Dataset descriptions for long-term observations of land–atmosphere exchange fluxes and meteorological element profiles at SORPES in the Yangtze River Delta

The datasets of long-term observations of land–atmosphere exchange fluxes and meteorological element profiles at the Station for Observing Regional Processes of Earth System (SORPES) in the western Yangtze River Delta region are described in this study. SORPES aims at investigating the key parameters related to climate change and understanding the interactions of reginal processes of the Earth system. It is located on the complex underlying surface, and has been running over 14 years. The observations include the turbulent fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, latent heat, and CO 2 by eddy-covariance systems at three heights, the net radiation by a radiometer near the surface, the soil heat flux by a sensor underground, and the profiles of wind speed, temperature and humidity by a system equipped on a 75-m tower. The turbulent fluxes show typical diurnal variations and significant seasonal changes. The surface energy balance is unclosed, and the residual term reaches 100 W m −2 . The surface air temperature exhibits an increasing trend of 0.15°C yr −1 ( p = 0.349), and the annual number of hot days also shows an increasing trend. The specific humidity shows an increasing trend of 0.05 g kg −1 yr −1 ( p = 0.648), but the relative humidity exhibits a decreasing trend of −0.42% yr −1 ( p = 0.013). The near-surface wind speed decreases by a rate of −0.06 m s −1 yr −1 ( p < 0.001). In addition, the representativeness of flux measurements at different heights is discussed. The long-term dataset provides valuable support for regional land–atmosphere interaction studies.