Heat flux partitioning

Heat flux partitioning refers to the way incoming net radiation at the Earth's surface is divided into different forms of energy transfer. These include:

Sensible heat flux (H): the heat transfer between the surface and the atmosphere by conduction and convection.

Latent heat flux (LE): the energy that is absorbed by water at the Earth’s surface during evaporation or transpiration apart from any change in temperature.

Ground heat flux (G): the heat transfer between the surface and the underlying soil, predominantly by conduction.

This energy division is governed by the surface energy balance equation:

𝑅𝑛=𝐻+𝐿𝐸+𝐺R

(Andrews, 2020).