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"Steele, P"
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Global CO2 fluxes estimated from GOSAT retrievals of total column CO2
We present one of the first estimates of the global distribution of CO2 surface fluxes using total column CO2 measurements retrieved by the SRON-KIT RemoTeC algorithm from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). We derive optimized fluxes from June 2009 to December 2010. We estimate fluxes from surface CO2 measurements to use as baselines for comparing GOSAT data-derived fluxes. Assimilating only GOSAT data, we can reproduce the observed CO2 time series at surface and TCCON sites in the tropics and the northern extra-tropics. In contrast, in the southern extra-tropics GOSAT XCO2 leads to enhanced seasonal cycle amplitudes compared to independent measurements, and we identify it as the result of a land-sea bias in our GOSAT XCO2 retrievals. A bias correction in the form of a global offset between GOSAT land and sea pixels in a joint inversion of satellite and surface measurements of CO2 yields plausible global flux estimates which are more tightly constrained than in an inversion using surface CO2 data alone. We show that assimilating the bias-corrected GOSAT data on top of surface CO2 data (a) reduces the estimated global land sink of CO2 , and (b) shifts the terrestrial net uptake of carbon from the tropics to the extra-tropics. It is concluded that while GOSAT total column CO2 provide useful constraints for source-sink inversions, small spatiotemporal biases - beyond what can be detected using current validation techniques - have serious consequences for optimized fluxes, even aggregated over continental scales.
Journal Article
Rexodus
\"With the aid of Kelvin, a dinosaur from the past, Amber must save her father--and the rest of us--from the very same danger that caused the dinosaurs to flee--and from the dinosaurs themselves as they return to Earth\"-- Back cover.
Book
Variations in global methane sources and sinks during 1910–2010
Atmospheric methane (CH4) increased from ~900 ppb (parts per billion, or nanomoles per mole of dry air) in 1900 to ~1800 ppb in 2010 at a rate unprecedented in any observational records. However, the contributions of the various methane sources and sinks to the CH4 increase are poorly understood. Here we use initial emissions from bottom-up inventories for anthropogenic sources, emissions from wetlands and rice paddies simulated by a~terrestrial biogeochemical model, and an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM)-based chemistry-transport model (i.e. ACTM) to simulate atmospheric CH4 concentrations for 1910–2010. The ACTM simulations are compared with the CH4 concentration records reconstructed from Antarctic and Arctic ice cores and firn air samples, and from direct measurements since the 1980s at multiple sites around the globe. The differences between ACTM simulations and observed CH4 concentrations are minimized to optimize the global total emissions using a mass balance calculation. During 1910–2010, the global total CH4 emission doubled from ~290 to ~580 Tg yr−1. Compared to optimized emission, the bottom-up emission data set underestimates the rate of change of global total CH4 emissions by ~30% during the high growth period of 1940–1990, while it overestimates by ~380% during the low growth period of 1990–2010. Further, using the CH4 stable carbon isotopic data (δ13C), we attribute the emission increase during 1940–1990 primarily to enhancement of biomass burning. The total lifetime of CH4 shortened from 9.4 yr during 1910–1919 to 9 yr during 2000–2009 by the combined effect of the increasing abundance of atomic chlorine radicals (Cl) and increases in average air temperature. We show that changes of CH4 loss rate due to increased tropospheric air temperature and CH4 loss due to Cl in the stratosphere are important sources of uncertainty to more accurately estimate the global CH4 budget from δ13C observations.
Journal Article
Trends and seasonal cycles in the isotopic composition of nitrous oxide since 1940
The atmospheric nitrous oxide concentration has increased by 20% since 1750. Analyses of Antarctic firn and archived air samples reveal seasonal cycles in the isotopic signature of nitrous oxide, which can help to disentangle the contribution of surface sources.
The atmospheric nitrous oxide mixing ratio has increased by 20% since 1750 (ref.
