Development of a Data-Assimilation Framework for Integrating 25 Years of Surface and Airborne Observations to Assess Patterns of Net CO2 Exchange from Arctic Ecosystems

J. William Munger, Harvard University, jwmunger@seas.harvard.edu (Presenter)
Steven Wofsy, Harvard University, wofsy@fas.harvard.edu
Roisin Commane, Harvard University, rcommane@seas.harvard.edu
Jakob Lindaas, Harvard University, jlindaas@gmail.com
John Henderson, Atmospheric and Environmental Research, jhenders@aer.com
Colm Sweeney, NOAA/ESRL GMD, colm.sweeney@noaa.gov
Kristina Luus, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, niinaluus@gmail.com

Arctic ecosystems store a large mass of organic carbon that could be released to the atmosphere as CO₂ or CH₄ if warming temperatures degrade the permafrost and drain the wetlands that have kept this carbon stable. The Arctic is too large and too variable for a network of individual site observations to define indication of regional environmental change. In order to detect region-wide changes in arctic ecosystems that could indicate destabilization of the accumulated carbon, an observational framework is needed that combines remote sensing measurements that detect vegetation and land surface changes, an ecosystem modeling framework for biogenic greenhouse gases, and atmospheric CO₂ or CH₄ concentration measurements that integrate the atmosphere-biosphere exchange of these gases across the region. We are developing a data assimilation framework that combines existing data sets for atmospheric concentration, meteorological transport models that define the regions that influence a receptor site, and simple ecosystem models that capture responses to environmental conditions. Work to date has evaluated the accuracy of the meteorological transport component and made merged an arctic Vegetation Photosysnthesis and Respiration Model with the influence footprints to estimate year round concentrations at the Barrow receptor site. Mismatch between model and observations is the basis for detecting changes in ecosystem function

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  General Contributions   (Tue 4:35 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Munger, Bill: Development of a Data-Assimilation Framework for Integrating 25 Years of Surface and Airborne observations to assess patterns of net CO2 Exchange from Arctic Ecosystems ...details

Poster Location ID: 219