273 research outputs found
Upscaling methane emissions from rice paddies: problems and possibilities.
No full textGlobal methane emission estimates depend highly on the models, techniques, and databases used. Since emissions cannot be measured directly at large scales, it is impossible to judge which estimate is more realistic. In this paper, different aspects of uncertainty in upscaling methane emissions from rice paddies are discussed. These aspects are visualized by a case study on the spatial upscaling of methane emissions from the island of Java, Indonesia. The first aspect concerns process information. An approach to incorporate this information in a simplified but process-based way in predictive models is discussed. Sources of uncertainty include the methane emissions measurements, processes quantification, process simplification, and the use of data transfer functions. Data availability of input parameters, the second aspect, is uncertain because of differences between different data sources, the use of data sources for purposes not originally planned for, and the scale at which data are available. Data interpolation in combination with nonlinear model responses introduces scaling errors, the third aspect. Data accuracy introduced the highest uncertainties in emission estimates but is rarely accounted for in the estimation of global emissions
Large scale distribution of ultra high energy cosmic rays detected at the Pierre Auger observatory with zenith angles up to 80 degrees
No full textK. B. Barber, J. A. Bellido, S. G. Blaess, R.W. Clay, M. J. Cooper, B. R. Dawson, T. D. Grubb, T. A. Harrison, G. C. Hill, M. Malacari, P. H. Nguyen, S. J. Saffi, J. Sorokin, P. Van Bodegom are members of the Pierre Auger CollaborationWe present the results of an analysis of the large angular scale distribution of the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energy above 4 EeV detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory including for the first time events with zenith angle between 60° and 80°. We perform two Rayleigh analyses, one in the right ascension and one in the azimuth angle distributions, that are sensitive to modulations in right ascension and declination, respectively. The largest departure from isotropy appears in the 98E > 8 EeV energy bin, with an amplitude for the first harmonic in right ascension r1α = (4.4 ± 1.0) × 10-2, that has a chance probability P (≥1α) = 6.4 × 10-5, reinforcing the hint previously reported with vertical events alone.A. Aab ... K. B. Barber ... J. A. Bellido ... S. G. Blaess ... R.W. Clay ... M. J. Cooper ... B. R. Dawson ... T. D. Grubb ... T. A. Harrison ... G. C. Hill ... M. Malacari ... P. H. Nguyen ... S. J. Saffi ... J. Sorokin ... P. Van Bodegom et al. (Pierre Auger Collaboration
Depth of maximum of air-shower profiles at the Pierre Auger Observatory. I. Measurements at energies above 10(17.8) eV
No full textK.B. Barber, J.A. Bellido, S. Blaess, R.W. Clay, M.J. Cooper, B.R. Dawson, T.D. Grubb, T.A. Harrison, G. C. Hill, M. Malacari, P. Nguyen, S.J. Saffi, J. Sorokin, P. van Bodegom are members of The Pierre Auger CollaborationWe report a study of the distributions of the depth of maximum, Xmax, of extensive air-shower profiles with energies above 1017.8 eV as observed with the fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The analysis method for selecting a data sample with minimal sampling bias is described in detail as well as the experimental cross-checks and systematic uncertainties. Furthermore, we discuss the detector acceptance and the resolution of the Xmax measurement and provide parametrizations thereof as a function of energy. The energy dependence of the mean and standard deviation of the Xmax distributions are compared to air-shower simulations for different nuclear primaries and interpreted in terms of the mean and variance of the logarithmic mass distribution at the top of the atmosphere.A. Aab ... K.B. Barber ... J.A. Bellido ... S. Blaess ... R.W. Clay ... M.J. Cooper ... B.R. Dawson ... T.D. Grubb ... T.A. Harrison ... G. C. Hill ... M. Malacari ... P. Nguyen ... S.J. Saffi ... J. Sorokin ... P. van Bodegom ... et al. ... (Pierre Auger Collaboration
Quantification of methane oxidation in the rice rhizosphere using 13C-labelled methane
No full textIn this paper isotope ratio mass spectrometry is used to determine the methane (CH4) oxidation fraction in the rhizosphere of intact rice plant-soil systems. Earlier studies on quantification of the methane oxidation were based on inhibition or incubation procedures which strongly interfered with the plant-soil system and resulted in a large variability of the reported fractions, while other studies considered stable isotopes at natural abundance levels to investigate methanotrophy in the rhizosphere of rice. The current work is the first that used 13C-labelled CH4 as additive and calculated the oxidation fraction from the ratio between the added 13C-labelled CH4 and its oxidation product 13CO2. Both labelled gases could be distinguished from the natural abundance percentages. The oxidation fraction for methane was found to be smaller than 7%, suggesting that former approaches overestimate the methane oxidation fraction.
