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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Impact of climate change on mid-twenty-first century growing seasons in Africa

Changes in growing seasons for 2041-2060 across Africa are projected using a regional climate model at 90-km resolution, and confidence in the predictions is evaluated. The response is highly regional over West Africa, with decreases in growing season days up to 20% in the western Guinean coast and some regions to the east experiencing 5-10% increases. A longer growing season up to 30% in the central and eastern Sahel is predicted, with shorter seasons in parts of the western Sahel. In East Africa, the short rains (boreal fall) growing season is extended as the Indian Ocean warms, but anomalous midtropospheric moisture divergence and a northward shift of Sahel rainfall severely curtails the long rains (boreal spring) season. Enhanced rainfall in January and February increases the growing season in the Congo basin by 5-15% in association with enhanced southwesterly moisture transport from the tropical Atlantic. In Angola and the southern Congo basin, 40-80% reductions in austral spring growing season days are associated with reduced precipitation and increased evapotranspiration. Large simulated reductions in growing season over southeastern Africa are judged to be inaccurate because they occur due to a reduction in rainfall in winter which is over-produced in the model. Only small decreases in the actual growing season are simulated when evapotranspiration increases in the warmer climate. The continent-wide changes in growing season are primarily the result of increased evapotranspiration over the warmed land, changes in the intensity and seasonal cycle of the thermal low, and warming of the Indian Ocean.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

A stable snow–atmosphere coupled mode

Snow is both an important lower boundary forcing of the atmosphere and a response to atmospheric forcing in the extratropics. It is still unclear whether a stable snow–atmosphere coupled mode exists in the extratropics, like the ENSO in the tropics. Using Sliding Correlation analysis over Any Window, the present study quantitatively evaluates the stability of coupling relationships between the major modes of winter snow over the Northern Hemisphere and the winter atmospheric Arctic Oscillation (AO), the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) and the Siberian High over the period 1872–2010, and discusses their possible relationships for different seasons. Results show that the first mode of the winter snow cover fraction and the winter AO together constitute a stable snow–atmosphere coupled mode, the SNAO. The coupled mode is stronger during recent decades than before. The snow anomaly over Europe is one key factor of the SNAO mode due to the high stability there, and the polar vortex anomaly in the atmosphere is its other key factor. The continuity of signals in the SNAO between autumn and winter is weaker than that between winter and spring. The second winter snow mode is generally stably correlated with the winter AAO and was more stable before the 1970s. The AAO signal with boreal snow has a strong continuity in seasonal transition. Generally, through these coupled modes, snow and atmosphere can interact in the same season or between different seasons: autumn snow can influence the winter atmosphere; the winter atmosphere can influence spring snow.

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences↗
DOE OSTI2017

Assessing probabilistic predictions of ENSO phase and intensity from the North American Multimodel Ensemble

Here we examine the skill of three, five, and seven-category monthly ENSO probability forecasts (1982–2015) from single and multi-model ensemble integrations of the North American Multimodel Ensemble (NMME) project. Three-category forecasts are typical and provide probabilities for the ENSO phase (El Niño, La Niña or neutral). Additional forecast categories indicate the likelihood of ENSO conditions being weak, moderate or strong. The level of skill observed for differing numbers of forecast categories can help to determine the appropriate degree of forecast precision. However, the dependence of the skill score itself on the number of forecast categories must be taken into account. For reliable forecasts with same quality, the ranked probability skill score (RPSS) is fairly insensitive to the number of categories, while the logarithmic skill score (LSS) is an information measure and increases as categories are added. The ignorance skill score decreases to zero as forecast categories are added, regardless of skill level. For all models, forecast formats and skill scores, the northern spring predictability barrier explains much of the dependence of skill on target month and forecast lead. RPSS values for monthly ENSO forecasts show little dependence on the number of categories. However, the LSS of multimodel ensemble forecasts with five and seven categories show statistically significant advantages over the three-category forecasts for the targets and leads that are least affected by the spring predictability barrier. These findings indicate that current prediction systems are capable of providing more detailed probabilistic forecasts of ENSO phase and amplitude than are typically provided.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assessing the large-scale drivers of precipitation in the northeastern United States via linear orthogonal decomposition

