HR: 11:45h
AN: A31F-03    [PDF]
TI: The Atmospheric Signatures of Terrestrial Ecosystem Processes: Results From a Coupled Atmosphere-Ecosystem Model
AU: * Medvigy, D
EM: medvigy@fas.harvard.edu
AF: Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-2034 United States
AU: Moorcroft, P R
EM: paul_moorcroft@harvard.edu
AF: Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-2034 United States
AB: Global-scale analyses of weekly CO$_2$ flask samples have shown that a number of terrestrial regions are significantly affecting the rate at which carbon dioxide is building up in the atmosphere. However, the observations used in these studies come primarily from stations that sample the marine boundary layer in order to eliminate variance due to terrestrial fluxes, making it difficult to identify the processes responsible for the observed patterns of terrestrial CO$_2$ flux. To address this issue, we have developed a regional-scale, coupled atmosphere-ecosystem model capable of assimilating observations from a diverse array of data sources, including eddy-flux measurements of surface CO$_2$ fluxes, measurements of atmospheric CO$_2$ concentrations obtained from aircraft and tall towers, and observations of canopy structure and dynamics obtained from satellite observations and forest inventory data. The model consists of a newly-developed, mass-conserving version of the mesoscale Regional Atmospheric Modeling System model (RAMS) coupled to the Ecosystem Demography Model (ED), which is able to represent the influence of both long-term and short-term processes on patterns of terrestrial CO$_2$ flux. We are using the coupled RAMS-ED model to perform forward and inverse modeling studies of regional carbon budgets within the North American continent. Preliminary results highlight the model's ability to connect regional patterns of atmospheric CO$_2$ to the underlying state of the ecosystems within a region.
DE: 0315 Biosphere/atmosphere interactions
DE: 0322 Constituent sources and sinks
DE: 1851 Plant ecology
DE: 3329 Mesoscale meteorology
DE: 3337 Numerical modeling and data assimilation
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting