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Title: FLUXNET-CH4 Synthesis Activity: Objectives, Observations, and Future Directions

Journal Article · · Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
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  1. Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, and Department of Geography, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  2. Department of Earth System Science, Woods Institute for the Environment, and Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University, Stanford, California
  3. Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
  4. Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California
  5. Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland
  6. Department of Physical Geography, and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
  7. Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE-IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  8. Global Carbon Project, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  9. Dipartimento per la Innovazione nei Sistemi Biologici, Agroalimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Largo dell’Università, Viterbo, Italy
  10. Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, California
  11. Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
  12. Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
  13. Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
  14. Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
  15. Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
  16. School of Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
  17. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
  18. Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences, and Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State, East Lansing, Michigan
  19. Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  20. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
  21. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
  22. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
  23. Department of Vegetal Biology, University of Napoli Federico II, and Institute for Mediterranean Agricultural and Forest Systems, CNR, Naples, Italy
  24. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
  25. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany, and Institute for Atmosphere and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
  26. School of Geography and Earth Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, and Département de Géographie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  27. Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
  28. Northern Research Station, Forest Service, USDA, Durham, New Hampshire
  29. Department of Environmental Sciences, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
  30. National Center for AgroMeteorology, Seoul, South Korea
  31. Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
  32. Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lafayette, Louisiana
  33. Institute of Soil Science, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
  34. Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
  35. Department of Environmental Resources Engineering, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York
  36. Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
  37. Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, and Department of Physical Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
  38. Delta Water Management Research Service, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Jonesboro, Arkansas
  39. School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, and Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
  40. Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
  41. Department of Landscape Architecture and Rural Systems Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
  42. GFZ German Research Centre for Geoscience, Potsdam, Germany
  43. Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey
  44. Atmospheric Environmental Research, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
  45. Biogeochemistry Research Group, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
  46. Département de Géographie and Centre d’Études Nordiques, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  47. Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
  48. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Japan
  49. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
  50. Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, and Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
  51. Water Mission Area, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
  52. Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
  53. Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, and Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

This paper describes the formation of, and initial results for, a new FLUXNET coordination network for ecosystem-scale methane (CH4) measurements at 60 sites globally, organized by the Global Carbon Project in partnership with other initiatives and regional flux tower networks. The objectives of the effort are presented along with an overview of the coverage of eddy covariance (EC) CH4 flux measurements globally, initial results comparing CH4 fluxes across the sites, and future research directions and needs. Annual estimates of net CH4 fluxes across sites ranged from -0.2 ± 0.02 g C m–2 yr–1 for an upland forest site to 114.9 ± 13.4 g C m–2 yr–1 for an estuarine freshwater marsh, with fluxes exceeding 40 g C m–2 yr–1 at multiple sites. Average annual soil and air temperatures were found to be the strongest predictor of annual CH4 flux across wetland sites globally. Water table position was positively correlated with annual CH4 emissions, although only for wetland sites that were not consistently inundated throughout the year. The ratio of annual CH4 fluxes to ecosystem respiration increased significantly with mean site temperature. Uncertainties in annual CH4 estimates due to gap-filling and random errors were on average ±1.6 g C m–2 yr–1 at 95% confidence, with the relative error decreasing exponentially with increasing flux magnitude across sites. Through the analysis and synthesis of a growing EC CH4 flux database, the controls on ecosystem CH4 fluxes can be better understood, used to inform and validate Earth system models, and reconcile differences between land surface model- and atmospheric-based estimates of CH4 emissions.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Contributing Organization:
FLUXNET Collaboration
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1695712
Journal Information:
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Journal Name: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 100; ISSN 0003-0007
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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