This study examines the linear orthogonal modes associated with monthly precipitation in the northeastern United States, from CESM1 LENS (35 ensemble members, 1979–2005) and two reanalysis datasets (ERA5, 1950–2018 and NOAA-CIRES-DOE 20CRv3, 1950–2015). Calendar months are aggregated together, and any linear trends in data are removed. Using region-averaged precipitation anomaly time series and monthly anomalies for several global 2D atmospheric fields, a linear orthogonal decomposition method is implemented to iteratively extract time series (based on field and geographic location) of absolute maximum correlation. Linear modes associated with this method are then projected onto the full set of 2D fields to provide physical insight into the mechanisms involved in generating precipitation. In this region, the first mode is associated with vapor transport from the Atlantic seaboard, the second mode is characterized by westward vapor transport associated with extratropical cyclones, and the third mode captures vapor transport from the Gulf of Mexico during the fall and winter. However, the third mode is less robust in the spring and summer. Results are generally consistent across the datasets, and applying multiple linear regression with the linear modes to predict the precipitation anomalies produces R-squared values of around 0.54–0.65 for CESM1 LENS, and around 0.58–0.88 for reanalysis, with the lowest values generally in the spring and late summer. The influence of low-frequency climate variability on the modes is considered for CESM1 LENS, and the modes in late winter can be predicted with some success via a combination of several, prominent large-scale teleconnection patterns.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Formaldehyde as a carbon and electron shuttle between autotroph and heterotroph populations in acidic hydrothermal vents of Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park

The Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park contains a large number of hydrothermal systems, which host microbial populations supported by primary productivity associated with a suite of chemolithotrophic metabolisms. We demonstrate that Metallosphaera yellowstonesis MK1, a facultative autotrophic archaeon isolated from a hyperthermal acidic hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) spring in Norris Geyser Basin, excretes formaldehyde during autotrophic growth. To determine the fate of formaldehyde in this low organic carbon environment, we incubated native microbial mat (containing M. yellowstonensis) from a HFO spring with 13C-formaldehyde. Isotopic analysis of incubation-derived CO2 and biomass showed that formaldehyde was both oxidized and assimilated by members of the community. Autotrophy, formaldehyde oxidation, and formaldehyde assimilation displayed different sensitivities to chemical inhibitors, suggesting that distinct sub-populations in the mat selectively perform these functions. Our results demonstrate that electrons originally resulting from iron oxidation can energetically fuel autotrophic carbon fixation and associated formaldehyde excretion, and that formaldehyde is both oxidized and assimilated by different organisms within the native microbial community. Thus, formaldehyde can effectively act as a carbon and electron shuttle connecting the autotrophic, iron oxidizing members with associated heterotrophic members in the HFO community.

acidophilic↗
DOE OSTI2021

Response of Stream Metabolism to Coarse Woody Debris Additions Along a Catchment Disturbance Gradient

We evaluated the ecological effectiveness of an in-stream restoration project involving coarse woody debris (CWD) additions to streams along an upland soil and vegetation disturbance gradient at the Fort Benning Military Installation near Columbus, GA. We examined short-term (immediate effectiveness) and longer-term (sustainability) responses to CWD additions by measuring ecosystem metabolism rates in 8 streams quarterly over a 6-year period, including 3 years before (2001–2003) and 3 years after (2004–2006) CWD additions that were made to half of the streams. Ecosystem respiration (ER) rates in most CWD addition streams increased relative to control streams from spring 2004 through autumn 2005, suggesting heterotrophic bacteria were the initial responders to CWD additions. Gross primary production (GPP) rates remained low (typically < 0.3 g O 2 m -2 d -1 ) but increased in some CWD addition streams relative to control streams in spring 2004 and 2005. The magnitude of ER increases in CWD addition streams during the first two years post-addition increased with catchment disturbance intensity, indicating that more heavily disturbed streams responded most strongly to restorations—an important consideration when targeting future restoration locations. Because restorations did not address actual upland disturbance, continued high erosion rates resulted in 32–77% of the added CWD being buried by year two and a corresponding return of GPP and ER rates to pre-CWD addition levels by year three. If restoration projects do not adequately address the source of catchment disturbances, CWD additions will provide only short-term increases in streambed structure and stability, hydrodynamic complexity, and nutrient and organic matter processing and retention.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

The influence of tillage and fertilizer on the flux and source of nitrous oxide with reference to atmospheric variation using laser spectroscopy

