Articles | Volume 26, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1407-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1407-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Mar 2022
Research article |
| 15 Mar 2022
| 15 Mar 2022
Information content of soil hydrology in a west Amazon watershed as informed by GRACE
Elias C. Massoud
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA, USA
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management,
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
A. Anthony Bloom
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA, USA
Marcos Longo
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA, USA
Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
John T. Reager
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA, USA
Paul A. Levine
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA, USA
John R. Worden
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, CA, USA
Related authors
Elias C. Massoud, Nathan Collier, Yaoping Wang, Jiafu Mao, Adrian Harpold, Steven A. Kannenberg, Gerbrand Koren, Mukesh Kumar, Pushpendra Raghav, Pallav Ray, Mingjie Shi, Jing Tao, Sreedevi P. Vasu, Huiqi Wang, Qing Zhu, and Forrest M. Hoffman
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3517, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3517, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how well Earth System Models simulate soil moisture and its connection to plant growth and water use. Using a model evaluation tool and real-world data, we found that models generally perform well at the surface but struggle deeper in the soil. These issues vary by region, especially in colder regions. Our results can help improve future model development and support better predictions of how ecosystems respond to a changing environment.
Elias C. Massoud, Lauren Andrews, Rolf Reichle, Andrea Molod, Jongmin Park, Sophie Ruehr, and Manuela Girotto
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 147–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-147-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-147-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we benchmark the forecast skill of the NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System subseasonal-to-seasonal (GEOS-S2S version 2) hydrometeorological forecasts in the High Mountain Asia (HMA) region. Hydrometeorological forecast skill is dependent on the forecast lead time, the memory of the variable within the physical system, and the validation dataset used. Overall, these results benchmark the GEOS-S2S system’s ability to forecast HMA hydrometeorology on the seasonal timescale.
Adrienne M. Wootten, Elias C. Massoud, Duane E. Waliser, and Huikyo Lee
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 121–145, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-121-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-121-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Climate projections and multi-model ensemble weighting are increasingly used for climate assessments. This study examines the sensitivity of projections to multi-model ensemble weighting strategies in the south-central United States. Model weighting and ensemble means are sensitive to the domain and variable used. There are numerous findings regarding the improvement in skill with model weighting and the sensitivity associated with various strategies.
Elias C. Massoud, Nathan Collier, Yaoping Wang, Jiafu Mao, Adrian Harpold, Steven A. Kannenberg, Gerbrand Koren, Mukesh Kumar, Pushpendra Raghav, Pallav Ray, Mingjie Shi, Jing Tao, Sreedevi P. Vasu, Huiqi Wang, Qing Zhu, and Forrest M. Hoffman
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3517, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3517, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
We studied how well Earth System Models simulate soil moisture and its connection to plant growth and water use. Using a model evaluation tool and real-world data, we found that models generally perform well at the surface but struggle deeper in the soil. These issues vary by region, especially in colder regions. Our results can help improve future model development and support better predictions of how ecosystems respond to a changing environment.
Lucas A. Estrada, Daniel J. Varon, Melissa Sulprizio, Hannah Nesser, Zichong Chen, Nicholas Balasus, Sarah E. Hancock, Megan He, James D. East, Todd A. Mooring, Alexander Oort Alonso, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Ilse Aben, Sabour Baray, Kevin W. Bowman, John R. Worden, Felipe J. Cardoso-Saldaña, Emily Reidy, and Daniel J. Jacob
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 3311–3330, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3311-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3311-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Reducing emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is a top policy concern for mitigating anthropogenic climate change. The Integrated Methane Inversion (IMI) is an advanced, cloud-based software that translates satellite observations into actionable emissions data. Here we present IMI version 2.0 with vastly expanded capabilities. These updates enable a wider range of scientific and stakeholder applications from individual basin to global scales with continuous emissions monitoring.
