Analyzing Gross Primary Production and Respiration of Terrestrial Ecosystems Using a Global Carbon Cycle Model That Includes Carbonyl Sulfide

Joe Berry, Carnegie Institution, Dept. of Global Ecology, joeberry@stanford.edu (Presenting)
Ian Baker, Dept. of Atmos Sci, Colorado State Univ., baker@atmos.colostate.edu
Elliott Campbell, Carnegie Institution, Dept. of Global Ecology, campbell@stanford.edu
S. Randy Kawa, NASA, GSFC, kawa@maia.gsfc.nasa.gov
A. Scott Denning, Dept. of Atmos Sci, Colorado State Univ., denning@atmos.colostate.edu
Zhengxin Zhu, NASA, GSFC, zhu@mulan.gsfc.nasa.gov
Stephen Montzka, NOAA, GMD, stephen.a.montzka@noaa.gov
Adam Wolf, Carnegie Institution, Dept. of Global Ecology, adamwolf@stanford.edu
Ulrike Seibt, Carnegie Institution, Dept. of Global Ecology, useibt@gmail.com

Carbonly sulfide (COS), an analog of CO₂ is emerging as a useful tracer of carbon cycle processes. Previous studies have shown that COS is taken up by leaves and that the rate of its uptake is closely linked to the rate of gross primary production (GPP). However, unlike CO₂, there is apparently no significant source of COS from terrestrial ecosystems. COS concentrations are being monitored in the background atmosphere at 13 sites and profiles of the lower atmosphere are being made at a number of continental sites by NOAA. In addition a number of atmospheric chemistry campaigns have measured COS and CO₂ concentrations. To help interpret these measurements, we have incorporated the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms controlling COS exchange into a land surface model (SIB) and we have used this model to simulate global COS and CO₂ fluxes and transported these together with other known sources and sinks in a chemical transport model (PCTM). We used an inversion approach to adjust the ocean flux to obtain a reasonable match to the annual mean concentration from the Arctic to the South Pole. The model exhibits good skill in simulating observations of the seasonal cycle and vertical profiles of COS and CO₂ concentration over N. America and in the tropics. We use these 'modeled data' to show that measurements of COS and CO₂ concentration over continental areas can provide information on GPP and respiration of terrestrial ecosystems that can not be obtained from measurements of CO₂ concentration alone.

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