Large datasets of greenhouse gas and energy surface-atmosphere fluxes measured with the eddy-covariance technique (e.g., FLUXNET2015, AmeriFlux BASE) are widely used to benchmark models and remote-sensing products. This study addresses one of the major challenges facing model-data integration: To what spatial extent do flux measurements taken at individual eddy-covariance sites reflect model- or satellite-based grid… More
Over the past decades, the eddy covariance (EC) community has clearly demonstrated the power of networks; regional networks and FLUXNET have shown us that combining data across multiple sites creates a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. The FLUXNET database has been used extensively to evaluate satellite measurements, inform Earth system… More
The AmeriFlux Tech Team has completed another successful site visit season. This year they visited nine AmeriFlux sites. The below gallery features an image from each site visit. The Tech Team is planning for the upcoming site visit season. If you would like to learn more about site visits and what to expect, please see our… More
The future carbon balance of high-latitude ecosystems is dependent on the sensitivity of biological processes (photosynthesis and respiration) to the physical changes occurring with permafrost thaw. Predicting C exchange in these ecosystems is difficult because the thawing of permafrost is a heterogeneous process that creates a complex landscape. We measured net ecosystem exchange of C… More
Permafrost soils store nearly half of global soil carbon (C), and therefore permafrost thawing could lead to large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions via decomposition of soil organic matter. When ice-rich permafrost thaws, it creates a localized surface subsidence called thermokarst terrain, which changes the soil microenvironment. We used soil profile CO2 measurements to understand… More
Arctic warming has led to permafrost degradation and ground subsidence, created as a result of ground ice melting. Frozen soil organic matter that thaws can increase carbon (C) emissions to the atmosphere, but this can be offset in part by increases in plant growth. The balance of plant and microbial processes, and how this balance… More