Christopher Johannes Diekmann, Matthias Schneider, Peter Knippertz, Tim Trent, Hartmut Boesch, Amelie Ninja Roehling, John Worden, Benjamin Ertl, Farahnaz Khosrawi, and Frank Hase
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5409–5431, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5409-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5409-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The West African Monsoon is the main source of rainfall over West Africa, and understanding the development of the monsoon remains challenging due to complex interactions of atmospheric processes. We make use of new satellite datasets of isotopes in tropospheric water vapour to characterize processes controlling the monsoon convection. We find that comparing different water vapour isotopes reveals effects of rain–vapour interactions and air mass transport.
Raphaël Savelli, Dustin Carroll, Dimitris Menemenlis, Jonathan Lauderdale, Clément Bertin, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Manfredi Manizza, Anthony Bloom, Karel Castro-Morales, Charles E. Miller, Marc Simard, Kevin W. Bowman, and Hong Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1707, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1707, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Accounting for carbon and nutrients in rivers is essential for resolving carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere. In this study, we add the effect of present-day rivers to a pioneering global-ocean biogeochemistry model. This study highlights the challenge for global ocean numerical models to cover the complexity of the flow of water and carbon across the Land-to-Ocean Aquatic Continuum.
Konstantin Gregor, Benjamin F. Meyer, Tillmann Gaida, Victor Justo Vasquez, Karina Bett-Williams, Matthew Forrest, João P. Darela-Filho, Sam Rabin, Marcos Longo, Joe R. Melton, Johan Nord, Peter Anthoni, Vladislav Bastrikov, Thomas Colligan, Christine Delire, Michael C. Dietze, George Hurtt, Akihiko Ito, Lasse T. Keetz, Jürgen Knauer, Johannes Köster, Tzu-Shun Lin, Lei Ma, Marie Minvielle, Stefan Olin, Sebastian Ostberg, Hao Shi, Reiner Schnur, Urs Schönenberger, Qing Sun, Peter E. Thornton, and Anja Rammig
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1733, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1733, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Short summary
Geoscientific models are crucial for understanding Earth’s processes. However, they sometimes do not adhere to highest software quality standards, and scientific results are often hard to reproduce due to the complexity of the workflows. Here we gather the expertise of 20 modeling groups and software engineers to define best practices for making geoscientific models maintainable, usable, and reproducible. We conclude with an open-source example serving as a reference for modeling communities.
Drew C. Pendergrass, Daniel J. Jacob, Nicholas Balasus, Lucas Estrada, Daniel J. Varon, James D. East, Megan He, Todd A. Mooring, Elise Penn, Hannah Nesser, and John R. Worden
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1554, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1554, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We use satellite observations of atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to calculate emissions from both human and natural sources. We find that methane emissions surged in 2020 and 2021 before declining in 2022 and 2023. We attribute the surge in large part to emissions from eastern Africa, which experienced large methane-generating floods. We argue that previous work has attributed the methane surge to human-caused emissions (rather than wetlands) because of poor mapping in the tropics.
Elise Penn, Daniel J. Jacob, Zichong Chen, James D. East, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Lori Bruhwiler, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Yuzhong Zhang, and John Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2947–2965, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2947-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2947-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The hydroxyl radical (OH) destroys many air pollutants, including methane. Global-mean OH cannot be directly measured, and thus it is inferred with the methyl chloroform (MCF) proxy. MCF is decreasing, and a replacement is needed. We use satellite observations of methane in two spectral ranges as a proxy for OH. We find shortwave infrared observations can characterize yearly OH and its seasonality but not the latitudinal distribution. Thermal infrared observations add little information.
Sarah E. Hancock, Daniel J. Jacob, Zichong Chen, Hannah Nesser, Aaron Davitt, Daniel J. Varon, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Nicholas Balasus, Lucas A. Estrada, María Cazorla, Laura Dawidowski, Sebastián Diez, James D. East, Elise Penn, Cynthia A. Randles, John Worden, Ilse Aben, Robert J. Parker, and Joannes D. Maasakkers
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 797–817, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-797-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-797-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify 2021 methane emissions in South America at up to 25 km × 25 km resolution using satellite methane observations. We find a 55 % upward adjustment to anthropogenic emission inventories, including those reported to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change under the Paris Agreement. Our estimates match inventories for Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay but are much higher for other countries. Livestock emissions (65 % of anthropogenic emissions) show the largest discrepancies.
Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Glen P. Peters, Richard Engelen, Sander Houweling, Dominik Brunner, Aki Tsuruta, Bradley Matthews, Prabir K. Patra, Dmitry Belikov, Rona L. Thompson, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Wenxin Zhang, Arjo J. Segers, Giuseppe Etiope, Giancarlo Ciotoli, Philippe Peylin, Frédéric Chevallier, Tuula Aalto, Robbie M. Andrew, David Bastviken, Antoine Berchet, Grégoire Broquet, Giulia Conchedda, Stijn N. C. Dellaert, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Johannes Gütschow, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Ronny Lauerwald, Tiina Markkanen, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Isabelle Pison, Pierre Regnier, Espen Solum, Marko Scholze, Maria Tenkanen, Francesco N. Tubiello, Guido R. van der Werf, and John R. Worden
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 4325–4350, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4325-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-4325-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides an overview of data availability from observation- and inventory-based CH4 emission estimates. It systematically compares them and provides recommendations for robust comparisons, aiming to steadily engage more parties in using observational methods to complement their UNFCCC submissions. Anticipating improvements in atmospheric modelling and observations, future developments need to resolve knowledge gaps in both approaches and to better quantify remaining uncertainty.
Hannah Nesser, Daniel J. Jacob, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Alba Lorente, Zichong Chen, Xiao Lu, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Margaux Winter, Shuang Ma, A. Anthony Bloom, John R. Worden, Robert N. Stavins, and Cynthia A. Randles
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5069–5091, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5069-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5069-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify 2019 methane emissions in the contiguous US (CONUS) at a ≈ 25 km × 25 km resolution using satellite methane observations. We find a 13 % upward correction to the 2023 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory (GHGI) for 2019, with large corrections to individual states, urban areas, and landfills. This may present a challenge for US climate policies and goals, many of which target significant reductions in methane emissions.
Lingcheng Li, Yilin Fang, Zhonghua Zheng, Mingjie Shi, Marcos Longo, Charles D. Koven, Jennifer A. Holm, Rosie A. Fisher, Nate G. McDowell, Jeffrey Chambers, and L. Ruby Leung
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4017–4040, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4017-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4017-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Accurately modeling plant coexistence in vegetation demographic models like ELM-FATES is challenging. This study proposes a repeatable method that uses machine-learning-based surrogate models to optimize plant trait parameters in ELM-FATES. Our approach significantly improves plant coexistence modeling, thus reducing errors. It has important implications for modeling ecosystem dynamics in response to climate change.
Alexander J. Norton, A. Anthony Bloom, Nicholas C. Parazoo, Paul A. Levine, Shuang Ma, Renato K. Braghiere, and T. Luke Smallman
Biogeosciences, 20, 2455–2484, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2455-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2455-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores how the representation of leaf phenology affects our ability to predict changes to the carbon balance of land ecosystems. We calibrate a new leaf phenology model against a diverse range of observations at six forest sites, showing that it improves the predictive capability of the processes underlying the ecosystem carbon balance. We then show how changes in temperature and rainfall affect the ecosystem carbon balance with this new model.
Xueying Yu, Dylan B. Millet, Daven K. Henze, Alexander J. Turner, Alba Lorente Delgado, A. Anthony Bloom, and Jianxiong Sheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3325–3346, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3325-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We combine satellite measurements with a novel downscaling method to map global methane emissions at 0.1°×0.1° resolution. These fine-scale emission estimates reveal unreported emission hotspots and shed light on the roles of agriculture, wetlands, and fossil fuels for regional methane budgets. The satellite-derived emissions point in particular to missing fossil fuel emissions in the Middle East and to a large emission underestimate in South Asia that appears to be tied to monsoon rainfall.