1
). Given that nitrous oxide is both a long-lived greenhouse gas
2
and a stratospheric ozone-depleting substance
3
, this increase is of global concern. However, the magnitude and geographic distribution of nitrous oxide sources, and how they have changed over time, is uncertain
4
,
5
. A key unknown is the influence of the stratospheric circulation
4
,
5
, which brings air depleted in nitrous oxide to the surface. Here, we report the oxygen and intramolecular nitrogen isotopic compositions of nitrous oxide in firn air samples from Antarctica and archived air samples from Cape Grim, Tasmania, spanning 1940–2005. We detect seasonal cycles in the isotopic composition of nitrous oxide at Cape Grim. The phases and amplitudes of these seasonal cycles allow us to distinguish between the influence of the stratospheric sink and the oceanic source at this site, demonstrating that isotope measurements can help in the attribution and quantification of surface sources in general. Large interannual variations and long-term decreasing trends in isotope composition are also apparent. These long-term trends allow us to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic sources of nitrous oxide, and confirm that the rise in atmospheric nitrous oxide levels is largely the result of an increased reliance on nitrogen-based fertilizers.
Journal Article
MUC5B Promoter Polymorphism and Interstitial Lung Abnormalities
Variants in the gene encoding mucin 5B (
MUC5B
) have been associated with interstitial fibrosis. This study shows a relationship between the presence of the associated variants in
MUC5B
and interstitial lung abnormalities in participants in a Framingham study cohort.
Subclinical interstitial lung abnormalities are relatively common findings on imaging studies in smokers and elderly persons.
1
Accumulating evidence suggests that these abnormalities may precede the development of clinically relevant pulmonary fibrosis.
1
–
7
However, it is not known whether there is a genetic association between interstitial lung abnormalities and pulmonary fibrosis in the general population.
Recently, a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs35705950) in the promoter of the gene encoding mucin 5B (
MUC5B
) was shown to be associated with both familial interstitial pneumonia and sporadic idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
8
In addition, the
MUC5B
variant was associated with increased expression of MUC5B in . . .
Journal Article
Quality and quantity of data recovered from massively parallel sequencing: Examples in Asparagales and Poaceae
• Premise of the study: Genome survey sequences (GSS) from massively parallel sequencing have potential to provide large, cost-effective data sets for phylogenetic inference, replace single gene or spacer regions as DNA barcodes, and provide a plethora of data for other comparative molecular evolution studies. Here we report on the application of this method to estimating the molecular phylogeny of core Asparagales, investigating plastid gene losses, assembling complete plastid genomes, and determining the type and quality of assembled genomic data attainable from Illumina 80–120-bp reads. • METHODS: We sequenced total genomic DNA from samples in two lineages of monocotyledonous plants, Poaceae and Asparagales, on the Illumina platform in a multiplex arrangement. We compared reference-based assemblies to de novo contigs, evaluated consistency of assemblies resulting from use of various references sequences, and assessed our methods to obtain sequence assemblies in nonmodel taxa. • Key results: Our method returned reliable, robust organellar and nrDNA sequences in a variety of plant lineages. High quality assemblies are not dependent on genome size, amount of plastid present in the total genomic DNA template, or relatedness of available reference sequences for assembly. Phylogenetic results revealed familial and subfamilial relationships within Asparagales with high bootstrap support, although placement of the monotypic genus Aphyllanthes was placed with moderate confidence. • CONCLUSIONS: The well-supported molecular phylogeny provides evidence for delineation of subfamilies within core Asparagales. With advances in technology and bioinformatics tools, the use of massively parallel sequencing will continue to become easier and more affordable for phylogenomic and molecular evolutionary biology investigations.
Journal Article
On the consistency between global and regional methane emissions inferred from SCIAMACHY, TANSO-FTS, IASI and surface measurements
Satellite retrievals of methane weighted atmospheric columns are assimilated within a Bayesian inversion system to infer the global and regional methane emissions and sinks for the period August 2009 to July 2010. Inversions are independently computed from three different space-borne observing systems and one surface observing system under several hypotheses for prior-flux and observation errors. Posterior methane emissions are compared and evaluated against surface mole fraction observations via a chemistry-transport model. Apart from SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY), the simulations agree fairly well with the surface mole fractions. The most consistent configurations of this study using TANSO-FTS (Thermal And Near infrared Sensor for carbon Observation – Fourier Transform Spectrometer), IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) or surface measurements induce posterior methane global emissions of, respectively, 565 ± 21 Tg yr−1, 549 ± 36 Tg yr−1 and 538 ± 15 Tg yr−1 over the one-year period August 2009–July 2010. This consistency between the satellite retrievals (apart from SCIAMACHY) and independent surface measurements is promising for future improvement of CH4 emission estimates by atmospheric inversions.
