skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


  • NSF Public Access
  • Search Results
  • Characterizing Performance of Freshwater Wetland Methane Models Across Time Scales at FLUXNET‐CH 4 Sites Using Wavelet Analyses
Title: Characterizing Performance of Freshwater Wetland Methane Models Across Time Scales at FLUXNET‐CH 4 Sites Using Wavelet Analyses
Abstract Process‐based land surface models are important tools for estimating global wetland methane (CH4) emissions and projecting their behavior across space and time. So far there are no performance assessments of model responses to drivers at multiple time scales. In this study, we apply wavelet analysis to identify the dominant time scales contributing to model uncertainty in the frequency domain. We evaluate seven wetland models at 23 eddy covariance tower sites. Our study first characterizes site‐level patterns of freshwater wetland CH4fluxes (FCH4) at different time scales. A Monte Carlo approach was developed to incorporate flux observation error to avoid misidentification of the time scales that dominate model error. Our results suggest that (a) significant model‐observation disagreements are mainly at multi‐day time scales (<15 days); (b) most of the models can capture the CH4variability at monthly and seasonal time scales (>32 days) for the boreal and Arctic tundra wetland sites but have significant bias in variability at seasonal time scales for temperate and tropical/subtropical sites; (c) model errors exhibit increasing power spectrum as time scale increases, indicating that biases at time scales <5 days could contribute to persistent systematic biases on longer time scales; and (d) differences in error pattern are related to model structure (e.g., proxy of CH4production). Our evaluation suggests the need to accurately replicate FCH4variability, especially at short time scales, in future wetland CH4model developments.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1652594
PAR ID:
10490764
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more » ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Volume:
128
Issue:
11
ISSN:
2169-8953
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, AGU Advances)
    Abstract Wetlands are responsible for 20%–31% of global methane (CH4) emissions and account for a large source of uncertainty in the global CH4budget. Data‐driven upscaling of CH4fluxes from eddy covariance measurements can provide new and independent bottom‐up estimates of wetland CH4emissions. Here, we develop a six‐predictor random forest upscaling model (UpCH4), trained on 119 site‐years of eddy covariance CH4flux data from 43 freshwater wetland sites in the FLUXNET‐CH4 Community Product. Network patterns in site‐level annual means and mean seasonal cycles of CH4fluxes were reproduced accurately in tundra, boreal, and temperate regions (Nash‐Sutcliffe Efficiency ∼0.52–0.63 and 0.53). UpCH4 estimated annual global wetland CH4emissions of 146 ± 43 TgCH4 y−1for 2001–2018 which agrees closely with current bottom‐up land surface models (102–181 TgCH4 y−1) and overlaps with top‐down atmospheric inversion models (155–200 TgCH4 y−1). However, UpCH4 diverged from both types of models in the spatial pattern and seasonal dynamics of tropical wetland emissions. We conclude that upscaling of eddy covariance CH4fluxes has the potential to produce realistic extra‐tropical wetland CH4emissions estimates which will improve with more flux data. To reduce uncertainty in upscaled estimates, researchers could prioritize new wetland flux sites along humid‐to‐arid tropical climate gradients, from major rainforest basins (Congo, Amazon, and SE Asia), into monsoon (Bangladesh and India) and savannah regions (African Sahel) and be paired with improved knowledge of wetland extent seasonal dynamics in these regions. The monthly wetland methane products gridded at 0.25° from UpCH4 are available via ORNL DAAC (https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/2253). 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences)
    Abstract Wetland methane (CH4) fluxes are highly variable over spatial and temporal scales due to variations in CH4production, oxidation, and transport. While some aspects of temporal variability in CH4fluxes are well documented, diel variability is poorly constrained, and studies report conflicting findings, making it difficult to generalize. Topographic, geochemical, hydroclimatic, and vegetative variability can result in characteristically different “patches” that likely influence differences in diel patterns. We investigated diel patterns of CH4fluxes from a large seasonal‐mineral soil wetland in Maryland (USA) across three functionally unique patches: two with vegetation (emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation) and one without (open water) during the summer of 2021. To explore the relationships between vegetation, environmental conditions, and flux patterns, we also measured physiochemical variables (air and water temperature, pH, relative humidity, PAR, dissolved oxygen, and water depth). To our knowledge, this is the first study comparing diel variability using chambers across such distinct vegetation patch types. We found that diel patterns were strongly linked to patch types: CH4fluxes from the emergent vegetation did not display a consistent diel pattern, while fluxes from the submerged vegetation and no vegetation patches frequently peaked at 13:00 and 05:00, respectively. These differences could be a direct result of vegetation impact on production, oxidation, and/or transport of CH4or on conditions covarying with patch type. This study contributes to the growing understanding of how CH4fluxes vary spatially over diel cycles and emphasizes the importance of considering spatially varying diel patterns when estimating fluxes. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Limnology and Oceanography)