Brendan Byrne, David F. Baker, Sourish Basu, Michael Bertolacci, Kevin W. Bowman, Dustin Carroll, Abhishek Chatterjee, Frédéric Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Noel Cressie, David Crisp, Sean Crowell, Feng Deng, Zhu Deng, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Manvendra K. Dubey, Sha Feng, Omaira E. García, David W. T. Griffith, Benedikt Herkommer, Lei Hu, Andrew R. Jacobson, Rajesh Janardanan, Sujong Jeong, Matthew S. Johnson, Dylan B. A. Jones, Rigel Kivi, Junjie Liu, Zhiqiang Liu, Shamil Maksyutov, John B. Miller, Scot M. Miller, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Tomohiro Oda, Christopher W. O'Dell, Young-Suk Oh, Hirofumi Ohyama, Prabir K. Patra, Hélène Peiro, Christof Petri, Sajeev Philip, David F. Pollard, Benjamin Poulter, Marine Remaud, Andrew Schuh, Mahesh K. Sha, Kei Shiomi, Kimberly Strong, Colm Sweeney, Yao Té, Hanqin Tian, Voltaire A. Velazco, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Thorsten Warneke, John R. Worden, Debra Wunch, Yuanzhi Yao, Jeongmin Yun, Andrew Zammit-Mangion, and Ning Zeng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 963–1004, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-963-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-963-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Changes in the carbon stocks of terrestrial ecosystems result in emissions and removals of CO2. These can be driven by anthropogenic activities (e.g., deforestation), natural processes (e.g., fires) or in response to rising CO2 (e.g., CO2 fertilization). This paper describes a dataset of CO2 emissions and removals derived from atmospheric CO2 observations. This pilot dataset informs current capabilities and future developments towards top-down monitoring and verification systems.
Elias C. Massoud, Lauren Andrews, Rolf Reichle, Andrea Molod, Jongmin Park, Sophie Ruehr, and Manuela Girotto
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 147–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-147-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-147-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we benchmark the forecast skill of the NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System subseasonal-to-seasonal (GEOS-S2S version 2) hydrometeorological forecasts in the High Mountain Asia (HMA) region. Hydrometeorological forecast skill is dependent on the forecast lead time, the memory of the variable within the physical system, and the validation dataset used. Overall, these results benchmark the GEOS-S2S system’s ability to forecast HMA hydrometeorology on the seasonal timescale.
Adrienne M. Wootten, Elias C. Massoud, Duane E. Waliser, and Huikyo Lee
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 121–145, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-121-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-121-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Climate projections and multi-model ensemble weighting are increasingly used for climate assessments. This study examines the sensitivity of projections to multi-model ensemble weighting strategies in the south-central United States. Model weighting and ensemble means are sensitive to the domain and variable used. There are numerous findings regarding the improvement in skill with model weighting and the sensitivity associated with various strategies.
Robert J. Parker, Chris Wilson, Edward Comyn-Platt, Garry Hayman, Toby R. Marthews, A. Anthony Bloom, Mark F. Lunt, Nicola Gedney, Simon J. Dadson, Joe McNorton, Neil Humpage, Hartmut Boesch, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Paul I. Palmer, and Dai Yamazaki
Biogeosciences, 19, 5779–5805, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5779-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Wetlands are the largest natural source of methane, one of the most important climate gases. The JULES land surface model simulates these emissions. We use satellite data to evaluate how well JULES reproduces the methane seasonal cycle over different tropical wetlands. It performs well for most regions; however, it struggles for some African wetlands influenced heavily by river flooding. We explain the reasons for these deficiencies and highlight how future development will improve these areas.
Helen M. Worden, Gene L. Francis, Susan S. Kulawik, Kevin W. Bowman, Karen Cady-Pereira, Dejian Fu, Jennifer D. Hegarty, Valentin Kantchev, Ming Luo, Vivienne H. Payne, John R. Worden, Róisín Commane, and Kathryn McKain
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5383–5398, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5383-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5383-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite observations of global carbon monoxide (CO) are essential for understanding atmospheric chemistry and pollution sources. This paper describes a new data product using radiance measurements from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite that provides vertical profiles of CO from single-field-of-view observations. We show how these satellite CO profiles compare to aircraft observations and evaluate their biases.
