investigating the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems (iccte) a joint program between: the...
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Investigating the Carbon Cycle in Terrestrial Ecosystems (ICCTE)
A joint program between:
The University of New Hampshire, USA
AND
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
The Carbon Cycle Science Team
Scott Ollinger
Sarah SilverbergRita Freuder
Annette Schloss
Bobby BraswellMary Martin
Jana Albrechtova
Carbon: A building block of life
What is C Why is C important How is C measured How YOU can measure C
•The most abundant element in living things
•Accounts for 45-50% of the total mass of plants and animals.
•Also present in the Earth’s land, atmosphere and oceans
Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gasCarbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas
The Greenhouse Effect
What is C Why is C important How is C measured How YOU can measure C
The Global Carbon Cycle
What is C Why is C important How is C measured How YOU can measure C
Mauna Loa Hawaii Atmospheric CO2 Record
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1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005
Atm
osp
heri
c C
O2 (
ppm
v)
Keeling & Whorf 1998
Level of Certainty: 100%
Changing Atmospheric Conditions
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
Projected Increases in CO2
What is C Why is C important How is C measured Future scenarios
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CO
2 C
on
ce
ntr
ati
on
(p
pm
v)
Projected (2100)
0100,000200,000300,000400,000
Current (2001)
Vostok Record
IPCC IS92a ScenarioLaw Dome Record
Mauna Loa Record
Vostok Record
Mauna Loa Record
IPCC IS92a Scenario
FLUXNET
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•Global network of flux towers that are used to measure CO2 exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere.
•Developed to better understand carbon cycling globally. •Sites also include measurements on vegetation, soils, hydrology and meteorology.
•Information available to both researchers and the public.
North American Carbon Program (NACP)
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•IESSP
•NACP builds on FLUXNET to further understand sources and sinks of the carbon cycle.
•4 levels of resolution or tiers•Tier 1: small scale, extremely high resolution, flux towers•Tier 2: small scale, annual, large variety of measurements•Tier 3: larger scale, decadal, basic biometrics, (build on long term datasets)•Tier 4: large spatial extent through mapping and remote sensing
•Field measurements (Tiers 2&3) can then be used to validate flux tower and remote sensing data
Eddy Covariance COEddy Covariance CO22 Exchange Method Exchange Method
Wind direction Turbulent eddies
Carbon at the Local Scale
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
MAPBGCMAPBGC
AVIRISAVIRIS EO-1EO-1HyperionHyperion
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00Field Measured %N
AV
IRIS
Pre
dic
ted
%N
R2 = 0.84
AVIRIS Foliar NPredicted vs. Observed
Remote Sensing of Foliar Nitrogen
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•Remote sensing of chlorophyll, foliar nitrogen, and leaf area index is correlated to field measurements.
•When these leaf traits are remotely sensed you can estimate net primary productivity (carbon uptake) across regions and the world.
• Models help us synthesize knowledge.
• Identify gaps in current knowledge and guide future research.
• Models can be used to conduct experiments that are not possible in real-world settings.
• Field measurements drive the models so they come close to making accurate predictions
The Role of Models in Ecological Analysis
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
Existing and New Protocols
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
Existing protocols to be used in ICCTE New protocols to be designed Land Cover Land cover Biometry
Plant Biomass and Productivity Site level biometry Use of equations to estimate productivity
Phenology Budburst Green-up Green-down
Leaf Traits Leaf chlorophyll concentration Leaf nitrogen concentration Specific leaf weight (leaf density)
Soils Soil characterization
Hand held device that uses reflectance bands similar to remote sensing to measure leaf chlorophyll content
Established equations relate chlorophyll to foliar nitrogen
Learning Activities for Students
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•Ecological measurements related to plant biomass, nutrient status and growth rate.
•Simple observation of different types of vegetation in the schoolyard
•Does different vegetation store different amounts of C?
•How does the growth rate of the vegetation affect C exchange with the atmosphere?
Biometry measurements
Leaf collection
Learning Activities for Students
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•Exercises that lead students to connect rates of carbon cycling within ecosystems with rates of carbon emissions associated with various human activities.
•Including a computer game for elementary students
•How much C is stored in one tree? How much C is stored in all the trees in our school site?
•How much CO2 is emitted by my transportation to school everyday?
•How much CO2 is emitted to heat or cool our school building?
Learning Activities for Students
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•A remote sensing toolkit that allows students to use GLOBE data to estimate C budgets at local and continental spatial scales.
•Our group has an existing website that takes large quantities of data and images and makes them accessible and easy to use for the public
http://eos-webster.sr.unh.edu
Learning Activities for Students
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•A simple ecosystem computer model designed to allow students to use their own measurements to estimate a C budget for their field site.
Leaf collections
Tree measurements
Live foliage chemistry
Green up & Green down
Learning Activities for Students
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
•A set of exercises involving data from FLUXNET that will introduce advance technological methods and improve quantitative skills.
•An opportunity to ask questions about differences between different sites:
•Why is C exchange higher in Spain than South Africa?
•How do C estimates at my school site compare to those measured across the globe?
We are Excited to Join the GLOBE Team!
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
Winter 1998
The Pulse of the Planet: Estimated Chlorophyll Concentration
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370
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year
Atm
os
ph
eri
c C
O2
(pp
m)
SeaWiFS Satellite Data
Summer 1998
The Pulse of the Planet: Estimated Chlorophyll Concentration
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370
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year
Atm
os
ph
eri
c C
O2
(pp
m)
SeaWiFS Satellite Data
Temperature Changes Mirror Changes in CO2
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
Atm
osp
heri
c C
O2 (
pp
m)
400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0
Years Before Present
Vostok Ice Core CO2 Record
420,000 years ago to the present
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200
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Barnola et al. 1999
Present (2001)
400
Ice Core Data
Mauna Loa Record
Inter-Glacial Maximum
Glacial Minimum
Atmospheric CO2 Over Geological Time Scales
What is C? Why is C important ? How is C measured? How YOU can measure C?
“Planet Earth Has Entered a NEW Era That Has No Historical
Precedent”Berrien Moore III Chairman International Global Biosphere ProgramDirector Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space
“The Earth’s Climate System is an Angry Beast and We are Poking it
with Sticks”Wallace Broeker Columbia University, Lamont Doherty Geological Observatory