Energy Balance Closure Blues by Klaus Blume

The melody is by Henk de Bruin, using the blues style of "How Blue Can You Get" by B.B. King as musical accompaniment.

The text refers to meteorological measurements in the so called Planetary Boundary Layer. The hydrologists/meteorologists Rick Allen (Idaho, USA) and Henk de Bruin (The Netherlands) got the idea for this song after very hard field measurements work all over the world. Henk de Bruin has written the current lyrics, and I (Klaus Blume) made the instrumental arrangements and I did the singing and mixing/mastering as well as.

The text refers to the following: About 30 years ago, scientists were using the Bowen ratio method (and similar techniques), i.e. the ratio of sensible and latent heat fluxes was measured as well as the sum. Per definition the energy balance was closed. „Energy Balance“ means that energy must be preserved and therefore the sum of net incoming short- and long-wave radiation minus outgoing long-wave radiation, sensible (turbulent) heat flux H and latent (turbulent) heat fluxes LE (upwards positive) and heat flux into the ground (downwards positive) should be zero. But it often tends to be positive, even after much careful work, especially if independent measurements of H and LE are used as in the method below.
Next, new sensors (ultrasonics) were developed to measure separately H and LE.. But with these new devices the surface energy balance was not closed anymore. Energy was missing. Out of frustration, Allen and Henk got the idea to write a blues on the topic. In the attic of his house at Bilthoven, The Netherlands, Henk wrote the current version of the lyrics for the Energy Balance Closure Blues and after each new field experiments they had to sing it over and over again.
Next, both started to use scintillometers with which they measure H only. LE was obtained by closing the energy balance as a rest term. With this method the problems of the ultrasonics were bypassed. Moreover, scintillometers provide long path averages of the quantities under consideration (with the help of some mathematics).
Therefore, finally, Henk stopped with singing the Energy Balance Closure Blues.

However, Rick still has his doubts and he presented his version of the Energy Balance Closure Blues at the Workshop on Scintillometry held at Wageningen in April 2011. Unfortunately, Rick's lyrics do not match with the blues melody by Henk inspired by B.B. King. One day Rick will reveal his own Energy Balance Closure Blues.

Here is the Henk's version of the Energy Balance Closure Blues:

Energy Balance Closure Blues

In the time of good old Bowen
Life was smooth and easy goin’
energy, by definition,
Was conserved and never missing
But since I am using ultra sound waves
I’m singing the energy balance closure Blues.

Science seemed almost ready
when we could measure every eddy
with our brand new ultrasonics
equipped with modern electronics
But since I am using these new sensors
I’m singing the energy balance closure Blues.

Sonic temperatures, firstly, thrilled me
But, at last, almost these guys killed me
Because of all the moisture corrections
as well as single spike detections
Oh, since I am using these new sonics
I’m singing the energy balance closure Blues.

Then I discovered scintillation
Almost a divine revelation
It makes life smooth again and steady
And it works along a long path
doing averaging with some math.

So as in the time of good old Bowen
My life is smooth again and easy goin'
I get H through scintillation
And as a residual evapotranspiration
So since I am using now these new scinties
I stopped with singing the energy balance closure blues.