Daniel J. Jacob, Daniel J. Varon, Daniel H. Cusworth, Philip E. Dennison, Christian Frankenberg, Ritesh Gautam, Luis Guanter, John Kelley, Jason McKeever, Lesley E. Ott, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Qu, Andrew K. Thorpe, John R. Worden, and Riley M. Duren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9617–9646, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We review the capability of satellite observations of atmospheric methane to quantify methane emissions on all scales. We cover retrieval methods, precision requirements, inverse methods for inferring emissions, source detection thresholds, and observations of system completeness. We show that current instruments already enable quantification of regional and national emissions including contributions from large point sources. Coverage and resolution will increase significantly in coming years.
Jiaying Zhang, Rafael L. Bras, Marcos Longo, and Tamara Heartsill Scalley
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 5107–5126, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5107-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5107-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We implemented hurricane disturbance in a vegetation dynamics model and calibrated the model with observations of a tropical forest. We used the model to study forest recovery from hurricane disturbance and found that a single hurricane disturbance enhances AGB and BA in the long term compared with a no-hurricane situation. The model developed and results presented in this study can be utilized to understand the impact of hurricane disturbances on forest recovery under the changing climate.
Vivienne H. Payne, Susan S. Kulawik, Emily V. Fischer, Jared F. Brewer, L. Gregory Huey, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, John R. Worden, Kevin W. Bowman, Eric J. Hintsa, Fred Moore, James W. Elkins, and Julieta Juncosa Calahorrano
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3497–3511, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3497-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3497-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We compare new satellite measurements of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) with reference aircraft measurements from two different instruments flown on the same platform. While there is a systematic difference between the two aircraft datasets, both show the same large-scale distribution of PAN and the discrepancy between aircraft datasets is small compared to the satellite uncertainties. The satellite measurements show skill in capturing large-scale variations in PAN.
John R. Worden, Daniel H. Cusworth, Zhen Qu, Yi Yin, Yuzhong Zhang, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, Brendan K. Byrne, Tia Scarpelli, Joannes D. Maasakkers, David Crisp, Riley Duren, and Daniel J. Jacob
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6811–6841, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6811-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6811-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper is intended to accomplish two goals: 1) describe a new algorithm by which remotely sensed measurements of methane or other tracers can be used to not just quantify methane fluxes, but also attribute these fluxes to specific sources and regions and characterize their uncertainties, and 2) use this new algorithm to provide methane emissions by sector and country in support of the global stock take.
Tia R. Scarpelli, Daniel J. Jacob, Shayna Grossman, Xiao Lu, Zhen Qu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Yuzhong Zhang, Frances Reuland, Deborah Gordon, and John R. Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3235–3249, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3235-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3235-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a spatially explicit version of the national inventories of oil, gas, and coal methane emissions as submitted by individual countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2021. We then use atmospheric modeling to compare our inventory emissions to atmospheric methane observations with the goal of identifying potential under- and overestimates of oil–gas methane emissions in the national inventories.
Yan Yang, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, Paul Levine, Alexander Norton, Nicholas C. Parazoo, John T. Reager, John Worden, Gregory R. Quetin, T. Luke Smallman, Mathew Williams, Liang Xu, and Sassan Saatchi
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1789–1802, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1789-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1789-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Global carbon and water have large uncertainties that are hard to quantify in current regional and global models. Field observations provide opportunities for better calibration and validation of current modeling of carbon and water. With the unique structure of CARDAMOM, we have utilized the data assimilation capability and designed the benchmarking framework by using field observations in modeling. Results show that data assimilation improves model performance in different aspects.
Stephanie G. Stettz, Nicholas C. Parazoo, A. Anthony Bloom, Peter D. Blanken, David R. Bowling, Sean P. Burns, Cédric Bacour, Fabienne Maignan, Brett Raczka, Alexander J. Norton, Ian Baker, Mathew Williams, Mingjie Shi, Yongguang Zhang, and Bo Qiu
Biogeosciences, 19, 541–558, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-541-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-541-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Uncertainty in the response of photosynthesis to temperature poses a major challenge to predicting the response of forests to climate change. In this paper, we study how photosynthesis in a mountainous evergreen forest is limited by temperature. This study highlights that cold temperature is a key factor that controls spring photosynthesis. Including the cold-temperature limitation in an ecosystem model improved its ability to simulate spring photosynthesis.
