INFLUX suburban carbon dioxide flux tower data

This dataset is eddy covariance data from a suburban flux tower (Tower 7) in the Indianapolis Flux (INFLUX) tower network in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tower 7 is a communications tower with eddy covariance instrumentation deployed at 41m above ground level (AGL). The location of the tower is between a highway to the east (I-465) and a suburban forest (canopy height 15 m) and neighborhood to the west. The local climate is humid subtropical, mild with no dry season and a hot summer. The instrument uses an open path CO2/H2O flux sensor, model LI7500A (Licor, Inc.) and a sonic anemometer at pointing angle 90° (Gill Instruments Limited, WindMaster 3D). Real time calculations of half-hourly fluxes were made with Smart Flux 3 and Eddy Pro software (Licor, Inc.). This dataset has not undergone any quality filters other than automatic error checks by the Eddy Pro Software.

The tower was originally placed to measure emissions from the forest, but this dataset containing measurements from the first half of 2020 was used to observe changes in activity in all directions before and during the COVID-19 induced lockdowns in Indianapolis. The goal of this analysis was to see how the lockdowns affected emissions from human activity and test the tower’s ability to measure such changes.