Munger, J. (Bill): Harvard University (Project Lead)
Henderson, John: AER (Co-Investigator)
Wofsy, Steven (Steve): Harvard University (Co-Investigator)
Commane, Róisín: Columbia University (Participant)
Miller, Charles (Chip): NASA JPL (Participant)
Project Funding:
2013 - 2016
NRA: 2012 NASA: Pre-ABoVE: Terrestrial Ecology
Funded by NASA
Abstract:
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 and CH4 concentration measurements that integrate the atmosphere-biosphere exchange of these gases across the region. We propose to develop this data integration framework and test it using existing data sets that have been acquired over the past 25 years. We will evaluate the accuracy of individual elements in the framework, assess uncertainties in the outputs, and provide a foundation for developing future observational strategies. Key elements of the work are collation and harmonization of existing data, development of a modeling framework to assimilate multiple data streams, testing the ability to determine regional CO2 and CH4 fluxes and to evaluate uncertainties. Key outcomes include assessment of our ability to change detect changes of CO2 and CH4 regional fluxes in the past 25 years, and a framework for early detection of carbon destabilization in the future. The proposed work is directly relevant to the goals in NNH12ZDA001N by demonstrating a data-model framework that integrates and synthesizes geospatial observations from airborne and orbiting sensors with information obtained from in situ atmospheric measurements and ecological field studies. Our proposed work adds value to previous NASA-supported field campaigns by re-evaluating previous data with new analytical tools and harmonizing data collected over the past 25 years to look for evidence of change in ecosystem functioning. The data sets we will use include: long-term measurements at ground stations of meteorology, environmental parameters (sunlight, aerosols), atmospheric trace gases, and ecosystem fluxes (NOAA; LTER, AmeriFlux) long term data for ground temperatures and active layer depths (CALM network, borehole network [http://www.gwu.edu/~calm/]) land surface remote sensing data from LandSat using the new Google Earth Engine and the Global Land Cover Facility (www.landcover.org, 'GLCF'), MODIS, and other compiled data versions atmospheric concentration surveys from aircraft (ABLE3A, 1988; CARVE, 2011-2014; ARCTAS 2008; NOAA vertical profiles)
Publications:
Commane, R., Lindaas, J., Benmergui, J., Luus, K. A., Chang, R. Y., Daube, B. C., Euskirchen, E. S., Henderson, J. M., Karion, A., Miller, J. B., Miller, S. M., Parazoo, N. C., Randerson, J. T., Sweeney, C., Tans, P., Thoning, K., Veraverbeke, S., Miller, C. E., Wofsy, S. C. 2017. Carbon dioxide sources from Alaska driven by increasing early winter respiration from Arctic tundra. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114(21), 5361-5366. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1618567114
Henderson, J. M., Eluszkiewicz, J., Mountain, M. E., Nehrkorn, T., Chang, R. Y., Karion, A., Miller, J. B., Sweeney, C., Steiner, N., Wofsy, S. C., Miller, C. E. 2015. Atmospheric transport simulations in support of the Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE). Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 15(8), 4093-4116. DOI: 10.5194/acp-15-4093-2015
2015 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)
- 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, Steven Wofsy, Roisin Commane, Jakob Lindaas, John Henderson, Colm Sweeney, Kristina Luus)
[abstract]
More details may be found in the following project profile(s):
