Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/D000874/1
International Collaboration on Data Assimilation in Carbon Cycle Science
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor S Quegan, University of Sheffield, Applied Mathematics
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor A O'Neill, University of Reading, NERC National Ctr for Earth Observation
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor M Williams, University of Edinburgh, Sch of Geosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr W Lahoz, Norwegian Institute for Air Res. (NILU), Norwegian Institute for Air Res (NILU)
- Grant held at:
- University of Sheffield, Applied Mathematics
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Global Change
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Land - Atmosphere Interactions
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Climate & Climate Change
- Abstract:
- On Earth, there are strong connections between living things and their environment. We are increasingly aware that not only do environments shape organisms, but also that organisms collectively control critical global processes. For instance, through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration, plants and microbes (and animals to some extent) move billions of tonnes of carbon (C) between the atmosphere and soils and vegetation. This C cycle is hugely important due to its role in the planet's capability to support life. That comes about because atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) acts as a greenhouse gas, warming the Earth. Fossil fuels are made of ancient C, long ago stored away when dead plant material was buried in shallow seas. Burning these fossil fuels (in cars and industry) is releasing this C, upsetting the balance of the carbon cycle, and warming the planet. Politicians are so concerned about the effects of warming that steps have been taken to reduce the amount of CO2 humans put into the atmosphere. The most important of these is the Kyoto Protocol, which tries to impose limits on the amount of CO2 that each nation can emit. Soils and vegetation are helping, since a warmer climate with more CO2 favours plant growth. Hence the land is soaking up progressively more C as time goes by. Unfortunately, this increased take-up is not fast enough to keep pace with our accelerating use of fossil fuels, and if uptake declines, warming may accelerate. This raises some crucial questions: where exactly does the land store this extra C, how long will it continue doing so, and can we manage the land surface better to improve its ability to store C? Providing answers involves combining information from lots of places. Some comes from our understanding of natural processes: photosynthesis, how soil bacteria behave, etc. Other information comes from large-scale databases, such as maps of land cover. Scientists measure CO2 concentrations and flows from the ground and aircraft. Many different satellites criss-cross the planet, measuring vegetation development and disturbance. All this information helps to understand C flows, but the problem is putting it together to make reliable estimates of how much C is being fixed, and where, and how this might change in the future. Until recently, there were two main ways of using this information. One turns our understanding of how plants function into equations that computers can use to calculate C flows, given atmospheric conditions. The other measures CO2 at different places on the Earth and combines this with knowledge of airflow, to figure out where CO2 is being emitted and absorbed. Both have their problems: the first has to account for the variability of the Earth's surface and is hard to test; the second can only give continental-scale estimates and provides no insight into the processes causing the observed C flows. We've recently realised that this dual approach is a very inefficient use of information, and measurements and computer models need to be combined so as to make the best of both. This seems obvious, but until recently both the data and the methods to combine data effectively with the models were lacking. What changed the game were: (a) developments in weather prediction, where data assimilation in models has dramatically improved the forecasts, and (b) more and better data, particularly from the new generation of satellites. The time is now ripe to bring these developments into improved understanding of the terrestrial C cycle. This will involve bringing together the best people in a range of fields from all over the world. We aim to do that, and in doing so to ensure that the UK makes the most of its strengths while learning from the international community, to make it a more complete player and leader in terrestrial C cycle science.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/D000874/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- IOF
This grant award has a total value of £207,784
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs |
|---|---|
| £167,824 | £39,960 |
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