Download or read book Detecting a Terrestrial Biosphere Sink for Carbon Dioxide written by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-08-16 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is considerable uncertainty as to whether interannual variability in climate and terrestrial ecosystem production is sufficient to explain observed variation in atmospheric carbon content over the past 20-30 years. In this paper, we investigated the response of net CO2 exchange in terrestrial ecosystems to interannual climate variability (1983 to 1988) using global satellite observations as drivers for the NASA-CASA (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach) simulation model. This computer model of net ecosystem production (NEP) is calibrated for interannual simulations driven by monthly satellite vegetation index data (NDVI) from the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) at 1 degree spatial resolution. Major results from NASA-CASA simulations suggest that from 1985 to 1988, the northern middle-latitude zone (between 30 and 60 degrees N) was the principal region driving progressive annual increases in global net primary production (NPP; i.e., the terrestrial biosphere sink for carbon). The average annual increase in NPP over this predominantly northern forest zone was on the order of +0.4 Pg (10 (exp 15) g) C per year. This increase resulted mainly from notable expansion of the growing season for plant carbon fixation toward the zonal latitude extremes, a pattern uniquely demonstrated in our regional visualization results. A net biosphere source flux of CO2 in 1983-1984, coinciding with an El Nino event, was followed by a major recovery of global NEP in 1985 which lasted through 1987 as a net carbon sink of between 0.4 and 2.6 Avg C per year. Analysis of model controls on NPP and soil heterotrophic CO2 fluxes (Rh) suggests that regional warming in northern forests can enhance ecosystem production significantly. In seasonally dry tropical zones, periodic drought and temperature drying effects may carry over with at least a two-year lag time to adversely impact ecosystem production. These yearly patterns in our model-predicted NEP are consistent in magnit...
Download or read book Soils and the Terrestrial Biosphere as a Source sink for Anthropogenically Released Carbon Dioxide written by Tatjana Vujic and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-04-08 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To achieve goals for climate and economic growth, "negative emissions technologies" (NETs) that remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the air will need to play a significant role in mitigating climate change. Unlike carbon capture and storage technologies that remove carbon dioxide emissions directly from large point sources such as coal power plants, NETs remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or enhance natural carbon sinks. Storing the carbon dioxide from NETs has the same impact on the atmosphere and climate as simultaneously preventing an equal amount of carbon dioxide from being emitted. Recent analyses found that deploying NETs may be less expensive and less disruptive than reducing some emissions, such as a substantial portion of agricultural and land-use emissions and some transportation emissions. In 2015, the National Academies published Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration, which described and initially assessed NETs and sequestration technologies. This report acknowledged the relative paucity of research on NETs and recommended development of a research agenda that covers all aspects of NETs from fundamental science to full-scale deployment. To address this need, Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable Sequestration: A Research Agenda assesses the benefits, risks, and "sustainable scale potential" for NETs and sequestration. This report also defines the essential components of a research and development program, including its estimated costs and potential impact.
Download or read book The Carbon Cycle written by T. M. L. Wigley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-08-22 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is imperative to stabilizing our future climate. Our ability to reduce these emissions combined with an understanding of how much fossil-fuel-derived CO2 the oceans and plants can absorb is central to mitigating climate change. In The Carbon Cycle, leading scientists examine how atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have changed in the past and how this may affect the concentrations in the future. They look at the carbon budget and the "missing sink" for carbon dioxide. They offer approaches to modeling the carbon cycle, providing mathematical tools for predicting future levels of carbon dioxide. This comprehensive text incorporates findings from the recent IPCC reports. New insights, and a convergence of ideas and views across several disciplines make this book an important contribution to the global change literature.
Download or read book A History of Atmospheric CO2 and Its Effects on Plants Animals and Ecosystems written by James R. Ehleringer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-01-27 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trees, CO2 concentration, climate change, herbivores, temperature.
