A. Scott Denning

The common land model

The Common Land Model (CLM) was developed for community use by a grassroots collaboration of scientists who have an interest in making a general land model available for public use and further development. The major model characteristics include enough unevenly spaced layers to adequately represent soil temperature and soil moisture, and a multilayer parameterization of snow processes; an explicit treatment of the mass of liquid water and ice water and their phase change within the snow and soil system; a runoff parameterization following the TOPMODEL concept; a canopy photo synthesis-conductance model that describes the simultaneous transfer of CO2 and water vapor into and out of vegetation; and a tiled treatment of the subgrid fraction of energy and water balance. CLM has been extensively evaluated in offline mode and coupling runs with the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM3). The results of two offline runs, presented as examples, are compared with observations and with the simulation of three other la...

Weak Northern and Strong Tropical Land Carbon Uptake from Vertical Profiles of Atmospheric CO2

Measurements of midday vertical atmospheric CO2 distributions reveal annual-mean vertical CO2 gradients that are inconsistent with atmospheric models that estimate a large transfer of terrestrial carbon from tropical to northern latitudes. The three models that most closely reproduce the observed annual-mean vertical CO2 gradients estimate weaker northern uptake of –1.5 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C year–1) and weaker tropical emission of +0.1 Pg C year–1 compared with previous consensus estimates of –2.4 and +1.8 Pg C year–1, respectively. This suggests that northern terrestrial uptake of industrial CO2 emissions plays a smaller role than previously thought and that, after subtracting land-use emissions, tropical ecosystems may currently be strong sinks for CO2.

Transcom 3 inversion intercomparison: Model mean results for the estimation of seasonal carbon sources and sinks

[1] The TransCom 3 experiment was begun to explore the estimation of carbon sources and sinks via the inversion of simulated tracer transport. We build upon previous TransCom work by presenting the seasonal inverse results which provide estimates of carbon flux for 11 land and 11 ocean regions using 12 atmospheric transport models. The monthly fluxes represent the mean seasonal cycle for the 1992 to 1996 time period. The spread among the model results is larger than the average of their estimated flux uncertainty in the northern extratropics and vice versa in the tropical regions. In the northern land regions, the model spread is largest during the growing season. Compared to a seasonally balanced biosphere prior flux generated by the CASA model, we find significant changes to the carbon exchange in the European region with greater growing season net uptake which persists into the fall months. Both Boreal North America and Boreal Asia show lessened net uptake at the onset of the growing season with Boreal Asia also exhibiting greater peak growing season net uptake. Temperate Asia shows a dramatic springward shift in the peak timing of growing season net uptake relative to the neutral CASA flux while Temperate North America exhibits a broad flattening of the seasonal cycle. In most of the ocean regions, the inverse fluxes exhibit much greater seasonality than that implied by the DpCO2 derived fluxes though this may be due, in part, to misallocation of adjacent land flux. In the Southern Ocean, the austral spring and fall exhibits much less carbon uptake than implied by DpCO2 derived fluxes. Sensitivity testing indicates that the inverse estimates are not overly influenced by the prior flux choices. Considerable agreement exists between the model mean, annual mean results of this study and that of the previously published TransCom annual mean inversion. The differences that do exist are in poorly constrained regions and tend to exhibit compensatory fluxes in order to match the global mass constraint. The differences between the estimated fluxes and the prior model over the northern land regions could be due to the prior model respiration response to temperature. Significant phase differences, such as that in the Temperate Asia region, may be due to the limited observations for that region. Finally, differences in the boreal land regions between the prior model and the estimated fluxes may be a reflection of the timing of spring thaw and an imbalance in respiration versus photosynthesis. INDEX TERMS: 0322 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks; 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805); 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; KEYWORDS: carbon transport, inversion

A three-dimensional synthesis study of δ18O in atmospheric CO2: 1. Surface fluxes