Jennifer D. Hegarty, Karen E. Cady-Pereira, Vivienne H. Payne, Susan S. Kulawik, John R. Worden, Valentin Kantchev, Helen M. Worden, Kathryn McKain, Jasna V. Pittman, Róisín Commane, Bruce C. Daube Jr., and Eric A. Kort
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 205–223, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-205-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-205-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced by combustion of substances such as fossil fuels and plays an important role in atmospheric pollution and climate. We evaluated estimates of atmospheric CO derived from outgoing radiation measurements of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on a satellite orbiting the Earth against CO measurements from aircraft to show that these satellite measurements are reliable for continuous global monitoring of atmospheric CO concentrations.
Xiao Lu, Daniel J. Jacob, Haolin Wang, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Yuzhong Zhang, Tia R. Scarpelli, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Hannah Nesser, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, John R. Worden, Shaojia Fan, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Ritesh Gautam, Deborah Gordon, Michael D. Moran, Frances Reuland, Claudia A. Octaviano Villasana, and Arlyn Andrews
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 395–418, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-395-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluate methane emissions and trends for 2010–2017 in the gridded national emission inventories for the United States, Canada, and Mexico by inversion of in situ and satellite methane observations. We find that anthropogenic methane emissions for all three countries are underestimated in the national inventories, largely driven by oil emissions. Anthropogenic methane emissions in the US peak in 2014, in contrast to the report of a steadily decreasing trend over 2010–2017 from the US EPA.
Zhen Qu, Daniel J. Jacob, Lu Shen, Xiao Lu, Yuzhong Zhang, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Joannes D. Maasakkers, A. Anthony Bloom, John R. Worden, Robert J. Parker, and Alba L. Delgado
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14159–14175, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14159-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14159-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The recent launch of TROPOMI offers an unprecedented opportunity to quantify the methane budget from a top-down perspective. We use TROPOMI and the more mature GOSAT methane observations to estimate methane emissions and get consistent global budgets. However, TROPOMI shows biases over regions where surface albedo is small and provides less information for the coarse-resolution inversion due to the larger error correlations and spatial variations in the number of observations.
Yi Yin, Frederic Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Philippe Bousquet, Marielle Saunois, Bo Zheng, John Worden, A. Anthony Bloom, Robert J. Parker, Daniel J. Jacob, Edward J. Dlugokencky, and Christian Frankenberg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12631–12647, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12631-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12631-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The growth of methane, the second-most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, has been accelerating in recent years. Using an ensemble of multi-tracer atmospheric inversions constrained by surface or satellite observations, we show that global methane emissions increased by nearly 1 % per year from 2010–2017, with leading contributions from the tropics and East Asia.
Caroline A. Famiglietti, T. Luke Smallman, Paul A. Levine, Sophie Flack-Prain, Gregory R. Quetin, Victoria Meyer, Nicholas C. Parazoo, Stephanie G. Stettz, Yan Yang, Damien Bonal, A. Anthony Bloom, Mathew Williams, and Alexandra G. Konings
Biogeosciences, 18, 2727–2754, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2727-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2727-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Model uncertainty dominates the spread in terrestrial carbon cycle predictions. Efforts to reduce it typically involve adding processes, thereby increasing model complexity. However, if and how model performance scales with complexity is unclear. Using a suite of 16 structurally distinct carbon cycle models, we find that increased complexity only improves skill if parameters are adequately informed. Otherwise, it can degrade skill, and an intermediate-complexity model is optimal.
Xiao Lu, Daniel J. Jacob, Yuzhong Zhang, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Robert M. Yantosca, Jianxiong Sheng, Arlyn Andrews, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, A. Anthony Bloom, and Shuang Ma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4637–4657, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4637-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4637-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use an analytical solution to the Bayesian inverse problem to quantitatively compare and combine the information from satellite and in situ observations, and to estimate global methane budget and their trends over the 2010–2017 period. We find that satellite and in situ observations are to a large extent complementary in the inversion for estimating global methane budget, and reveal consistent corrections of regional anthropogenic and wetland methane emissions relative to the prior inventory.