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is the third most important long-lived greenhouse gas and agriculture is the largest source of N 2 O emissions. Curbing N 2 O emissions requires understanding influences on the flux and sources of N 2 O. We measured flux and evaluated microbial sources of N 2 O using site preference ( S P ; the intramolecular distribution of 15 N in N 2 O) in flux chambers from a grassland tilling and agricultural fertilization experiments and atmosphere. We identified values greater than that of the average atmosphere to reflect nitrification and/or fungal denitrification and those lower than atmosphere as increased denitrification. Our spectroscopic approach was based on an extensive calibration with 18 standards that yielded S P accuracy and reproducibility of 0.7 ‰ and 1.0 ‰, respectively, without preconcentration. Chamber samples from the tilling experiment taken ~ monthly over a year showed a wide range in N 2 O flux (0–1.9 g N 2 O-N ha -1 d -1 ) and S P (- 1.8 to 25.1 ‰). Flux and S P were not influenced by tilling but responded to sampling date. Large fluxes occurred in October and May in no-till when soils were warm and moist and during a spring thaw, an event likely representing release of N 2 O accumulated under snow cover. These high fluxes could not be ascribed to a single microbial process as S P differed among chambers. However, the year-long S P and flux data for no-till showed a slight direct relationship suggesting that nitrification increased with flux. The comparative data in till showed an inverse relationship indicating that high flux events are driven by denitrification. Corn ( Zea mays ) showed high fluxes and S P values indicative of nitrification ~ 4 wk after fertilization with subsequent declines in S P indicating denitrification. Although there was no effect of fertilizer treatment on flux or S P in switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum) , high fluxes occurred ~1 month after fertilization. In both treatments, S P was indicative of denitrification in many instances, but evidence of nitrification/fungal denitrification also prevailed. At 2 m atmospheric N 2 O S P had a range of 31.1 ‰ and 14.6 ‰ in the grassland tilling and agricultural fertilization experiments, respectively. These data suggest the influence of soil microbial processes on atmospheric N 2 O and argue against the use of the global average atmospheric S P in isotopic modeling approaches.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimentally simulated sea level rise destabilizes carbon-mineral associations in temperate tidal marsh soil

How sea level rise (SLR) alters carbon (C) dynamics in tidal salt marsh soils is unresolved. Changes in hydrodynamics could influence organo-mineral associations, influencing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fluxes. As SLR increases the duration of inundation, we hypothesize that lateral DOC export will increase due to reductive dissolution of C-bearing iron (Fe) oxides, destabilizing soil C stocks and influencing greenhouse gas emissions. To test this, soil cores (0–8 cm depth) were collected from the high marsh of a temperate salt marsh that currently experiences changes in water level and soil redox oscillation due to spring-neap tides. Mesocosms experimentally simulated SLR by continuously inundating high marsh soils and were compared to mesocosms with Control conditions, where the water level oscillated on a spring-neap cycle. Porewater DOC, lateral DOC, and porewater reduced Fe (Fe 2+ ) concentrations were significantly higher in SLR treatments (1.7 ± 0.5 mM, 0.63 ± 0.14 mM, and 0.15 ± 0.11 mM, respectively) than Control treatments (1.2 ± 0.35 mM, 0.56 ± 0.15 mM, and 0.08 ± 01 mM, respectively Solid phase analysis with Fe extended X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy further revealed that SLR led to > 3 times less Fe oxide-C coprecipitates than Control conditions In addition, the overall global warming potential (GWP) decreased under SLR due to suppressed CO 2 emissions. Our data suggest that SLR may increase lateral C export of current C stocks by dissolving C-bearing Fe oxides but decrease the overall GWP from emissions of soil trace gases. Finally, these findings have implications for understanding the fate of SOC dynamics under future SLR scenarios.

dissolved organic carbon↗
DOE OSTI2019

Atmo-ecometabolomics: A novel atmospheric particle chemical characterization methodology for ecological research

Aerosol particles play important roles in processes controlling the composition of the atmosphere and function of ecosystems. A better understanding of the composition of aerosol particles is beginning to be recognized as critical for ecological research to further comprehend the link between aerosols and ecosystems. While chemical characterization of aerosols has been practiced in the atmospheric science community, detailed methodology tailored to the needs of ecological research does not exist yet. In this study, we describe an efficient methodology (atmo-ecometabolomics), in step-by-step details, from the sampling to the data analyses, to characterize the chemical composition of aerosol particles, namely atmo-metabolome. This method employs mass spectrometry platforms such as liquid and gas chromatography mass spectrometries (MS) and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance MS (FT-ICR-MS). For methodology evaluation, we analyzed aerosol particles collected during two different seasons (spring and summer) in a low-biologicalactivity ecosystem. Additionally, to further validate our methodology, we analyzed aerosol particles collected in a more biologically active ecosystem during the pollination peaks of three different representative tree species. Our statistical results showed that our sampling and extraction methods are suitable for characterizing the atmo-ecometabolomes in these two distinct ecosystems with any of the analytical platforms. Datasets obtained from each mass spectrometry instrument showed overall significant differences of the atmo-ecometabolomes between spring and summer as well as between the three pollination peak periods. Furthermore, we have identified several metabolites that can be attributed to pollen and other plant-related aerosol particles.We additionally provide a basic guide of the potential use ecometabolomic techniques on different mass spectrometry platforms to accurately analyze the atmoecometabolomes for ecological studies. Our method represents an advanced novel approach for future studies in the impact of aerosol particle chemical compositions on ecosystem structure and function and biogeochemistry.

