Search

Atmospheric humidity and soil moisture in the Amazon forest are tightly coupled to the region's water balance, or the difference between two moisture fluxes, evapotranspiration minus precipitation (ET-P). However, large and poorly characterized uncertainties in both fluxes, and in their difference, make it challenging to evaluate spatiotemporal variations of water balance and its dependence on ET or P. Here, we show that satellite observations of the HDO/H2O ratio of water vapor are sensitive to spatiotemporal variations of ET-P over the Amazon. When calibrated by basin-scale and mass-balance estimates of ET-P derived from terrestrial water storage and river discharge measurements, the isotopic data demonstrate that rainfall controls wet Amazon water balance variability, but ET becomes important in regulating water balance and its variability in the dry Amazon. Changes in the drivers of ET, such as above ground biomass, could therefore have a larger impact on soil moisture and humidity in the dry (southern and eastern) Amazon relative to the wet Amazon.

The seasonal-to-decadal terrestrial water balance on river basin scales depends on several well-characterized but uncertain soil physical processes, including soil moisture, plant available water, rooting depth, and recharge to lower soil layers. Reducing uncertainties in these quantities using observations is a key step toward improving the data fidelity and skill of land surface models. In this study, we quantitatively characterize the capability of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (NASA-GRACE) measurements-a key constraint on total water storage (TWS)-to inform and constrain these processes. We use a reduced-complexity physically based model capable of simulating the hydrologic cycle, and we apply Bayesian inference on the model parameters using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm, to minimize mismatches between model-simulated and GRACE-observed TWS anomalies. Based on the prior and posterior model parameter distributions, we further quantify information gain with regard to terrestrial water states, associated fluxes, and time-invariant process parameters. We show that the data-constrained terrestrial water storage model can capture basic physics of the hydrologic cycle for a watershed in the western Amazon during the period January 2003 through December 2012, with an r2 of 0.98 and root mean square error of 30.99 mm between observed and simulated TWS. Furthermore, we show a reduction of uncertainty in many of the parameters and state variables, ranging from a 2 % reduction in uncertainty for the porosity parameter to an 85 % reduction for the rooting depth parameter. The annual and interannual variability of the system are also simulated accurately, with the model simulations capturing the impacts of the 2005-2006 and 2010-2011 South American droughts. The results shown here suggest the potential of using gravimetric observations of TWS to identify and constrain key parameters in soil hydrologic models.

Although it is well established that transpiration contributes much of the water for rainfall over Amazonia, it remains unclear whether transpiration helps to drive or merely responds to the seasonal cycle of rainfall. Here, we use multiple independent satellite datasets to show that rainforest transpiration enables an increase of shallow convection that moistens and destabilizes the atmosphere during the initial stages of the dry-to-wet season transition. This shallow convection moisture pump (SCMP) preconditions the atmosphere at the regional scale for a rapid increase in rain-bearing deep convection, which in turn drives moisture convergence and wet season onset 2-3 mo before the arrival of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Aerosols produced by late dry season biomass burning may alter the efficiency of the SCMP. Our results highlight the mechanisms by which interactions among land surface processes, atmospheric convection, and biomass burning may alter the timing of wet season onset and provide a mechanistic framework for understanding how deforestation extends the dry season and enhances regional vulnerability to drought.