Journal Article
CO2 surface fluxes at grid point scale estimated from a global 21 year reanalysis of atmospheric measurements
This paper documents a global Bayesian variational inversion of CO2 surface fluxes during the period 1988–2008. Weekly fluxes are estimated on a 3.75° × 2.5° (longitude‐latitude) grid throughout the 21 years. The assimilated observations include 128 station records from three large data sets of surface CO2 mixing ratio measurements. A Monte Carlo approach rigorously quantifies the theoretical uncertainty of the inverted fluxes at various space and time scales, which is particularly important for proper interpretation of the inverted fluxes. Fluxes are evaluated indirectly against two independent CO2 vertical profile data sets constructed from aircraft measurements in the boundary layer and in the free troposphere. The skill of the inversion is evaluated by the improvement brought over a simple benchmark flux estimation based on the observed atmospheric growth rate. Our error analysis indicates that the carbon budget from the inversion should be more accurate than the a priori carbon budget by 20% to 60% for terrestrial fluxes aggregated at the scale of subcontinental regions in the Northern Hemisphere and over a year, but the inversion cannot clearly distinguish between the regional carbon budgets within a continent. On the basis of the independent observations, the inversion is seen to improve the fluxes compared to the benchmark: the atmospheric simulation of CO2 with the Bayesian inversion method is better by about 1 ppm than the benchmark in the free troposphere, despite possible systematic transport errors. The inversion achieves this improvement by changing the regional fluxes over land at the seasonal and at the interannual time scales.
Journal Article
Observational evidence for interhemispheric hydroxyl-radical parity
Observations of methyl chloroform combined with an atmospheric transport model predict a Northern to Southern Hemisphere hydroxyl ratio of slightly less than 1, whereas commonly used atmospheric chemistry models predict ratios 15–45% higher.
The north–south distribution of atmospheric OH
The hydroxyl radical is an important atmospheric oxidant, but our knowledge of its global distribution remains imprecise, with estimates for the ratio of Northern Hemisphere to Southern Hemisphere hydroxyl radical concentration varying from 0.85 to 1.4. These authors use a three-dimensional chemistry-transport model that has been well validated for interhemispheric transport using sulphur hexafluoride measurements, to obtain an interhemispheric hydroxyl radical ratio of 0.97±0.12. This information can help improve our understanding of the fate of atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases.
The hydroxyl radical (OH) is a key oxidant involved in the removal of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from the atmosphere
1
,
2
,
3
. The ratio of Northern Hemispheric to Southern Hemispheric (NH/SH) OH concentration is important for our understanding of emission estimates of atmospheric species such as nitrogen oxides and methane
4
,
5
,
6
. It remains poorly constrained, however, with a range of estimates from 0.85 to 1.4 (refs
4
,
7
,
8
,
9
,
10
). Here we determine the NH/SH ratio of OH with the help of methyl chloroform data (a proxy for OH concentrations) and an atmospheric transport model that accurately describes interhemispheric transport and modelled emissions. We find that for the years 2004–2011 the model predicts an annual mean NH–SH gradient of methyl chloroform that is a tight linear function of the modelled NH/SH ratio in annual mean OH. We estimate a NH/SH OH ratio of 0.97 ± 0.12 during this time period by optimizing global total emissions and mean OH abundance to fit methyl chloroform data from two surface-measurement networks and aircraft campaigns
11
,
12
,
13
. Our findings suggest that top-down emission estimates of reactive species such as nitrogen oxides in key emitting countries in the NH that are based on a NH/SH OH ratio larger than 1 may be overestimated.
Journal Article