    Abstract Inland waters release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, with small ponds acting as hot spots. High variability and limited research make emissions from small waterbodies a major source of uncertainty, especially in underrepresented tropical ecosystems where unique drivers remain poorly understood. We evaluated the magnitude and sources of variability in emissions from small waterbodies of the páramo—a tropical ecoregion in the Andes mountains, characterized by carbon‐rich soils. We measured partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), methane (pCH4) and CO2emissions from small (< 5000 m2) waterbodies, 11 ponds and 1 wetland, 3 times in the wet season and returned to 8 sites in the dry season. Sites were always supersaturated inpCH4(1096 ± 1482μatm), but occasionally undersaturated inpCO2(1224 ± 1585μatm). Variability between ponds was high and primarily driven by elevation and water temperature. Catchment soil‐water connectivity was also predictive ofpCO2. Mean wet‐season emission rates were 0.34 ± 0.54 g CO2‐C m−2d−1and 0.012 ± 0.018 g CH4‐C m−2d−1and surface area fluctuations were a large source of seasonal variability in some ponds. Though an open‐water transect of the wetland site was similar to ponds, we measured very highpCH4(1678 ± 2629μatm) andpCO2(5162 ± 3207μatm) along the wetland perimeter. Our findings provide essential insights for incorporating a significant yet understudied tropical ecosystem into the global carbon budget by confirming previous observations that small ponds can emit a disproportionately large amount of carbon to the atmosphere, but also highlighting the importance of variables other than pond size in controlling emission hot spots. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Ecosystems)
    Abstract Headwater wetlands are important sites for carbon storage and emissions. While local- and landscape-scale factors are known to influence wetland carbon biogeochemistry, the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of these factors limits our predictive understanding of wetland carbon dynamics. To address this issue, we examined relationships between carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) concentrations with wetland hydrogeomorphology, water level, and biogeochemical conditions. We sampled water chemistry and dissolved gases (CO2and CH4) and monitored continuous water level at 20 wetlands and co-located upland wells in the Delmarva Peninsula, Maryland, every 1–3 months for 2 years. We also obtained wetland hydrogeomorphologic metrics at maximum inundation (area, perimeter, and volume). Wetlands in our study were supersaturated with CO2(mean = 315 μM) and CH4(mean = 15 μM), highlighting their potential role as carbon sources to the atmosphere. Spatial and temporal variability in CO2and CH4concentrations was high, particularly for CH4, and both gases were more spatially variable than temporally. We found that groundwater is a potential source of CO2in wetlands and CO2decreases with increased water level. In contrast, CH4concentrations appear to be related to substrate and nutrient availability and to drying patterns over a longer temporal scale. At the landscape scale, wetlands with higher perimeter:area ratios and wetlands with higher height above the nearest drainage had higher CO2and CH4concentrations. Understanding the variability of CO2and CH4in wetlands, and how these might change with changing environmental conditions and across different wetland types, is critical to understanding the current and future role of wetlands in the global carbon cycle. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society)
    This paper describes the formation of, and initial results for, a new FLUXNET coordination network for ecosystem-scale methane (CH 4 ) measurements at 60 sites globally, organized by the Global Carbon Project in partnership with other initiatives and regional flux tower networks. The objectives of the effort are presented along with an overview of the coverage of eddy covariance (EC) CH 4 flux measurements globally, initial results comparing CH 4 fluxes across the sites, and future research directions and needs. Annual estimates of net CH 4 fluxes across sites ranged from −0.2 ± 0.02 g C m –2 yr –1 for an upland forest site to 114.9 ± 13.4 g C m –2 yr –1 for an estuarine freshwater marsh, with fluxes exceeding 40 g C m –2 yr –1 at multiple sites. Average annual soil and air temperatures were found to be the strongest predictor of annual CH 4 flux across wetland sites globally. Water table position was positively correlated with annual CH 4 emissions, although only for wetland sites that were not consistently inundated throughout the year. The ratio of annual CH 4 fluxes to ecosystem respiration increased significantly with mean site temperature. Uncertainties in annual CH 4 estimates due to gap-filling and random errors were on average ±1.6 g C m –2 yr –1 at 95% confidence, with the relative error decreasing exponentially with increasing flux magnitude across sites. Through the analysis and synthesis of a growing EC CH 4 flux database, the controls on ecosystem CH 4 fluxes can be better understood, used to inform and validate Earth system models, and reconcile differences between land surface model- and atmospheric-based estimates of CH 4 emissions. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Text Encoded Conversion
  • XML
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email