1. Comparing the impacts of 2003 and 2010 heatwaves in NPP over Europe.
- Author
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Bastos, A., Gouveia, C. M., Trigo, R. M., and Running, S. W.
- Subjects
HEAT waves (Meteorology) ,PRIMARY productivity (Biology) ,SOCIOECONOMICS ,PHOTOSYNTHESIS ,METEOROLOGICAL precipitation ,COMPARATIVE studies - Abstract
In the last decade, Europe was stricken by two outstanding heatwaves, the 2003 event in Western Europe and the recent 2010 episode over Russia. Both extreme events were characterised by record-breaking temperatures, and widespread socio-economic impacts, including significant increments on mortality rates, decreases in crop production and in hydroelectric production. This work aims to assess the influence of both mega-heatwaves on vegetation carbon uptake, using yearly Net Primary Production (NPP) and monthly Net Photosynthesis (PsN) data derived from satellite imagery obtained from MODIS for the period 2000-2011. In 2010, markedly low productivity was observed over a very large area in Russia, at monthly, seasonal and yearly scales, falling below 50% of average NPP. This decrease in NPP in 2010 was far more intense than the one affecting Western Europe in 2003, which corresponded to 20-30% of the average, and affected a much larger extent. Total NPP anomalies reached -19 TgC for the selected regions in France during 2003 and -94 TgC for western Russia in 2010, which corresponds almost to the magnitude of total NPP anomaly during 2010 for the whole Europe. Overall, the widespread negative PsN anomalies in both regions match the patterns of very high temperature values preceded by a long period of below-average precipitation, leading to strong soil moisture deficits, stressing the role of soil-atmosphere coupling. In the case of 2003 heatwave, results indicate a strong influence of moisture deficits coupled with high temperatures in the response of vegetation, while for the 2010 event very high temperatures appear to be the main driver of very low NPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
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