Open AccessLarge amplitude spatial and temporal gradients in atmospheric boundary layer CO 2 mole fractions detected with a tower‐based network in the U.S. upper Midwest
Author(s) -
Miles Natasha L.,
Richardson Scott J.,
Davis Kenneth J.,
Lauvaux Thomas,
Andrews Arlyn E.,
West Tristram O.,
Bandaru Varaprasad,
Crosson Eric R.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: biogeosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2011jg001781
Subject(s) - biome , mole fraction , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , vegetation (pathology) , flux (metallurgy) , ecosystem , climatology , geology , chemistry , ecology , biology , organic chemistry , medicine , pathology
This study presents observations of atmospheric boundary layer CO 2 mole fraction from a nine‐tower regional network deployed during the North American Carbon Program's Mid‐Continent Intensive (MCI) during 2007–2009. The MCI region is largely agricultural, with well‐documented carbon exchange available via agricultural inventories. By combining vegetation maps and tower footprints, we show the fractional influence of corn, soy, grass, and forest biomes varies widely across the MCI. Differences in the magnitude of CO 2 flux from each of these biomes lead to large spatial gradients in the monthly averaged CO 2 mole fraction observed in the MCI. In other words, the monthly averaged gradients are tied to regional patterns in net ecosystem exchange (NEE). The daily scale gradients are more weakly connected to regional NEE, instead being governed by local weather and large‐scale weather patterns. With this network of tower‐based mole fraction measurements, we detect climate‐driven interannual changes in crop growth that are confirmed by satellite and inventory methods. These observations show that regional‐scale CO 2 mole fraction networks yield large, coherent signals governed largely by regional sources and sinks of CO 2 .