Boston Ultra-Ex: Terrestrial to Marine Carbon Flux
Crystal
Schaaf, Boston University, schaaf@bu.edu
(Presenting)
Nathan
Phillips, Boston University, nathan@bu.edu
Alan
Strahler, Boston University, alan@bu.edu
Robinson
W.
Fulweiler, Boston University, rwf@bu.edu
Amala
Mahadevan, Boston University, amala@bu.edu
Ramakrishna
Nemani, NASA Ames Research Center, rama.nemani@nasa.gov
David
Tenenbaum, University of Massachusetts, Boston, david.tenenbaum@umb.edu
Robert
Chen, University of Massachusetts, Boston, bob.chen@umb.edu
Mingshun
Jiang, University of Massachusetts, Boston, mingshun.jiang@umb.edu
Ellen
Douglas, University of Massachusetts, Boston, ellen.douglas@umb.edu
Anamarija
Frankic, University of Massachusetts, Boston, anamarija.frankic@umb.edu
Boston Ultra-Ex is an exploratory project aimed at establishing the metabolism of the greater Boston area and in particular modeling the carbon flows from a region stretching from rural Harvard Forest through the urban core of Boston and out into Boston Harbor and the Massachusetts Bay. MODIS-derived land variables such as albedo, fraction of photosynthetically absorbed radiation, leaf area index, vegetation indexes, and net primary productivity, as well as the phenology of vegetation canopies, the extent of snow cover and the timing of snowmelt, and accurate characterizations of land cover change are being used to drive biogeochemical models and simulate the regional terrestrial carbon, water, and nutrient cycles. Similarly, MODIS derived ocean products monitor ocean productivity and can provide estimates of CDOM and DOC. The Terrestrial Observation and Prediction System (TOPS), developed at NASA Ames, provides a framework to bring biogeochemical models and the necessary MODIS satellite derived inputs together to generate regional daily estimates of vegetation productivity on land. However, the link between daily terrestrial primary productivity and the estuarine and marine DOC remains extremely difficult to quantify. This is governed by soil DOC concentrations, soil moisture, the amount and timing of precipitation and melt events, the extent of coastal and fluvial wetlands, and the impact of land cover disturbances. The spatial distribution of surface land moisture conditions also can be estimated from MODIS data using surface temperature and vegetation indices (combined as the TVDI— Temperature Vegetation Dryness Index) to establish terrestrial hydrology in response to land use, land cover and precipitation forcing. Systematic stationary monitoring and innovative towed measures of estuarine and Boston Harbor CDOM developed by UMass,Boston can be complemented by sophisticated streamflow models to capture the transport of carbon from the land to the sea and ascertain the terrestrial sources.
Presentation Type: Poster
Poster Session: Carbon Cycle Science
NASA TE Funded Awards Represented:
Schaaf, Crystal
Global Land Surface Albedo and Anisotropy Products from MODIS and VIIRS for Climate and Vegetation Studies
Schaaf, Crystal
Global Land Surface Albedo and Anisotropy Products from MODIS and VIIRS for Climate and Vegetation Studies: Augmentation