Weekly Talk by Anthony Bloom, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Embarking on a 'dynamical system adventure' to decipher change in terrestrial ecosystems

Available in-person and via zoom (see email for link)

Abstract

Carbon and water fluxes across the land biosphere are modulated by a wealth of interdependent biophysical and biogeochemical processes. Both Earth system observations and land models strive to understand these processes through model representations of plant function, soil biotic and abiotic states, disturbances and land use across scales. However, the growing volume of Earth Observations is continually highlighting and challenging the ingrained structure of land models and their associated limitations in explaining the contemporary states and trends of the land biosphere. Here, I will demonstrate how the synergisms between GRACE, OCO, Terra, Aqua and a host of ancillary satellite and in situ measurements can be used to “back out” land biosphere dynamics and associated processes within the CARDAMOM Bayesian inference framework. In turn, I will show how CARDAMOM’s mechanistic reconstruction of the carbon, water and energy states and processes yields unique dynamical insights on carbon-climate feedbacks, ecosystem tipping points and the fate of the land sink over the coming decades.

Bio

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