The GTL implemented in the USR was based on Ely et al. (2010) and uses the geology-based Vs30 maps of Wills and Clahan (2006) to specify velocity values at the Earths surface in the voxet. V P , and in turn density, are inferred from surface V S using the scaling laws of Brocher (2005). These values were parameterized to a depth of z T = 350 meters with the following formulations:where z ′ is depth, V ST and V P T are are S-and P-wave velocities extracted from the crustal velocity model at depth z T , P () is the Brocher (2005) P-wave velocity scaling law, andThe coefficient a controls the ratio of surface velocity to original 30 meter average, b controls overall curvature, and c controls near-surface curvature of the velocity profile. The coefficients a = 1/2, b = 2/3, and c = 3/2 were chosen to fit the generic rock profile of Boore and Joyner (1997) while also producing smooth and well-behaved profiles when combined with the underlying basin and crustal velocity models (Ely et al., 2010) ( Figure 7). S2 Model validation, comparison, and uncertaintyThe velocity model (CVM) component of the USR described here is assembled from several different data sets and models, and thus it is challenging to formally assess model resolution and uncertainties. One clear step for the sedimentary basins is to assess the variability in well data that is not represented in the final model. As we discussed, these data measure interval transit times over borehole distances of less than 1 m, whereas the velocity model uses smoothed (25 m sampled) versions of these data. To make this assessment, we compared observations directly with the velocity values represented at 108 well bore locations in the Los Angeles basin. Our analysis shows a standard deviation of 6.5% around a mean of 1.0 for the ratio between compressional wave slowness in logs and the model in a population of ca. 1.1 million samples. This corresponds to a standard deviation in V P of ±99 m/s at 2000 m/s.

Abstract. The Arctic terrestrial and sub-sea permafrost region contains approximately 30 % of the global carbon stock, and therefore understanding Arctic methane emissions and how they might change with a changing climate is important for quantifying the global methane budget and understanding its growth in the atmosphere. Here we present measurements from a new in situ flux observation system designed for use on a small, low-flying aircraft that was deployed over the North Slope of Alaska during August 2013. The system combines a small methane instrument based on integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) with an air turbulence probe to calculate methane fluxes based on eddy covariance. We group surface fluxes by land class using a map based on LandSat Thematic Mapper (TM) data with 30 m resolution. We find that wet sedge areas dominate the methane fluxes with a mean flux of 2.1 µg m −2 s −1 during the first part of August. Methane emissions from the Sagavanirktok River have the second highest at almost 1 µg m −2 s −1 . During the second half of August, after soil temperatures had cooled by 7 • C, methane emissions fell to between 0 and 0.5 µg m −2 s −1 for all areas measured. We compare the aircraft measurements with an eddy covariance flux tower located in a wet sedge area and show that the two measurements agree quantitatively when the footprints of both overlap. However, fluxes from sedge vary at times by a factor of 2 or more even within a few kilometers of the tower demonstrating the importance of making regional measurements to map out methane emissions spatial heterogeneity. Aircraft measurements of surface flux can play an important role in bridging the gap between ground-based measurements and regional measurements from remote sensing instruments and models.

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The Arctic terrestrial and subsea permafrost region contains approximately 30 % of the global carbon stock and therefore understanding Arctic methane emissions and how they might change with a changing climate is important for quantifying the global methane budget and understanding its growth in the atmosphere. Here we present measurements from a new in situ flux observation system designed for use on a small, low-flying aircraft that was deployed over the North Slope of Alaska during August of 2013. The system combines a small methane instrument based on Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (ICOS) with an air turbulence probe to calculate methane fluxes based on eddy covariance. We group surface fluxes by land class using a map based on LandSat Thematic Mapper (TM) 30 meter resolution data. We find that wet sedge areas dominate the methane fluxes with a mean flux of 2.1 μg m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> during the first part of August, with methane emissions from the Sagavanirktok river being the second highest at almost 1 μg m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup>. During the second half of August, after soil temperatures had cooled by 7 ◦C, methane emissions fell to between 0 and 0.5 μg m<sup>−2</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> for all areas measured. We compare the aircraft measurements with an eddy covariance flux tower located in a wet sedge area and show that the two measurements agree quantitatively when the footprints of both overlap. However, fluxes from sedge vary at times by a factor of two or more even within a few kilometers of the tower demonstrating the importance of making regional measurements to map out methane emission spatial heterogeneity. Aircraft measurements of surface flux can play an important role in bridging the gap between ground-based measurements and regional measurements from remote sensing instruments and models.</p>

The Best Aircraft Turbulence (BAT) probe is used by multiple research groups worldwide. To promote an accurate interpretation of the data obtained from the probe's unusual nine-port design, a detailed understanding of the BAT probe's function along with a characterization and minimization of its systematic anomalies is necessary. This paper describes recent tests to enhance understanding of the probe's behavior.The tests completed in the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) built on earlier findings at Purdue University. Overall the true-vertical wind relative to the probe was found to have a systematic anomaly of about 10%-15%, an acceptable value borne out by considerable field experience and further reducible by modeling and removing. However, significant departure from theoretical behavior was found, making detailed generalization to other BAT probes still inadvisable. Based on these discoveries, recommendations are made for further experiments to explain the anomalous behavior, reduce the systematic anomaly, and generalize the characterizations.