The isotope O-18 in CO2 is of particular interest in studying the global carbon cycle because it is sensitive to the processes by which the global land biosphere absorbs and respires CO2. Carbon dioxide and water exchange isotopically both in leaves and in soils, and the O-18 character of atmospheric CO2 is strongly influenced by the land biota, which should constrain the gross primary productivity and total respiration of land ecosystems, In this study we calculate the global surface fluxes of O-18 for vegetation and soils using the SiB2 biosphere model coupled with the Colorado State University general circulation model. This approach makes it possible to use physiological variables that are consistently weighted by the carbon assimilation rate and integrated through the vegetation canopy, We also calculate the air-sea exchange of O-18 and the isotopic character of fossil emissions and biomass burning. Global mean values of the isotopic exchange with each reservoir are used to close the global budget of O-18 in CO2 results confirm the fact that the land biota exert a dominant control on the delta(18)O of the atmospheric reservoir, At the global scale, exchange with the canopy produces an isotopic enrichment of CO2, whereas exchange with soils has the opposite effect.

Africa and the global carbon cycle

The African continent has a large and growing role in the global carbon cycle, with potentially important climate change implications. However, the sparse observation network in and around the African continent means that Africa is one of the weakest links in our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Here, we combine data from regional and global inventories as well as forward and inverse model analyses to appraise what is known about Africas continental-scale carbon dynamics. With low fossil emissions and productivity that largely compensates respiration, land conversion is Africas primary net carbon release, much of it through burning of forests. Savanna fire emissions, though large, represent a short-term source that is offset by ensuing regrowth. While current data suggest a near zero decadal-scale carbon balance, interannual climate fluctuations (especially drought) induce sizeable variability in net ecosystem productivity and savanna fire emissions such that Africa is a major source of interannual variability in global atmospheric CO2. Considering the continents sizeable carbon stocks, their seemingly high vulnerability to anticipated climate and land use change, as well as growing populations and industrialization, Africas carbon emissions and their interannual variability are likely to undergo substantial increases through the 21st century.

A three-dimensional synthesis study of δ18O in atmospheric CO2: 2. Simulations with the TM2 transport model

In this study, using a three-dimensional (3-D) tracer modeling approach, we simulate the •80 of atmospheric CO2. In the atmospheric transport model TM2 we prescribe the surface fluxes of •80 due to vegetation and soils, ocean exchange, fossil emissions, and biomass burning. The model simulations are first discussed for each reservoir separately, then all the reservoirs are combined to allow a comparison with the atmospheric •80 measurements made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-University of Colorado, Scripps Institution of Oceanography-Centrum Voor Isotopen Onderzoek (United States-Netherlands) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia) air sampling programs. Insights into the latitudinal differences and into the seasonal cycle of •80 in CO2 are gained by looking at the contribution of each source. The isotopic exchange with soils induces a large isotopic depletion over the northern hemisphere continents, which overcomes the concurrent effect of isotopic enrichment due to leaf exchange. Compared to the land biota, the ocean fluxes and the anthropogenic CO2 source have a relatively minor influence. The shape of the latitudinal profile in •80 appears determined primarily by the respiration of the land biota, which balances photosynthetic uptake over the course of a year. Additional information on the phasing of the terrestrial carbon exchange comes from the seasonal cycle of •80 at high northern latitudes.

Influence of biotic exchange and combustion sources on atmospheric CO2 concentrations in New England from observations at a forest flux tower

Hourly data for concentrations and fluxes of CO2 at 30 m in Harvard Forest (Petersham, Massachusetts) are analyzed using linear modeling to obtain regionally representative CO2 concentrations at a continental site. The time series is decomposed into contributions due to regional combustion, local canopy exchange, monthly average regional biotic exchange (as modulated by the daily cycle of growth and decay of the planetary boundary layer (PBL)), and the regional monthly background concentration. Attributions are derived using time series analysis, data for a tracer for combustion (CO or acetylene (C2H2)), and measurements of indicators of proximate canopy exchange (CO2 flux and momentum flux). Results are compared to observations at Cold Bay, Alaska. Combustion contributes on average 4–5 ppm to ambient CO2 at Harvard Forest in winter and 2–3 ppm in summer. Regional biotic emissions elevate daily mean CO2 by 4–6 ppm in winter, and the covariance of the biotic cycle of uptake and emission with PBL height enhances daily mean CO2 by 1–2 ppm in summer; minimum values in late afternoon average 10 ppm lower than at Cold Bay in summer. The study shows that regionally representative concentrations of CO2 can be determined at continental sites if suitable correlates (tracers, fluxes of CO2, and momentum) are measured simultaneously with CO2 itself.

