JIFRESSE/AOS 274 Special Seminar

Title:                "The carbon cycle observed from ground and space"

Abstract:

Reliable geographical distributions of CO2 and CH4 fluxes remain elusive despite substantial efforts to measure fluxes and atmospheric mole fractions. With the launch of the Japanese GOSAT instrument in 2009 and the NASA OCO-2 mission in 2014, space-borne observations of these gases are the newest innovation to understand the carbon cycle. These satellites provide much needed new data over remote ecosystems but they bring their own challenges. Dr. Paul Palmer will discuss our new results from both independent and integrated analyses of ground-based and space-based measurements of CO2 and CH4.

Short introduction of Paul Palmer:

Paul Palmer is an Atmospheric Chemistry professor in the University of Edinburgh. He is an expert in the observations of carbon cycle, particularly CO2 and CH4 observations. He leads a research group addressing the following major problems:

•      What is the geographical location, magnitude and variability of terrestrial fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O?
•      What drives observed changes in tropospheric chemistry and how do these affect surface air quality?
•      How can we describe human behaviour in climate models?