UNDERSTANDING CARBON CYCLE FEEDBACKS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMISSIONS AND ATMOSPHERIC CONCENTRATIONS IS CRITICAL FOR IMPROVING THE ABILITY OF EARTH SYSTEM MODELS TO PREDICT CLIMATE CHANGE. THOUGH MEASUREMENTS FROM THE JAPANESE GOSAT AND NASA'S ORBITING CARBON OBSERVATORY-2 (OCO-2) HAVE PROVIDED A CRITICAL FIRST STEP TOWARDS REDUCING THESE UNCERTAINTIES THEY DO NOT PROVIDE THE SPATIOTEMPORAL OR MULTI-SPECIES COVERAGE AND ACCURACY NEEDED TO ANSWER THE KEY CARBON-CLIMATE FEEDBACK QUESTIONS AT PROCESS-RELEVANT SCALES. RECOGNIZING THESE CHALLENGES NASA HAS INVESTED IN SIMULATIONS AND ANALYSES (OSSES) THAT WOULD HELP GUIDE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE CARBON OBSERVING SYSTEM.

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators