The role of trace gas flux networks in biogeosciences
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. Jena (Germany)
- Univ. of Tuscia, Viterbo (Italy)
- Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education. (CICESE), Ensenada (Mexico)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Vast networks of meteorological sensors ring the globe, providing continuous measurements of an array of atmospheric state variables such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, and the concentration of carbon dioxide [New etal., 1999; Tans etal., 1996]. These measurements provide input to weather and climate models and are key to detecting trends in climate, greenhouse gases, and air pollution. Yet to understand how and why these atmospheric state variables vary in time and space, biogeoscientists need to know where, when, and at what rates important gases are flowing between the land and the atmosphere. Tracking trace gas fluxes provides information on plant or microbial metabolism and climate-ecosystem interactions. The existence of trace gas flux networks is a relatively new phenomenon, dating back to research in 1984. The first gas flux measurement networks were regional in scope and were designed to track pollutant gases such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitric acid, and nitrogen dioxide. Atmospheric observations and model simulations were used to infer the depositional rates of these hazardous chemicals [Fowler etal., 2009; Meyers etal., 1991]. In the late 1990s, two additional trace gas flux measurement networks emerged. One, the United States Trace Gas Network (TRAGNET), was a short-lived effort that measured trace gas emissions from the soil and plants with chambers distributed throughout the country [Ojima etal., 2000]. The other, FLUXNET, was an international endeavor that brought many regional networks together to measure the fluxes of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and sensible heat exchange with the eddy covariance technique [Baldocchi etal., 2001]. FLUXNET, which remains active today, currently includes more than 400 tower sites, dispersed across most of the world's climatic zones and biomes, with sites in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. More recently, several specialized networks have emerged, including networks dedicated to urban areas (Urban Fluxnet), nitrogen compounds in Europe (NitroEurope), and methane (MethaneNet). Technical Aspects of Flux Networks Eddy covariance flux measurements are the preferred method by which biogeoscientists measure trace gas exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere [Baldocchi, 2003].
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Work for Others (WFO)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1045860
- Journal Information:
- EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Vol. 93, Issue 23
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
AFRICA
AIR-BIOSPHERE INTERACTIONS
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
ASIA
AUSTRALIA
CARBON DIOXIDE
CLIMATE MODELS
DATA COVARIANCES
EUROPE
GASES
GREENHOUSE GASES
MEASURING METHODS
NITRIC ACID
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN DIOXIDE
NORTH AMERICA
OZONE
SOUTH AMERICA
SULFUR DIOXIDE
URBAN AREAS
WATER VAPOR