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 are also 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.

Publications

Improvements to the Community Land Model and their impact on the hydrological cycle
The Community Land Model version 3 (CLM3) is the land component of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM). CLM3 has energy and water biases resulting from deficiencies in some of its canopy and soil parameterizations related to hydrological processes. Recent research by the community that utilizes CLM3 and the family of CCSM models has indicated several promising approaches to alleviating these biases. [article] [abstract]

Use of FLUXNET in the Community Land Model development
The Community Land Model version 3 (CLM3.0) simulates land-atmosphere exchanges in response to climatic forcings. CLM3.0 has known biases in the surface energy partitioning as a result of deficiencies in its hydrological and biophysical parameterizations. Such models, however, need to be robust for multidecadal global climate simulations. FLUXNET now provides an extensive data source of carbon, water and energy exchanges for investigating land processes, and it encompasses a global range of ecosystem-climate interactions. [article] [abstract]