Important usage notes
The flux files provided through this webpage contain raw inversion output.
Only certain aspects of these fluxes are sufficiently robust for interpretation purposes.
Therefore,
-
only fluxes within the period of validity should be used;
-
fluxes should be filtered to remove
variability on small spatial and temporal scales,
or other unrobust features;
-
the long-term spatial flux pattern should be looked at with care.
Period of validity
The period of validity selects the years considered homogeneous in time,
in the sense that all atmospheric sites actually have data.
Begin and end years (inclusive) of the period of validity are given in the download table
and in the files themselves.
Only those years should be used for any interpretative purpose.
Filter
The numerical flux resolution provided in the files is higher than the actual resolution
in terms of information content. The latter is related to the spatial distance between the atmospheric sites,
and the temporal density of sampling (including the effect of gaps).
The appropriate type of filtering (aggregation, smoothing, compositing) depends on the application.
You are welcome to discuss this with us.