Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower
Northern high-latitude carbon sources and sinks, including those resulting from degrading permafrost, are thought to be sensitive to the rapidly warming climate. Because the near-surface atmosphere integrates surface fluxes over large ( aEuro-500-1000aEuro-km) scales, atmospheric monitoring of carbo...
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Language: | English |
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European Geosciences Union
2016
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Online Access: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41461269 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016 |
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ftharvardudash:oai:dash.harvard.edu:1/41461269 2023-05-15T15:18:29+02:00 Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower Karion, Anna Sweeney, Colm Miller, John B. Andrews, Arlyn E. Commane, Roisin Dinardo, Steven Henderson, John M. Lindaas, Jacob Lin, John C. Luus, Kristina A. Newberger, Tim Tans, Pieter Wofsy, Steven C. Wolter, Sonja Miller, Charles E. 2016 application/pdf http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41461269 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016 en_US eng European Geosciences Union Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Karion, Anna, Colm Sweeney, John B. Miller, Arlyn E. Andrews, Roisin Commane, Steven Dinardo, John M. Henderson, et al. 2016. “Investigating Alaskan Methane and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes Using Measurements from the CARVE Tower.” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 16 (8): 5383–98. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016. 1680-7316 1680-7324 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41461269 doi:10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016 Journal Article 2016 ftharvardudash https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016 2022-04-05T18:53:17Z Northern high-latitude carbon sources and sinks, including those resulting from degrading permafrost, are thought to be sensitive to the rapidly warming climate. Because the near-surface atmosphere integrates surface fluxes over large ( aEuro-500-1000aEuro-km) scales, atmospheric monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) mole fractions in the daytime mixed layer is a promising method for detecting change in the carbon cycle throughout boreal Alaska. Here we use CO2 and CH4 measurements from a NOAA tower 17aEuro-km north of Fairbanks, AK, established as part of NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE), to investigate regional fluxes of CO2 and CH4 for 2012-2014. CARVE was designed to use aircraft and surface observations to better understand and quantify the sensitivity of Alaskan carbon fluxes to climate variability. We use high-resolution meteorological fields from the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport model (hereafter, WRF-STILT), along with the Polar Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (PolarVPRM), to investigate fluxes of CO2 in boreal Alaska using the tower observations, which are sensitive to large areas of central Alaska. We show that simulated PolarVPRM-WRF-STILT CO2 mole fractions show remarkably good agreement with tower observations, suggesting that the WRF-STILT model represents the meteorology of the region quite well, and that the PolarVPRM flux magnitudes and spatial distribution are generally consistent with CO2 mole fractions observed at the CARVE tower. One exception to this good agreement is that during the fall of all 3 years, PolarVPRM cannot reproduce the observed CO2 respiration. Using the WRF-STILT model, we find that average CH4 fluxes in boreal Alaska are somewhat lower than flux estimates by Chang et al. (2014) over all of Alaska for May-September 2012; we also find that enhancements appear to persist during some wintertime periods, augmenting those observed during the summer and fall. The possibility of significant fall and winter CO2 and CH4 fluxes underscores the need for year-round in situ observations to quantify changes in boreal Alaskan annual carbon balance. Version of Record Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic permafrost Alaska Harvard University: DASH - Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard Arctic Fairbanks Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 16 8 5383 5398 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Harvard University: DASH - Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard |
op_collection_id |
ftharvardudash |
language |
English |
description |
Northern high-latitude carbon sources and sinks, including those resulting from degrading permafrost, are thought to be sensitive to the rapidly warming climate. Because the near-surface atmosphere integrates surface fluxes over large ( aEuro-500-1000aEuro-km) scales, atmospheric monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) mole fractions in the daytime mixed layer is a promising method for detecting change in the carbon cycle throughout boreal Alaska. Here we use CO2 and CH4 measurements from a NOAA tower 17aEuro-km north of Fairbanks, AK, established as part of NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE), to investigate regional fluxes of CO2 and CH4 for 2012-2014. CARVE was designed to use aircraft and surface observations to better understand and quantify the sensitivity of Alaskan carbon fluxes to climate variability. We use high-resolution meteorological fields from the Polar Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport model (hereafter, WRF-STILT), along with the Polar Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (PolarVPRM), to investigate fluxes of CO2 in boreal Alaska using the tower observations, which are sensitive to large areas of central Alaska. We show that simulated PolarVPRM-WRF-STILT CO2 mole fractions show remarkably good agreement with tower observations, suggesting that the WRF-STILT model represents the meteorology of the region quite well, and that the PolarVPRM flux magnitudes and spatial distribution are generally consistent with CO2 mole fractions observed at the CARVE tower. One exception to this good agreement is that during the fall of all 3 years, PolarVPRM cannot reproduce the observed CO2 respiration. Using the WRF-STILT model, we find that average CH4 fluxes in boreal Alaska are somewhat lower than flux estimates by Chang et al. (2014) over all of Alaska for May-September 2012; we also find that enhancements appear to persist during some wintertime periods, augmenting those observed during the summer and fall. The possibility of significant fall and winter CO2 and CH4 fluxes underscores the need for year-round in situ observations to quantify changes in boreal Alaskan annual carbon balance. Version of Record |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Karion, Anna Sweeney, Colm Miller, John B. Andrews, Arlyn E. Commane, Roisin Dinardo, Steven Henderson, John M. Lindaas, Jacob Lin, John C. Luus, Kristina A. Newberger, Tim Tans, Pieter Wofsy, Steven C. Wolter, Sonja Miller, Charles E. |
spellingShingle |
Karion, Anna Sweeney, Colm Miller, John B. Andrews, Arlyn E. Commane, Roisin Dinardo, Steven Henderson, John M. Lindaas, Jacob Lin, John C. Luus, Kristina A. Newberger, Tim Tans, Pieter Wofsy, Steven C. Wolter, Sonja Miller, Charles E. Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower |
author_facet |
Karion, Anna Sweeney, Colm Miller, John B. Andrews, Arlyn E. Commane, Roisin Dinardo, Steven Henderson, John M. Lindaas, Jacob Lin, John C. Luus, Kristina A. Newberger, Tim Tans, Pieter Wofsy, Steven C. Wolter, Sonja Miller, Charles E. |
author_sort |
Karion, Anna |
title |
Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower |
title_short |
Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower |
title_full |
Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower |
title_fullStr |
Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigating Alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the CARVE tower |
title_sort |
investigating alaskan methane and carbon dioxide fluxes using measurements from the carve tower |
publisher |
European Geosciences Union |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41461269 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016 |
geographic |
Arctic Fairbanks |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Fairbanks |
genre |
Arctic permafrost Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic permafrost Alaska |
op_relation |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Karion, Anna, Colm Sweeney, John B. Miller, Arlyn E. Andrews, Roisin Commane, Steven Dinardo, John M. Henderson, et al. 2016. “Investigating Alaskan Methane and Carbon Dioxide Fluxes Using Measurements from the CARVE Tower.” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 16 (8): 5383–98. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016. 1680-7316 1680-7324 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41461269 doi:10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5383-2016 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
5383 |
op_container_end_page |
5398 |
_version_ |
1766348685985185792 |