Joannes D. Maasakkers, Daniel J. Jacob, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Tia R. Scarpelli, Hannah Nesser, Jianxiong Sheng, Yuzhong Zhang, Xiao Lu, A. Anthony Bloom, Kevin W. Bowman, John R. Worden, and Robert J. Parker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4339–4356, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4339-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4339-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use 2010–2015 GOSAT satellite observations of atmospheric methane over North America in a high-resolution inversion to estimate methane emissions. We find general consistency with the gridded EPA inventory but higher oil and gas production emissions, with oil production emissions twice as large as in the latest EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory. We find lower wetland emissions than predicted by WetCHARTs and a small increasing trend in the eastern US, apparently related to unconventional oil/gas.
Yuzhong Zhang, Daniel J. Jacob, Xiao Lu, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Jian-Xiong Sheng, Lu Shen, Zhen Qu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Jinfeng Chang, A. Anthony Bloom, Shuang Ma, John Worden, Robert J. Parker, and Hartmut Boesch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3643–3666, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3643-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3643-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use 2010–2018 satellite observations of atmospheric methane to interpret the factors controlling atmospheric methane and its accelerating increase during the period. The 2010–2018 increase in global methane emissions is driven by tropical and boreal wetlands and tropical livestock (South Asia, Africa, Brazil), with an insignificant positive trend in emissions from the fossil fuel sector. The peak methane growth rates in 2014–2015 are also contributed by low OH and high fire emissions.
Jin Ma, Linda M. J. Kooijmans, Ara Cho, Stephen A. Montzka, Norbert Glatthor, John R. Worden, Le Kuai, Elliot L. Atlas, and Maarten C. Krol
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3507–3529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3507-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Carbonyl sulfide is an important trace gas in the atmosphere and useful to estimating gross primary productivity in ecosystems, but its sources and sinks remain highly uncertain. Therefore, we applied inverse model system TM5-4DVAR to better constrain the global budget. Our finding is in line with earlier studies, pointing to missing sources in the tropics and more uptake in high latitudes. We also stress the necessity of more ground-based observations and satellite data assimilation in future.
Junjie Liu, Latha Baskaran, Kevin Bowman, David Schimel, A. Anthony Bloom, Nicholas C. Parazoo, Tomohiro Oda, Dustin Carroll, Dimitris Menemenlis, Joanna Joiner, Roisin Commane, Bruce Daube, Lucianna V. Gatti, Kathryn McKain, John Miller, Britton B. Stephens, Colm Sweeney, and Steven Wofsy
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 299–330, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-299-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-299-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
On average, the terrestrial biosphere carbon sink is equivalent to ~ 20 % of fossil fuel emissions. Understanding where and why the terrestrial biosphere absorbs carbon from the atmosphere is pivotal to any mitigation policy. Here we present a regionally resolved satellite-constrained net biosphere exchange (NBE) dataset with corresponding uncertainties between 2010–2018: CMS-Flux NBE 2020. The dataset provides a unique perspective on monitoring regional contributions to the CO2 growth rate.
Alka Singh, John Thomas Reager, and Ali Behrangi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 511–526, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-511-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-511-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The study demonstrates the utility of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSAs) for obtaining statistics of hydrological droughts, i.e., recovery periods and required precipitation in different precipitation scenarios. The findings of this study are that the GRACE-based drought index is valid for estimating the required precipitation for drought recovery, and the period of drought recovery depends on the intensity of the precipitation.
Xueying Yu, Dylan B. Millet, Kelley C. Wells, Daven K. Henze, Hansen Cao, Timothy J. Griffis, Eric A. Kort, Genevieve Plant, Malte J. Deventer, Randall K. Kolka, D. Tyler Roman, Kenneth J. Davis, Ankur R. Desai, Bianca C. Baier, Kathryn McKain, Alan C. Czarnetzki, and A. Anthony Bloom
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 951–971, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-951-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-951-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Methane concentrations have doubled since 1750. The US Upper Midwest is a key region contributing to such trends, but sources are poorly understood. We collected and analyzed aircraft data to resolve spatial and timing biases in wetland and livestock emission estimates and uncover errors in inventory treatment of manure management. We highlight the importance of intensive agriculture for the regional and US methane budgets and the potential for methane mitigation through improved management.