Download or read book The Influence of the Terrestrial Biosphere on Seasonal Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide written by Katharine Culbertson Prentice and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Recarbonization of the Biosphere written by Rattan Lal and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-03-30 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human activities are significantly modifying the natural global carbon (C) cycles, and concomitantly influence climate, ecosystems, and state and function of the Earth system. Ever increasing amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) are added to the atmosphere by fossil fuel combustion but the biosphere is a potential C sink. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of C cycling in the biosphere is crucial for identifying and managing biospheric C sinks. Ecosystems with large C stocks which must be protected and sustainably managed are wetlands, peatlands, tropical rainforests, tropical savannas, grasslands, degraded/desertified lands, agricultural lands, and urban lands. However, land-based sinks require long-term management and a protection strategy because C stocks grow with a progressive improvement in ecosystem health.
Download or read book Continuity of NASA Earth Observations from Space written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-11-24 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD) conducts a wide range of satellite and suborbital missions to observe Earth's land surface and interior, biosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans as part of a program to improve understanding of Earth as an integrated system. Earth observations provide the foundation for critical scientific advances and environmental data products derived from these observations are used in resource management and for an extraordinary range of societal applications including weather forecasts, climate projections, sea level change, water management, disease early warning, agricultural production, and the response to natural disasters. As the complexity of societal infrastructure and its vulnerability to environmental disruption increases, the demands for deeper scientific insights and more actionable information continue to rise. To serve these demands, NASA's ESD is challenged with optimizing the partitioning of its finite resources among measurements intended for exploring new science frontiers, carefully characterizing long-term changes in the Earth system, and supporting ongoing societal applications. This challenge is most acute in the decisions the Division makes between supporting measurement continuity of data streams that are critical components of Earth science research programs and the development of new measurement capabilities. This report seeks to establish a more quantitative understanding of the need for measurement continuity and the consequences of measurement gaps. Continuity of NASA's Earth's Observations presents a framework to assist NASA's ESD in their determinations of when a measurement or dataset should be collected for durations longer than the typical lifetimes of single satellite missions.
Download or read book The Influence of the Terrestrial Biosphere on Seasonal Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide written by Katharine Culbertson Prentice and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Global Carbon Cycle written by Christopher B. Field and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While a number of gases are implicated in global warming, carbon dioxide is the most important contributor, and in one sense the entire phenomena can be seen as a human-induced perturbation of the carbon cycle. The Global Carbon Cycle offers a scientific assessment of the state of current knowledge of the carbon cycle by the world's leading scientists sponsored by SCOPE and the Global Carbon Project, and other international partners. It gives an introductory over-view of the carbon cycle, with multidisciplinary contributions covering biological, physical, and social science aspects. Included are 29 chapters covering topics including: an assessment of carbon-climate-human interactions; a portfolio of carbon management options; spatial and temporal distribution of sources and sinks of carbon dioxide; socio-economic driving forces of emissions scenarios. Throughout, contributors emphasize that all parts of the carbon cycle are interrelated, and only by developing a framework that considers the full set of feedbacks will we be able to achieve a thorough understanding and develop effective management strategies. The Global Carbon Cycle edited by Christopher B. Field and Michael R. Raupach is part of the Rapid Assessment Publication series produced by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), in an effort to quickly disseminate the collective knowledge of the world's leading experts on topics of pressing environmental concern.
Download or read book Ocean Biogeochemistry written by Michael J.R. Fasham and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oceans account for 50% of the anthropogenic CO2 released into the atmosphere. During the past 15 years an international programme, the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), has been studying the ocean carbon cycle to quantify and model the biological and physical processes whereby CO2 is pumped from the ocean's surface to the depths of the ocean, where it can remain for hundreds of years. This project is one of the largest multi-disciplinary studies of the oceans ever carried out and this book synthesises the results. It covers all aspects of the topic ranging from air-sea exchange with CO2, the role of physical mixing, the uptake of CO2 by marine algae, the fluxes of carbon and nitrogen through the marine food chain to the subsequent export of carbon to the depths of the ocean. Special emphasis is laid on predicting future climatic change.
