Large Amplitude Spatial and Temporal Gradients in Atmospheric Boundary Layer CO2 Mole Fractions Detected With a Tower-Based Network in the U.S. Upper Midwest
This study presents observations of atmospheric CO{sub 2} mole fraction from a nine-tower, regional network deployed during the North American Carbon Program's Mid-Continent Intensive during 2007-2009. Within this network in a largely agricultural area, mean atmospheric CO{sub 2} gradients were strongly correlated with both ground-based inventory data and estimates from satellite remote sensing. The average seasonal drawdown for corn-dominated sites (35 ppm) is significantly larger than has been observed at other continental boundary layer sites. Observed growing-season median CO{sub 2} gradients are strongly dependent on local flux. The gradients between cross-vegetation site-pairs, for example, average 2.0 ppm/100 km, four times larger than the similar-vegetation site-pair average. Daily-timescale gradients are as large as 5.5 ppm/100 km, but dominated by advection rather than local flux. Flooding in 2008 led to a region-wide 23 week delay in growing-season minima. The observations show that regional-scale CO{sub 2} mole fraction networks yield large, coherent signals governed largely by regional sources and sinks of CO{sub 2}.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1036067
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-84752; TRN: US201205%%584
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences, Vol. 117
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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