GREENHOUSE GAS FLUXES AND EARTH SYSTEM FEEDBACKS-HOP ON

The ambition of GreenFeedBack is to enhance knowledge of the greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics in the ecosystems and GHG in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems to provide a solid basis for estimation of regional and global climate feedback processes taking human pressure on ecosystems into account. GreenFeedBack studies the processes in sensitive terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine areas of which some are hypothesized to be tipping elements in the climate system. Thus, we primarily focus on high latitude terrestrial and freshwater systems, marine shelves and ocean areas and thereby advance the process-based representation of ecosystems in Earth System Models (ESM). The analysis involves co-design between scientists and stakeholders. We use data from the ICOS and ACTRIS stations in Europe and the GIOS, GEM and SMEAR network in Greenland and Finland as well as data from dedicated field and laboratory studies. The enhanced knowledge will be used to improve descriptions of the GHG processes for implementation in ecosystem models and ESMs. Hence, GreenFeedBack improves and applies ecosystem- and Earth System models to advance our understanding of GHGs effects on climate variability over different time horizons. GreenFeedBack-HOP ON widens GreenFeedBack by adding University of Tartu (UT). This enhances the project’s objective by adding the GHG N2O and especially the indirect GHGs volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the study. Advanced knowledge of VOC and N2O fluxes will contribute to a more holistic understanding- of the biogeochemical cycles in the terrestrial ecosystems. Furthermore, this addition will strengthen GreenFeedBack’s ambition to enhance present understanding of climate-ecosystem interaction by adding a specific objective on enhancing our knowledge of the fluxes of VOCs and the effects as a precursor for aerosol formation.