Download or read book Assessment of Uncertainties in Atmospheric Transport and Surface Flux of Carbon from the North American Terrestrial Biosphere written by Caroline Normile and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The North American terrestrial biosphere acts as a strong sink of atmospheric CO2 and therefore plays a key role in the global carbon cycle. The atmospheric inversion approach is used to quantify the magnitude and distribution land-atmosphere carbon exchange, and requires accurate atmospheric transport and surface flux prior. We evaluate the relative sensitivity of simulated atmospheric total, biological, and fossil fuel CO2 mole fractions in the atmospheric boundary layer and integrated column over North America to changes in transport model and surface fluxes. We run three versions of a mesoscale model that incorporate different physics parameterization schemes and identical surface fluxes; we run the same mesoscale transport model with two different surface fluxes. All simulations are conducted for North America during 2008. Observed CO2 mole fractions reveal that seasonal amplitude ranges from 13 ppm in the West to over 34 ppm in the Midcontinent, and the models tested match these amplitudes to within a few ppm. Biology drives both the magnitude of the seasonal amplitude and regional differences in amplitude. Fossil fuels exhibit a seasonal cycle that is smaller than biological CO2, but not trivial. During the growing season, variations in surface fluxes yield mean differences in regionally, seasonally averaged atmospheric boundary layer total CO2 mole fractions that are larger for all regions than those resulting from varied transport model. The relative contributions of biological and fossil fuel to total mean difference CO2 show distinct quantitative patterns for varied flux and transport, and can provide information for attributing model-model differences in total CO2. Seasonal amplitude is much greater in the ABL than in the integrated column. Simulated total biological, and fossil fuel integrated column XCO2 are about 1/10th the magnitude of their signal in the atmospheric boundary layer. Flux and transport differences are also found in the integrated column at approximately 1/10th their atmospheric boundary layer values. While transport error is a significant problem for identifying terrestrial carbon fluxes, it is not an overwhelming one. Our work indicates that there is potential for remotely sensed integrated column XCO2 to distinguish between the flux signal and transport errors. Understanding transport error deserves more study, motivating current and future observational campaigns and modeling.While reducing transport uncertainty in atmospheric inversions has received considerable attention in recent years, quantification of carbon surface flux uncertainty remains a challenge. Model-observation studies can help identify model temporal and spatial limitations. To this end, we organize 166 CO2 flux tower measurement sites across North America by region, climate, and vegetation type into 23 groupings. The data span from 2000 through 2014 and are compared to output from eight atmospheric inverse estimates and 17 terrestrial biosphere models. We generate a mean year of observed and simulated net ecosystem exchange for each regional vegetation group and for each model. The NOAA CarbonTracker inverse estimates, major carbon flux inverse products, almost always underestimate amplitude of the seasonal cycle (biased positive relative to observations) and have a small spread. Furthermore, the inversions dont typically improve upon the prior with respect to the observations. Groups characterized by large seasonal amplitudes are not well represented by the models. For these groups, drawdown is underestimated. The terrestrial biosphere models often encompass the observations, but may have too much model-model variability. No one model is best everywhere. Model performance varies by vegetation and location. Certain biomes are well represented, certain biomes are not, and some models are reliably better than others. In general, evergreen forests in the north and east are better represented by the models than grasslands or crops in the midcontinent and southwest. Our large-scale, regional approach to model-observation analyses provides insight into the vegetation- and location-dependent performance of many inverse and terrestrial biosphere model estimates of land-atmosphere carbon exchange. This can help inform selection and application of surface flux priors in future inversions.