Rivas-Ubach, Albert (ORCID:0000000312937127)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Reducing nitrous oxide emissions and optimizing nitrogen-use efficiency in dryland crop rotations with different nitrogen rates

Recent interests in improving agricultural production while minimizing environmental footprints emphasized the need for research on management strategies that reduce nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions and increase nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) of cropping systems. This study aimed to evaluate N 2 O emissions, annualized crop grain yield, emission factor, and yield-scaled- and NUE-scaled N 2 O emissions under continuous spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (CW) and spring wheat-pea (Pisum sativum L.) (WP) rotations with four N fertilization rates (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha(-1)). The N 2 O fluxes peaked immediately after N fertilization, intense precipitation, and snowmelt, which accounted for 75-85% of the total annual flux. Cumulative N 2 O flux usually increased with increased N fertilization rate in all crop rotations and years. Annualized crop yield and NUE were greater in WP than CW for 0 kg N ha(-1) in all years, but the trend reversed with 100 kg N ha(-1) in 2013 and 2015. Crop yield maximized at 100 kg N ha(-1), but NUE declined linearly with increased N fertilization rate in all crop rotations and years. As N fertilization rate increased, N fertilizer-scaled N2O flux decreased, but NUE-scaled N 2 O flux increased non-linearly in all years, regardless of crop rotations. The yield-scaled N 2 O flux decreased from 0 to 50 kg N ha -1 and then increased with increased N fertilization rate. Because of non-significant difference of N 2 O fluxes between 50 and 100 kg N ha(-1), but increased crop yield, N 2 O emissions can be minimized while dryland crop yields and NUE can be optimized with 100 kg N ha -1 , regardless of crop rotations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2012

Contingency in the Direction and Mechanics of Soil Organic Matter Responses to Increased Rainfall

Shifts in regional precipitation patterns will be a major component of global climate change. Rainfall will show greater and more variable changes in response to rising earth surface temperatures than most other climatic variables, and will be a major driver of ecosystem change. We studied the consequences of predicted changes in California’s rainy season for storage and stabilization mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM). In a controlled and replicated experiment, we amended rainfall over large plots of natural grassland in accordance with alternative scenarios of future climate change. Results show that increases in annual rainfall have important consequences for soil C storage, but that the strength and even direction of these effects depend entirely on seasonal timing. Rainfall increases during the winter rainy season led to pronounced C loss from soil while rainfall increases after the typical rainy season increased soil C stocks. Analysis of mineral-OM associations reveals a powerful mechanism underlying this difference: increased winter rainfall vastly diminished the role of Fe and Al oxides in SOM stabilization. Dithionite extractable crystalline Fe oxides explained more than 35 percent of the variability in C storage in ambient control and spring-addition treatments, compared to less than 0.01 percent in the winter-addition treatment. Likewise, poorly crystalline Fe and Al oxides explained more than 25 and 40 percent of the variability in C storage, respectively, in the control and spring-addition treatments compared to less than 5 percent in the -winter-addition treatment. Increases in annual precipitation identical in amount but at three-month offsets produced opposite effects on soil C storage. These results highlight the complexity inherent in biospheric feedbacks to the climate system, and the way that careful experimentation can penetrate that complexity to improve predictions of ecosystem and climatic change.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2018

Thermally initiated disproportionation of manganese(II) bis(1-hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonate. Formation and properties of the lepidoid structure of manganese(II) (1-hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonate-2-hydroxyethaneaminium whiskers. Agronomical efficiency of the manganese(II) complex with (1-hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonic acid