Estimates of net CO2 flux by application of equilibrium boundary layer concepts to CO2 and water vapor measurements from a tall tower

fluxes that affects the CO2 and water vapor mixing ratios. We apply quasi-equilibrium concepts for the terrestrial ABL to measurements of CO2 and water vapor made within the ABL from a tall tower (396 m) in Wisconsin. We suppose that CO2 and water vapor mixing ratios in the ABL approach an equilibrium on timescales longer than a day: a balance between the surface fluxes and the exchange with the free troposphere above. By using monthly averaged ABL-to-free-tropospheric water vapor differences and surface water vapor flux, realistic estimates of vertical velocity exchange with the free troposphere can be obtained. We then estimated the net surface flux of CO2 on a monthly basis for the year of 2000, using ABL-to-free-tropospheric CO2 differences, and our flux difference estimate of the vertical exchange. These ABL-scale estimates of net CO2 flux gave close agreement with eddy covariance measurements. Considering the large surface area which affects scalars in the ABL over synoptic timescales, the flux difference approach presented here could potentially provide regional-scale estimates of net CO2 flux. INDEX TERMS: 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805); 1818 Hydrology: Evapotranspiration; 3307 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Boundary layer processes; 3322 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Land/atmosphere interactions; KEYWORDS: boundary layer, CO2 exchange, evapotranspiration

Sources of dissolved and particulate organic material in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

The sources of both dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) to an alpine (Sky Pond) and a subalpine lake (The Loch) in Rocky Mountain National Park were explored for four years. The importance of both autochthonous and allochthonous sources of organic matter differ, not only between alpine and subalpine locations, but also seasonally. Overall, autochthonous sources dominate the organic carbon of the alpine lake, while allochthonous sources are a more significant source of organic carbon to the subalpine lake. In the alpine lake, Sky Pond, POC makes up greater than one third of the total organic matter content of the water column, and is related to phytoplankton abundance. Dissolved organic carbon is a product of within-lake activity in Sky Pond except during spring snowmelt and early summer (May–July), when stable carbon isotope ratios suggest a terrestrial source. In the subalpine lake, The Loch, DOC is a much more important constituent of water column organic material than POC, comprising greater than 90% of the spring snowmelt organic matter, and greater than 75% of the organic matter over the rest of the year. Stable carbon isotope ratios and a very strong relation of DOC with soluble Al(tot) indicate DOC concentrations are almost entirely related to flushing of soil water from the surrounding watershed during spring snowmelt. Stable carbon isotope ratios indicate that, for both lakes, phytoplankton is an important source of DOC in the winter, while terrestrial material of plant or microbial origin contributes DOC during snowmelt and summer.

THE INFLUENCE OF MOUNTAIN METEOROLOGY ON PRECIPITATION CHEMISTRY AT LOW AND HIGH ELEVATIONS OF THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE, U.S.A.

We explored the seasonal characteristics in wet deposition chemistry for two sites located at different elevations along the east slope of the Colorado Front Range in Rocky Mountain National Park. Seasonally separated precipitation was stratified into highly concentrated (high salt), dilute (low salt), or acid-dominated precipitation groups. These groups and unstratified precipitation data were related to mean easterly or westerly zonal winds to determine direction of local transport. Strong acid anion associations were also determined for the stratified and unstratified precipitation data sets. We found that strong acid anions, acidity, ammonium, and high salt concentrations originate to the east of Rocky Mountain National Park, and are transported via up-valley funneling winds or convective instability from differential heating of the mountains and the plains to the east. These influence the composition of precipitation at Beaver Meadows, the low elevation site, throughout the year, while their effect on precipitation at Loch Vale, the high elevation site, is felt most strongly during the summer. During the winter, Loch Vale precipitation is very dilute, and occurs in conjunction with westerly winds resulting from the southerly location of the jet stream.