Emerald FLUXNET Release 2026_r1 

This release consists of flux tower measurements of the exchange of energy and mass between the surface and the atmospheric boundary-layer using eddy covariance techniques. Data were processed using PyFluxPro as described by Isaac et al. (2017) for the quality control and post-processing steps. The final, gap-filled product containing Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) partitioned into Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER) has been produced using the ONEFlux software as described in Pastorello et al. (2020). This data set has been produced as part of the FLUXNET Shuttle project.
The Arcturus flux station was located 48km southeast of Emerald, Queensland (GPS coordinates: -23.8587, 148.4746).
It was established in April 2011, stopped measuring in early 2014, and was managed by Geoscience Australia.
The Arcturus flux station was supported largely by CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research and was a voluntary member to TERN.
The land use in the surrounding area was largely cropping (predominantly chickpeas or wheat) and grazed pasture (cattle). Elevation of the site was approximately 170m asl and mean annual precipitation was 572mm.
The tower was 5.6m tall with the instrument mast extending a further 1.1m above, totalling a height of 6.7m. Fluxes of water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane were measured using the open-path eddy flux technique. Supplementary measurements included temperature, humidity, windspeed, wind direction, rainfall, incoming and reflected shortwave and longwave radiation and net radiation. Soil moisture content and soil heat fluxes and temperature were also measured. 

We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. 

The purpose of the Arcturus flux station was:
- To gain an understanding of natural background carbon dioxide and methane fluxes in the region prior to carbon sequestration and coal seam gas activities take place.
- To couple natural flux results with high precision greenhouse gas monitoring instruments (including isotope analysis) to be used for atmospheric dispersion modelling.
- To assess the feasibility of using this type of instrumentation for baseline studies prior to industry activities that will be required to monitor and assess CO2 or CH4 leakage to atmosphere in the future. 

Data not provided.