The reaction of poorly soluble manganese(II) bis(1-hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonate tetrahydrate (Mn(H{sub 3}L){sub 2}•4H{sub 2}O) with 2-aminoethanol (H{sub 2}NCH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}OH) in an aqueous medium on heating to 70—80 оС causes the initial formation of soluble manganese(II) bis(1-hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonate tris(1-hydroxyethaneaminium) (Mn(H{sub 3}L)2• •3H{sub 2}NCH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}OH•4H{sub 2}O), which then disproportionates to slightly soluble manganese(II) (1-hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonate-2-hydroxyethaneaminium (MnH{sub 2}L•H{sub 2}NCH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}OH) and coordination polymer of 1-hydroxyethylidenediphosphonic acid with 2-aminoethanol containing no metal cations. In the course of the reaction, MnH{sub 2}L•H{sub 2}NCH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}OH precipitates as whiskers that are grouped into a leaf (lepidoid) structure. The latter was examined by IR spectroscopy, X-ray phase analysis, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy, and thermal desorption of nitrogen. The starting and resulting manganese compounds refer to poorly soluble crystalline complexes. The presence of a 2-aminoethanol molecule in the final product leads to an increase in the solubility from 0.40 to 0.54 g in 100 mL of the solution. Poorly soluble MnH{sub 2}L•H{sub 2}NCH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}OH is easily converted to a soluble form by the treatment with 2-aminoethanol or 2-amino-2-(hydroxy- methyl)propane-1,3-diol (H{sub 2}NC(CH{sub 2}OH)3). The agronomical efficiency of a solution of the Mn(H{sub 3}L){sub 2}•3H{sub 2}NCH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}OH•4H{sub 2}O complex was studied on the cultures of white lupine Degas, spring wheat Ester, spring rape, and pea Stabil.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Projected Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Over the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean in CMIP6 GCMs

The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) dataset is used to examine projected changes in temperature and precipitation over the United States (U.S.), Central America and the Caribbean. The changes are computed using an ensemble of 31 models for three future time slices (2021–2040, 2041–2060, and 2080–2099) relative to the reference period (1995–2014) under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs; SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5). The CMIP6 ensemble reproduces the observed annual cycle and distribution of mean annual temperature and precipitation with biases between – 0.93 and 1.27 °C and – 37.90 to 58.45%, respectively, for most of the region. However, modeled precipitation is too large over the western and Midwestern U.S. during winter and spring and over the North American monsoon region in summer, while too small over southern Central America. Temperature is projected to increase over the entire domain under all three SSPs, by as much as 6 °C under SSP5-8.5, and with more pronounced increases in the northern latitudes over the regions that receive snow in the present climate. Annual precipitation projections for the end of the twenty-first century have more uncertainty, as expected, and exhibit a meridional dipole-like pattern, with precipitation increasing by 10–30% over much of the U.S. and decreasing by 10–40% over Central America and the Caribbean, especially over the monsoon region. Seasonally, precipitation over the eastern and central subregions is projected to increase during winter and spring and decrease during summer and autumn. Over the monsoon region and Central America, precipitation is projected to decrease in all seasons except autumn. The analysis was repeated on a subset of 9 models with the best performance in the reference period; however, no significant difference was found, suggesting that model bias is not strongly influencing the projections.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Quantifying and connecting atomic and crystallographic grain boundary structure using local environment representation and dimensionality reduction techniques

In this paper, the relationship between grain boundary crystallography and grain boundary atomic structure is examined, using [100] - symmetric tilt grain boundaries in nickel. The structural unit model is used as a benchmark to evaluate the atomic structure description capacities of an emerging structural descriptor, the local environment representation, which itself is a refinement of the Smooth Overlap of Atomic Positions (SOAP) descriptor. We show that the local environment representation encodes both the information of the structural unit model and additional information, such as distortion in the structural units and the arrangement of the structural units at the interface. The use of the local environment representation permits the use of a visualization tool known as SPRING to represent structural similarities between grain boundaries. With the SPRING representation, we produce objective evidence of a relationship between crystallography and atomic structure, at least for [100] - symmetric tilt grain boundaries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Regional Modeling of Dust Mass Balance and Radiative Forcing over East Asia using WRF-Chem

The Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to investigate the seasonal and annual variations of mineral dust over East Asia during 2007-2011, with a focus on the dust mass balance and radiative forcing. A variety of measurements from in-stu and satellite observations have been used to evaluate simulation results. Generally, WRF-Chem reproduces not only the column variability but also the vertical profile and size distribution of mineral dust over and near the dust source regions of East Asia. We investigate the dust lifecycle and the factors that control the seasonal and spatial variations of dust mass balance and radiative forcing over the seven sub-regions of East Asia, i.e. source regions, the Tibetan Plateau, Northern China, Southern China, the ocean outflow region, and Korea-Japan regions. Results show that, over the source regions, transport and dry deposition are the two dominant sinks. Transport contributes to ~30% of the dust sink over the source regions. Dust results in a surface cooling of up to -14 and -10 W m-2, atmospheric warming of up to 20 and 15 W m-2, and TOA cooling of -5 and -8 W m-2 over the two major dust source regions of East Asia, respectively. Over the Tibetan Plateau, transport is the dominant source with a peak in summer. Over identified outflow regions, maximum dust mass loading in spring is contributed by the transport. Dry and wet depositions are the comparably dominant sinks, but wet deposition is larger than dry deposition over the Korea-Japan region, particularly in spring (70% versus 30%). The WRF-Chem simulations can generally capture the measured features of dust aerosols and its radaitve properties and dust mass balance over East Asia, which provides confidence for use in further investigation of dust impact on climate over East Asia.

balance↗
DOE OSTI2018

Carbon fluxes and interannual drivers in a temperate forest ecosystem assessed through comparison of top-down and bottom-up approaches

Despite decades of research, gaining a comprehensive understanding of carbon (C) cycling in forests remains a considerable challenge. Uncertainties stem from persistent methodological limitations and the difficulty of resolving top-down estimates of ecosystem C exchange with bottom-up measurements of individual pools and fluxes. To address this, we derived estimates and associated uncertainties of ecosystem C fluxes for a 100–125 year old mixed temperate forest stand at the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA, using three different approaches: (1) tower-based eddy covariance, (2) a biometric approach involving C flux measurements of individual ecosystem subcomponents, and (3) an inventory approach involving changes in major C stocks over time. Our analysis made use of 13 years of data, collected over the period from 2004 to 2016. Estimates of mean annual net ecosystem production (NEP) ranged from 120 to 133 g C m -2 , demonstrating strong agreement among methods and suggesting that this aging forest acts as a moderate C sink. The use of multiple approaches to measure C fluxes and their uncertainties helped place constraints on difficult-to-measure processes such as aboveground contributions to ecosystem respiration and belowground allocation to mycorrhizal fungal biomass (which was estimated at 20% of net primary production). Analysis of interannual variability in C fluxes revealed a decoupling between annual wood growth and either current year or lagged NEP or GPP, suggesting that source limitation (C supply) is likely not controlling rates of wood production, at least on an interannual scale. Results also demonstrated a strong association between the maximum rate of C uptake during the growing season (Amax) and the length of the vernal window, defined as the period of time between soil thaw and the onset of photosynthesis. This suggests an important, but poorly understood, influence of winter and spring climate on mid-summer canopy physiology. Efforts to resolve the mechanisms responsible should be prioritized in light of ongoing and predicted changes in climate for the northeastern U.S. region, particularly during the winter and winter-spring transition period.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluation and modification of ELM seasonal deciduous phenology against observations in a southern boreal peatland forest

Phenological transitions determine the timing of changes in land surface properties and the seasonality of exchanges of biosphere-atmosphere energy, water, and carbon. Accurate mechanistic modeling of phenological processes is therefore critical to understand and correctly predict terrestrial ecosystem feedbacks with changing atmospheric and climate conditions. However, the phenological components in the land model of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Exascale Earth System Model (ELM of E3SM) were previously unable to accurately capture the observed phenological responses to environmental conditions in a well-studied boreal peatland forest. In this research, we introduced new seasonal-deciduous phenology schemes into version 1.0 of ELM and evaluated their performance against the PhenoCam observations at the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment in northern Minnesota from 2015 to 2018. We found that phenology simulated by the revised ELM (i.e., earlier spring onsets and stronger warming responses of spring onsets and autumn senescence) was closer to observations than simulations from the original algorithms for both the deciduous conifer (Larix laricina) and mixed shrub layers. Moreover, the revised ELM generally produced higher carbon and water fluxes (e.g., photosynthesis and evapotranspiration) during the growing season and stronger flux responses to warming than the default ELM. A parameter sensitivity analysis further indicated the significant contribution of phenology parameters to uncertainty in key carbon and water cycle variables, underscoring the importance of precise phenology parameterization. Furthermore, this phenological modeling effort demonstrates the potential to enhance the E3SM representation of land-climate interactions at broader spatiotemporal scales, especially under anticipated elevated CO 2 and warming conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