists who study meteorology, ecology, hydrology and beyond together to discuss what has been termed the “energy balance closure” problem. The societal impacts are wide-ranging, as the models that use these concepts are increasingly applied to weather, agricultural, and human and ecosystem health problems. The funding from this award will allow early-career researchers to participate in this conference. The Chapman Conference: Energy Balance Closure Problem: Causes, Corrections, and Implications will take place in Boulder, Colorado from September 15 to 19, 2025. The conference will focus on longstanding questions surrounding the lack of closure of the surface energy budget that has plagued eddy-covariance (EC) studies for decades. Each day of the conference will tackle a different theme: 1) Theory, instrumentation and measurements, 2) Environmental challenges that arise from different terrain and ground cover, 3) Insights from other methods including remote sensing and the use of high-resolution models, 4) Broader implications of the uncertainties and impacts on water management and ecosystem functions, and 5) Recommendations and Best Practices, which will synthesize the results of the prior discussions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.