Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modeling
Existing estimates of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) fluxes from North American wetlands vary widely in both magnitude and distribution. In light of these differences, this study uses atmospheric CH<sub>4</sub> observations from the US and Canada to analyze seven different bottom-u...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2016-03-01
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| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/1329/2016/bg-13-1329-2016.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818566833360338944 |
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| author | S. M. Miller R. Commane J. R. Melton A. E. Andrews J. Benmergui E. J. Dlugokencky G. Janssens-Maenhout A. M. Michalak C. Sweeney D. E. J. Worthy |
| author_facet | S. M. Miller R. Commane J. R. Melton A. E. Andrews J. Benmergui E. J. Dlugokencky G. Janssens-Maenhout A. M. Michalak C. Sweeney D. E. J. Worthy |
| author_sort | S. M. Miller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Existing estimates of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) fluxes from North American wetlands vary widely
in both magnitude and distribution. In light of these differences, this
study uses atmospheric CH<sub>4</sub> observations from the US and Canada to analyze
seven different bottom-up, wetland CH<sub>4</sub> estimates reported in a recent
model comparison project. We first use synthetic data to explore whether wetland CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes are
detectable at atmospheric observation sites.
We find that the observation network can detect aggregate wetland fluxes from both eastern and western
Canada but generally not from the US. Based upon these results, we then use real data and inverse modeling
results to analyze the magnitude, seasonality, and spatial distribution of each model estimate. The magnitude
of Canadian fluxes in many models is larger than indicated by atmospheric observations. Many models predict a
seasonality that is narrower than implied by inverse modeling results, possibly indicating an oversensitivity to
air or soil temperatures. The LPJ-Bern and SDGVM models have a
geographic distribution that is most consistent with atmospheric observations, depending upon the region and season.
These models utilize land cover maps or dynamic modeling to estimate
wetland coverage while most other models rely primarily on remote sensing inundation data. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T01:58:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-968b2737db0e404cae1f309f62a5204b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T01:58:41Z |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biogeosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-968b2737db0e404cae1f309f62a5204b2022-12-21T23:21:06ZengCopernicus PublicationsBiogeosciences1726-41701726-41892016-03-011341329133910.5194/bg-13-1329-2016Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modelingS. M. Miller0R. Commane1J. R. Melton2A. E. Andrews3J. Benmergui4E. J. Dlugokencky5G. Janssens-Maenhout6A. M. Michalak7C. Sweeney8D. E. J. Worthy9Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USASchool of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USAClimate Processes Section, Environment Canada, Victoria, CanadaGlobal Monitoring Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, USASchool of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USAGlobal Monitoring Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO, USAInstitute for Environment and Sustainability, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, ItalyDepartment of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, USACooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USAClimate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, CanadaExisting estimates of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) fluxes from North American wetlands vary widely in both magnitude and distribution. In light of these differences, this study uses atmospheric CH<sub>4</sub> observations from the US and Canada to analyze seven different bottom-up, wetland CH<sub>4</sub> estimates reported in a recent model comparison project. We first use synthetic data to explore whether wetland CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes are detectable at atmospheric observation sites. We find that the observation network can detect aggregate wetland fluxes from both eastern and western Canada but generally not from the US. Based upon these results, we then use real data and inverse modeling results to analyze the magnitude, seasonality, and spatial distribution of each model estimate. The magnitude of Canadian fluxes in many models is larger than indicated by atmospheric observations. Many models predict a seasonality that is narrower than implied by inverse modeling results, possibly indicating an oversensitivity to air or soil temperatures. The LPJ-Bern and SDGVM models have a geographic distribution that is most consistent with atmospheric observations, depending upon the region and season. These models utilize land cover maps or dynamic modeling to estimate wetland coverage while most other models rely primarily on remote sensing inundation data.http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/1329/2016/bg-13-1329-2016.pdf |
| spellingShingle | S. M. Miller R. Commane J. R. Melton A. E. Andrews J. Benmergui E. J. Dlugokencky G. Janssens-Maenhout A. M. Michalak C. Sweeney D. E. J. Worthy Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modeling Biogeosciences |
| title | Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modeling |
| title_full | Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modeling |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modeling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modeling |
| title_short | Evaluation of wetland methane emissions across North America using atmospheric data and inverse modeling |
| title_sort | evaluation of wetland methane emissions across north america using atmospheric data and inverse modeling |
| url | http://www.biogeosciences.net/13/1329/2016/bg-13-1329-2016.pdf |
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