About OpenKnowledge@NAU | For NAU Authors

The North American carbon program multi-scale synthesis and terrestrial model intercomparison Project – Part 1: Overview and experimental design

Huntzinger, D.N. and Schwalm, C. and Michalak, A. M. and Schaefer, K. and King, A. W. and Wei, Y. and Jacobson, A. and Liu, S. and Cook, R. B. and Post, W. M. and Berthier, G. and Hayes, D. and Huang, M. and Ito, A. and Lei, H. and Lu, C. and Mao, J. and Peng, C. H. and Peng, S. and Poulter, B. and Riccuito, D. and Shi, X. and Tian, H. and Wang, W. and Zeng, N. and Zhao, F. and Zhu, Q. (2013) The North American carbon program multi-scale synthesis and terrestrial model intercomparison Project – Part 1: Overview and experimental design. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, 6. pp. 2121-2133. ISSN 1991-962X

[img]
Preview
Text
Huntzinger_DN_etal_North_American_Carbon_Program_Part_1(1).pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) have become an integral tool for extrapolating local observations and understanding of land-atmosphere carbon exchange to larger regions. The North American Carbon Program (NACP) Multi-scale synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project (MsTMIP) is a formal model intercomparison and evaluation effort focused on improving the diagnosis and attribution of carbon exchange at regional and global scales. MsTMIP builds upon current and past synthesis activities, and has a unique framework designed to isolate, interpret, and inform understanding of how model structural differences impact estimates of carbon uptake and release. Here we provide an overview of the MsTMIP effort and describe how the MsTMIP experimental design enables the assessment and quantification of TBM structural uncertainty. Model structure refers to the types of processes considered (e.g. nutrient cycling, disturbance, lateral transport of carbon), and how these processes are represented (e.g. photosynthetic formulation, temperature sensitivity, respiration) in the models. By prescribing a common experimental protocol with standard spin-up procedures and driver data sets, we isolate any biases and variability in TBM estimates of regional and global carbon budgets resulting from differences in the models themselves (i.e. model structure) and model-specific parameter values. An initial intercomparison of model structural differences is represented using hierarchical cluster diagrams (a.k.a. dendrograms), which highlight similarities and differences in how models account for carbon cycle, vegetation, energy, and nitrogen cycle dynamics. We show that, despite the standardized protocol used to derive initial conditions, models show a high degree of variation for GPP, total living biomass, and total soil carbon, underscoring the influence of differences in model structure and parameterization on model estimates.

Item Type: Article
Publisher’s Statement: © 2013, Copyright retained by Authors. Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0. Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union.
ID number or DOI: 10.5194/gmd-6-2121-2013
Related URLs:
Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
Q Science > QK Botany
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status: Faculty/Staff
Department/Unit: College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > Civil Engineering, Construction Management, and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering, Forestry, and Natural Science > School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability
Date Deposited: 16 Oct 2015 20:25
URI: http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/702

Actions (login required)

IR Staff Record View IR Staff Record View

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year