Searches for anisotropies in the arrival directions of the highest energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger observatory
No full textJ. A. Bellido, S. G. Blaess, R. W. Clay, M. J. Cooper, B. R. Dawson, T. D. Grubb, T. A. Harrison, G. C. Hill, M. Malacari, P. H. Nguyen, S. J. Saffi, J. Sorokin, P. van Bodegom are members of The Pierre Auger CollaborationWe analyze the distribution of arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory in 10 years of operation. The data set, about three times larger than that used in earlier studies, includes arrival directions with zenith angles up to 80°, thus covering from -90°to +45°in declination. After updating the fraction of events correlating with the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the Vron-Cetty and Vron catalog, we subject the arrival directions of the data with energies in excess of 40 EeV to different tests for anisotropy. We search for localized excess fluxes, self-clustering of event directions at angular scales up to 30°, and different threshold energies between 40 and 80 EeV. We then look for correlations of cosmic rays with celestial structures both in the Galaxy (the Galactic Center and Galactic Plane) and in the local universe (the Super- Galactic Plane). We also examine their correlation with different populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2MRS catalog, AGNs detected by Swift-BAT, radio galaxies with jets, and the Centaurus A (Cen A) galaxy. None of the tests show statistically significant evidence of anisotropy. The strongest departures from isotropy (post-trial probability ∼1.4%) are obtained for cosmic rays with E >; 58 EeV in rather large windows around Swift AGNs closer than 130 Mpc and brighter than 1044erg s-1 (18° radius), and around the direction of Cen A (15° radius).A. Aab ... J. A. Bellido ... S. G. Blaess ... R. W. Clay ... M. J. Cooper ... B. R. Dawson ... T. D. Grubb ... T. A. Harrison ... G. C. Hill ... M. Malacari ... P. H. Nguyen ... S. J. Saffi ... J. Sorokin ... P. van Bodegom ... et al. (The Pierre Auger Collaboration
A methodology to derive global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing and climate data
No full textThis paper introduces a modular processing chain to derive global high-resolution maps of leaf traits. In particular, we present global maps at 500 m resolution of specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content per dry mass, and leaf nitrogen/phosphorus ratio. The processing chain exploits machine learning techniques along with optical remote sensing data (MODIS/Landsat) and climate data for gap filling and up-scaling of in-situ measured leaf traits. The chain first uses random forests regression with surrogates to fill gaps in the database (> 45% of missing entries) and maximizes the global representativeness of the trait dataset. Plant species are then aggregated to Plant Functional Types (PFTs). Next, the spatial abundance of PFTs at MODIS resolution (500 m) is calculated using Landsat data (30 m). Based on these PFT abundances, representative trait values are calculated for MODIS pixels with nearby trait data. Finally, different regression algorithms are applied to globally predict trait estimates from these MODIS pixels using remote sensing and climate data. The methods were compared in terms of precision, robustness and efficiency. The best model (random forests regression) shows good precision (normalized RMSE≤ 20%) and goodness of fit (averaged Pearson's correlation R = 0.78) in any considered trait. Along with the estimated global maps of leaf traits, we provide associated uncertainty estimates derived from the regression models. The process chain is modular, and can easily accommodate new traits, data streams (traits databases and remote sensing data), and methods. The machine learning techniques applied allow attribution of information gain to data input and thus provide the opportunity to understand trait-environment relationships at the plant and ecosystem scales. The new data products – the gap-filled trait matrix, a global map of PFT abundance per MODIS gridcells and the high-resolution global leaf trait maps – are complementary to existing large-scale observations of the land surface and we therefore anticipate substantial contributions to advances in quantifying, understanding and prediction of the Earth system.</p
Nutrient limitation reduces land carbon uptake in simulations with a model of combined carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling
