EGU26-10099, updated on 14 Mar 2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-10099
EGU General Assembly 2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Oral | Thursday, 07 May, 17:30–17:40 (CEST)
 
Room E2
The essence of the Webb, Pearman and Leuning (WPL) correction: w-  correction
Hanshu Wang1, Yaoming Ma2,3, and Jinshu Chi1
Hanshu Wang et al.
  • 1Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Thrust, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China (hwang796@connect.hkust-gz.edu.cn)
  • 2College of Atmospheric Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
  • 3State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Vertical wind velocity (w) and gas density (c) are two key variables for estimating trace gas fluxes using the eddy covariance (EC) technique. For many decades within the EC community, the Webb, Pearman and Leuning (WPL) theory proposed by Webb et al. (1980) has been widely accepted as a “density effect correction” for flux calculations. However, we found that Webb et al. (1980) derived their equations correctly by calculating the unmeasurable mean vertical velocity (

How to cite: Wang, H., Ma, Y., and Chi, J.: The essence of the Webb, Pearman and Leuning (WPL) correction: w-  correction, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-10099, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-10099, 2026.