Sudhanshu Pandey, Sander Houweling, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Maria Tsivlidou, A. Anthony Bloom, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Zhang, and Ilse Aben
Biogeosciences, 18, 557–572, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-557-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-557-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We use atmospheric methane observations from the novel TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI; Sentinel-5p) to estimate methane emissions from South Sudan's wetlands. Our emission estimates are an order of magnitude larger than the estimate of process-based wetland models. We find that this underestimation by the models is likely due to their misrepresentation of the wetlands' inundation extent and temperature dependences.
Susan S. Kulawik, John R. Worden, Vivienne H. Payne, Dejian Fu, Steven C. Wofsy, Kathryn McKain, Colm Sweeney, Bruce C. Daube Jr., Alan Lipton, Igor Polonsky, Yuguang He, Karen E. Cady-Pereira, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Daniel J. Jacob, and Yi Yin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 335–354, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-335-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-335-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper shows comparisons of a new single-footprint methane product from the AIRS satellite to aircraft-based observations. We show that this AIRS methane product provides useful information to study seasonal and global methane trends of this important greenhouse gas.
A. Anthony Bloom, Kevin W. Bowman, Junjie Liu, Alexandra G. Konings, John R. Worden, Nicholas C. Parazoo, Victoria Meyer, John T. Reager, Helen M. Worden, Zhe Jiang, Gregory R. Quetin, T. Luke Smallman, Jean-François Exbrayat, Yi Yin, Sassan S. Saatchi, Mathew Williams, and David S. Schimel
Biogeosciences, 17, 6393–6422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6393-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6393-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We use a model of the 2001–2015 tropical land carbon cycle, with satellite measurements of land and atmospheric carbon, to disentangle lagged and concurrent effects (due to past and concurrent meteorological events, respectively) on annual land–atmosphere carbon exchanges. The variability of lagged effects explains most 2001–2015 inter-annual carbon flux variations. We conclude that concurrent and lagged effects need to be accurately resolved to better predict the world's land carbon sink.
Robert J. Parker, Chris Wilson, A. Anthony Bloom, Edward Comyn-Platt, Garry Hayman, Joe McNorton, Hartmut Boesch, and Martyn P. Chipperfield
Biogeosciences, 17, 5669–5691, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5669-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5669-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Wetlands contribute the largest uncertainty to the atmospheric methane budget. WetCHARTs is a simple, data-driven model that estimates wetland emissions using observations of precipitation and temperature. We perform the first detailed evaluation of WetCHARTs against satellite data and find it performs well in reproducing the observed wetland methane seasonal cycle for the majority of wetland regions. In regions where it performs poorly, we highlight incorrect wetland extent as a key reason.
Maoyi Huang, Yi Xu, Marcos Longo, Michael Keller, Ryan G. Knox, Charles D. Koven, and Rosie A. Fisher
Biogeosciences, 17, 4999–5023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4999-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4999-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator (FATES) is enhanced to mimic the ecological, biophysical, and biogeochemical processes following a logging event. The model can specify the timing and aerial extent of logging events; determine the survivorship of cohorts in the disturbed forest; and modifying the biomass, coarse woody debris, and litter pools. This study lays the foundation to simulate land use change and forest degradation in FATES as part of an Earth system model.
Short summary
The water balance on river basin scales depends on a number of soil physical processes. Gaining information on these quantities using observations is a key step toward improving the skill of land surface hydrology models. In this study, we use data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (NASA-GRACE) to inform and constrain these hydrologic processes. We show that our model is able to simulate the land hydrologic cycle for a watershed in the Amazon from January 2003 to December 2012.
The water balance on river basin scales depends on a number of soil physical processes. Gaining...