During summer 2023 Canada experienced its most intense wildfire season on record. Smoke plumes from these fires advected across the United States (U.S.) Upper Midwest, producing regional scale surface enhancements of PM2.5 and ozone, as recorded by the U.S. surface monitoring network. These events are notable because they occurred early in the fire season (May 15‐June 30), and they produced the highest regional‐scale surface ozone levels ever recorded across the northern tier of the U.S. during early (May–June) or late (July‐August) summer. Specifically, the Upper Midwest 50th ozone percentile was greater than in any other year since 1995, when the ozone monitoring network had sufficient coverage to assess regional‐scale ozone levels; the 90th percentile was the highest since 2002. Satellite and aircraft measurements demonstrate the availability of ozone precursors and ozone production within the smoke plumes. Plain Language Summary: Ozone is a trace gas in the atmosphere that acts as an important greenhouse gas, and high concentrations near Earth's surface are a form of air pollution, detrimental to human health and vegetation productivity. Ozone is formed by sunlight reacting with precursor gases, such as those emitted by fossil fuel combustion. Wildfires are also an important source of ozone precursor gases. During summer 2023 Canada experienced its most intense wildfire season on record. Smoke from these fires impacted the U.S. Upper Midwest during May–June 2023, leading to regional scale surface enhancements of fine particulate matter and ozone. These unusual early season fires produced the highest regional‐scale surface ozone levels ever recorded across the northern U.S. Mid‐latitude wildfires have increased as the planet warms, and their frequency is expected to increase further with continued climate change. This analysis suggests that extreme ozone pollution episodes associated with wildfires could also increase in the future. Key Points: During summer 2023 Canada experienced its most intense wildfire season on recordSmoke from these fires impacted the United States (U.S.) Upper Midwest during May–June, leading to regional scale surface enhancements of PM2.5 and ozoneThese unusual early season fires produced the highest regional‐scale surface ozone levels ever recorded across the northern United States [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric methane concentrations rose rapidly over the past decade and surged in 2020-2022 but the causes have been unclear. We find from inverse analysis of GOSAT satellite observations that emissions from the wet tropics drove the 2010-2019 increase and the subsequent 2020-2022 surge, while emissions from northern mid-latitudes decreased. The 2020-2022 surge is principally contributed by emissions in Equatorial Asia (43%) and Africa (30%). Wetlands are the major drivers of the 2020-2022 emission increases in Africa and Equatorial Asia because of tropical inundation associated with La Niña conditions, consistent with trends in the GRACE terrestrial water storage data. In contrast, emissions from major anthropogenic emitters such as the United States, Russia, and China are relatively flat over 2010-2022. Concentrations of tropospheric OH (the main methane sink) show no long-term trend over 2010-2022 but a decrease over 2020-2022 that contributed to the methane surge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce a retrieval algorithm to estimate lower tropospheric methane (CH4) concentrations from the surface to 1 km with uncertainty estimates using Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) airborne radiance measurements. After resampling, retrievals have a spatial resolution of 6 × 6 m2. The total error from a single retrieval is approximately 20 %, with the uncertainties determined primarily by noise and spectral interferences from air temperature, surface emissivity, and atmospheric water vapor. We demonstrate retrievals for a HyTES flight line over storage tanks near Kern River Oil Field (KROF), Kern County, California, and find an extended plume structure in the set of observations with elevated methane concentrations (3.0 ± 0.6 to 6.0 ± 1.2 ppm), well above mean concentrations (1.8 ± 0.4 ppm) observed for this scene. With typically a 20 % estimated uncertainty, plume enhancements with more than 1 ppm are distinguishable from the background values with its uncertainty. HyTES retrievals are consistent with simultaneous airborne and ground-based in situ CH4 mole fraction measurements within the reported accuracy of approximately 0.2 ppm (or ∼8 %), due to retrieval interferences related to air temperature, emissivity, and H2O.

Quantifying the carbonyl sulfide (OCS) land/ocean fluxes contributes to the understanding of both the sulfur and carbon cycles. The primary sources and sinks of OCS are very likely in a steady state because there is no significant observed trend or interannual variability in atmospheric OCS measurements. However, the magnitude and spatial distribution of the dominant ocean source are highly uncertain due to the lack of observations. In particular, estimates of the oceanic fluxes range from approximately 280 Gg S yr-1 to greater than 800 Gg S yr-1, with the larger flux needed to balance a similarly sized terrestrial sink that is inferred from NOAA continental sites. Here we estimate summer tropical oceanic fluxes of OCS in 2006 using a linear flux inversion algorithm and new OCS data acquired by the Aura Tropospheric Emissions Spectrometer (TES). Modeled OCS concentrations based on these updated fluxes are consistent with HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations during 4th airborne campaign and improve significantly over the a priori model concentrations. The TES tropical ocean estimate of 70±16GgS in June,when extrapolated over the whole year (about 840 ± 192 Gg S yr-1), supports the hypothesis proposed by Berry et al. (2013) that the ocean flux is in the higher range of approximately 800 Gg S yr-1.

Boreal‐Arctic regions are key stores of organic carbon (C) and play a major role in the greenhouse gas balance of high‐latitude ecosystems. The carbon‐climate (C‐climate) feedback potential of northern high‐latitude ecosystems remains poorly understood due to uncertainty in temperature and precipitation controls on carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake and the decomposition of soil C into CO2 and methane (CH4) fluxes. While CH4 fluxes account for a smaller component of the C balance, the climatic impact of CH4 outweighs CO2 (28–34 times larger global warming potential on a 100‐year scale), highlighting the need to jointly resolve the climatic sensitivities of both CO2 and CH4. Here, we jointly constrain a terrestrial biosphere model with in situ CO2 and CH4 flux observations at seven eddy covariance sites using a data‐model integration approach to resolve the integrated environmental controls on land‐atmosphere CO2 and CH4 exchanges in Alaska. Based on the combined CO2 and CH4 flux responses to climate variables, we find that 1970‐present climate trends will induce positive C‐climate feedback at all tundra sites, and negative C‐climate feedback at the boreal and shrub fen sites. The positive C‐climate feedback at the tundra sites is predominantly driven by increased CH4 emissions while the negative C‐climate feedback at the boreal site is predominantly driven by increased CO2 uptake (80% from decreased heterotrophic respiration, and 20% from increased photosynthesis). Our study demonstrates the need for joint observational constraints on CO2 and CH4 biogeochemical processes—and their associated climatic sensitivities—for resolving the sign and magnitude of high‐latitude ecosystem C‐climate feedback in the coming decades. Key Points: We use in situ measurements to constrain the modeled joint climatic sensitivity of land‐atmosphere CH4 and CO2 exchangesA continued 1970‐present climate trend leads to positive C‐climate feedback in wet tundra sites but negative feedback in boreal and shrub fen sitesCH4 respiration dominates the positive tundra site feedback, CO2 respiration dominates the negative boreal and shrub fen sites feedback [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]