Welcome to TSS

 

TSS Research

The Terrestrial Sciences Section (TSS) is part of the Climate and Global Dynamics (CGD) Division at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Scientists in the section study land-atmosphere interactions, in particular surface forcing of the atmosphere, through model development, application, and observational analyses.

Scientists in TSS develop and use appropriate multiscale models, remote sensing, advanced analytical techniques, and observations to study the role of the terrestrial biosphere in the climate system. Topics of study include the regulation of planetary energetics, planetary ecology, and planetary metabolism through exchanges of energy, momentum, and materials (e.g., water, carbon, dust) with the atmosphere and ocean and the response of the climate system to changes in land cover and land use.

Scientists in TSS are involved in developing the land/vegetation model used in the Community Climate System Model (CCSM). This model, the Community Land Model, includes biogeophysics, biogeochemistry (carbon, nitrogen, dust, volatile organic compounds), hydrology, and vegetation dynamics.

Research in TSS spans a broad knowledge of the relationships among the biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. TSS provides a focal point for CGD and university ecological and hydrological research and serves as a resource to these communities in the use of CCSM (Community Climate System Model).