No full textTerrestrial carbon (C) cycle models applied for climate projections simulate a strong increase in net primary productivity (NPP) due to elevated atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration during the 21st century. These models usually neglect the limited availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), nutrients that commonly limit plant growth and soil carbon turnover. To investigate how the projected C sequestration is altered when stoichiometric constraints on C cycling are considered, we incorporated a P cycle into the land surface model JSBACH (Jena Scheme for Biosphere–Atmosphere Coupling in Hamburg), which already includes representations of coupled C and N cycles. <br><br> The model reveals a distinct geographic pattern of P and N limitation. Under the SRES (Special Report on Emissions Scenarios) A1B scenario, the accumulated land C uptake between 1860 and 2100 is 13% (particularly at high latitudes) and 16% (particularly at low latitudes) lower in simulations with N and P cycling, respectively, than in simulations without nutrient cycles. The combined effect of both nutrients reduces land C uptake by 25% compared to simulations without N or P cycling. Nutrient limitation in general may be biased by the model simplicity, but the ranking of limitations is robust against the parameterization and the inflexibility of stoichiometry. After 2100, increased temperature and high CO<sub>2</sub> concentration cause a shift from N to P limitation at high latitudes, while nutrient limitation in the tropics declines. The increase in P limitation at high-latitudes is induced by a strong increase in NPP and the low P sorption capacity of soils, while a decline in tropical NPP due to high autotrophic respiration rates alleviates N and P limitations. The quantification of P limitation remains challenging. The poorly constrained processes of soil P sorption and biochemical mineralization are identified as the main uncertainties in the strength of P limitation. Even so, our findings indicate that global land C uptake in the 21st century is likely overestimated in models that neglect P and N limitations. In the long term, insufficient P availability might become an important constraint on C cycling at high latitudes. Accordingly, we argue that the P cycle must be included in global models used for C cycle projections
Quantifying the functional responses of vegetation to drought and oxygen stress in temperate ecosystems.
No full text1. Our understanding of the generality of plant functional responses to water availability is limited; current field studies use either very rough approximations of water and oxygen availability or only focus on water-stressed ecosystems. Studies that relate species' responses to a surplus of water are limited to controlled experiments. 2. The aim of this study was to investigate how traits are selected along a gradient of soil moisture, ranging from oxygen-stressed to drought-stressed. We tested 15 traits: eight leaf traits, two root traits, two seed traits and three allometry traits and related their community means to process-based measures of drought stress and oxygen stress for 171 plots in the Netherlands. Because the trait values had been taken from a large database, an independent field survey was carried out to validate the relationships thus derived. 3. We show that root porosity and seed floating capacity are mostly strongly related, although still moderately, to oxygen and drought stress (R-2 = 27% and 42%, respectively). Leaf traits responded weakly to either of the stressors. The field survey yielded similar relationships. Trait combinations were much more closely related to oxygen or drought stress than individual traits, suggesting that there are multiple trait solutions at a given level of water and oxygen stress. 4. The relatively weak relationships found between traits and water-related stressors contrast with the strong control of other environmental drivers (disturbance, nutrients) on traits and suggest that these strong constraints imposed by other environmental drivers necessitate varied solutions to cope with water availability
Search for patterns by combining cosmic-ray energy and arrival directions at the Pierre Auger Observatory
No full textPublished online: 20 June 2015Energy-dependent patterns in the arrival directions of cosmic rays are searched for using data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We investigate local regions around the highest-energy cosmic rays with [Formula: see text] eV by analyzing cosmic rays with energies above [Formula: see text] eV arriving within an angular separation of approximately 15[Formula: see text]. We characterize the energy distributions inside these regions by two independent methods, one searching for angular dependence of energy-energy correlations and one searching for collimation of energy along the local system of principal axes of the energy distribution. No significant patterns are found with this analysis. The comparison of these measurements with astrophysical scenarios can therefore be used to obtain constraints on related model parameters such as strength of cosmic-ray deflection and density of point sources.The Pierre Auger Collaboration ... A. Aab ... K. B. Barber ... J. A. Bellido ... S. Blaess ... R.W.Clay ... M. J. Cooper ... B. R. Dawson ... T. D. Grubb ... T.A.Harrison ... A. E. Herve, G. C. Hill ... M. Malacari ... P. Nguyen ... S. J. Saffi ... F. Sarazin ... J. Sorokin ... P. van Bodegom ... et al
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