Download or read book A Brief Review of the Application of 14C in Terrestrial Carbon Cycle Studies written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An over-arching goal of the DOE TCP program is to understand the mechanistic controls over the fate, transport, and residence time of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere. Many of the modern process and modeling studies focus on seasonal to interannual variability. However, much of the carbon on the landscape and in soils is in separate reservoirs with turnover times that are multi-decadal to millennial. It is the controls on these longer term pools or reservoirs that is a critical unknown in the face of rising GHGs and climate change and uncertainties of the terrestrial biosphere as a future global sink or source of atmospheric CO2 [eg., Friedlingstein et al., 2006; Govindasamy et al., 2005; Thompson et al., 2004]. Radiocarbon measurements, in combination with other data, can provide insight into, and constraints on, terrestrial carbon cycling. Radiocarbon (t12 5730yrs) is produced naturally in the stratosphere when secondary neutrons generated by cosmic rays collide with 14N atoms [Libby 1946; Arnold and Libby, 1949]. Upon formation, 14C is rapidly oxidized to CO and then to CO2, and is incorporated into the carbon cycle. Due to anthropogenic activities, the amount of 14C in the atmosphere doubled in the mid/late 1950s and early 1960s from its preindustrial value of 14C/12C ratio of 1.18 x 10−12 [eg., Nydal and Lovseth, 1983]. Following the atmospheric weapons test ban in 1963, the 14C/12C ratio, has decreased due to the net isotopic exchange between the ocean and terrestrial biosphere [eg., Levin and Hessheimer, 2000] and a dilution effect due to the burning of 14C-free fossil fuel carbon, the 'Suess Effect' [Suess, 1955]. In the carbon cycle literature, radiocarbon measurements are generally reported as [Delta]14C, which includes a correction for mass dependent fractionation [Stuiver and Polach, 1977]. In the context of carbon cycle studies radiocarbon measurements can be used to determine the 'age' and rate of change of carbon stocks or as a biogeochemical tracer to elucidate processes and pathways. It is this dual nature that can be exploited across scales in space (individual plant, plot or research site, ecosystem, regional, and global) and time (days to millennia). For example, across regional scales, [Delta]14C measurements of atmosphere CO2 can be used to attribute carbon dioxide to sources (e.g., respiration vs. fossil fuel emissions) or sinks (e.g, . photosynthesis), which cannot be readily inferred from concentration, net flux measurements, or [delta]13CO2 [eg. Graven et al., 2009; Levin and Hessheimer, 2000; Turnbull et al., 2007]. At smaller scales, similar analyses can be used to elucidate the source, and 'age' of the below ground component undergoing heterotrophic respiration. Net (biome or ecosystem) uptake of carbon is the difference of two large fluxes: photosynthesis and respiration. Carbon fixation by photosynthesis is, to a large extent, a single process with theoretical underpinnings. On the other-hand, net ecosystem or biome respiration integrates microbial (heterotrophic) and plant (autotrophic) respiration. Eddy covariance methods can be used to estimate bulk CO2 fluxes but they cannot discriminate the process nor the source of the respired CO2. It is these processes that are parameterized in predictive models and contribute to the uncertainty in the climate forcing effect of the carbon cycle in the future [Friedlingstein et al., 2006; Heimann and Reichstein, 2008].
Download or read book North American Droughts written by Norman J. Rosenberg and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-08 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognizing drought as a characteristic feature of the North American climate, the contributors to this volume seek to organize available evidence of both prehistoric and modern drought events and to provide information on the severity of droughts, especially those which have occurred since weather records have been kept. The impacts of modern-era droughts on production and the potential impact of future droughts on the productivity of North American agriculture are examined. The authors explore the effeats of past droughts on the social, cultural, and political life of the population; the possible effects of drought on today's energy- and techno logy-intensive society; and the ramifications of drought for the national economy. The social and political strategies that local, state, and federal governments may use to meliorate the effects of drought are also considered, as are some possible technological defenses against drought—weather modification, expanded irrigation, new techniques of water harvesting and storage, and new agronomic adaptations. Finally, the critical question of whether future droughts can be forecast is examined.
Download or read book The Terrestrial Biosphere and Global Change written by Brian Walker and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-03-25 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summarises understanding of global change interactions with terrestrial ecosystems.
Download or read book Carbon Sink written by European Commission. Directorate General for Research and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Phenology An Integrative Environmental Science written by Mark D. Schwartz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-04-28 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Phenology is the study of plant and animal life cycle events, which are triggered by environmental changes, especially temperature. Wide ranges of phenomena are included, from first openings of leaf and flower buds, to insect hatchings and return of birds. Each one gives a ready measure of the environment as viewed by the associated organism. Thus, phenological events are ideal indicators of the impact of local and global changes in weather and climate on the earth's biosphere. Assessing our changing world is a complex task that requires close cooperation from experts in biology, climatology, ecology, geography, oceanography, remote sensing and other areas. This book is a synthesis of current phenological knowledge, designed as a primer on the field for global change and general scientists, students and interested members of the public. With contributions from a diverse group of over fifty phenological experts, covering data collection, current research, methods and applications, it demonstrates the accomplishments and potential of phenology as an integrative environmental science.
