The carbon budget of terrestrial ecosystems in East Asia over the last two decades Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-9-3571-2012 7 September 2012 We estimate the current terrestrial carbon balance of East Asia and its driving mechanisms during 1990–2009 using three different approaches: inventories combined with satellite greenness measurements, terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle models and atmospheric inversion models. Read more
The “step feature” of suprathermal ion distributions: a discriminator between acceleration processes? Annales Geophysicae DOI 10.5194/angeo-30-1315-2012 5 September 2012 With this study, we draw the attention to the so-called “step feature” of the velocity distributions of suprathermal particles in the solar wind and offer a criterion that allows one to distinguish between those scenarios that employ velocity diffusion, i.e. second-order Fermi processes, which are prime candidates in the present debate. Read more
Water resources trends in Middle East and North Africa towards 2050 Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-16-3101-2012 3 September 2012 Changes in water resources availability can be expected as consequences of climate change, population growth, economic development and environmental considerations. A two-stage modeling approach is used to explore the impact of these changes in the Middle East and North Africa region. Read more
Tree height integrated into pantropical forest biomass estimates Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-9-3381-2012 27 August 2012 Aboveground tropical tree biomass and carbon storage estimates commonly ignore tree height (H). We estimate the effect of incorporating H on tropics-wide forest biomass estimates in 327 plots across four continents using 42 656 H and diameter measurements and harvested trees from 20 sites to answer various questions. Read more
A synthesis of carbon in international trade Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-9-3247-2012 23 August 2012 In a globalised world, the transfer of carbon between regions, either physically or embodied in production, represents a substantial fraction of global carbon emissions. The resulting emission transfers are important for balancing regional carbon budgets and for understanding the drivers of emissions. Read more
The scientific basis for a satellite mission to retrieve CCN concentrations and their impacts on convective clouds Atmospheric Measurement Techniques DOI 10.5194/amt-5-2039-2012 23 August 2012 The cloud-mediated aerosol radiative forcing is widely recognized as the main source of uncertainty in our knowledge of the anthropogenic forcing on climate. Here, we present a new conceptual framework to help us overcome the challenges for improving our understanding, using relatively simple passive satellite measurements in the visible and infared (IR). Read more
Summer ammonia measurements in a densely populated Mediterranean city Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-12-7557-2012 20 August 2012 Real-time measurements of ambient concentrations of gas-phase ammonia (NH3) were performed in Barcelona (NE Spain) in summer between May and September 2011. Two measurement sites were selected: one in an urban background traffic-influenced area (UB) and the other in the historical city centre (CC). Read more
Value of medium range weather forecasts in the improvement of seasonal hydrologic prediction skill Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-16-2825-2012 17 August 2012 We investigated the contribution of medium range weather forecasts with lead times of up to 14 days to seasonal hydrologic prediction skill over the conterminous United States (CONUS). Read more
Photoproduction of ammonium in the southeastern Beaufort Sea and its biogeochemical implications Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-9-3047-2012 10 August 2012 During the August 2009 Mackenzie Light and Carbon (MALINA) Program, the absorbed photon-based efficiency spectra of NH4+photoproduction (i.e. photoammonification) were determined using water samples from the SE Beaufort Sea, including the Mackenzie River estuary, shelf, and Canada Basin. Read more
Assessing climate model software quality: a defect density analysis of three models Geoscientific Model Development DOI 10.5194/gmd-5-1009-2012 9 August 2012 We found that the climate models all have very low defect densities compared to well-known, similarly sized open-source projects. We discuss the implications of our findings for the assessment of climate model software trustworthiness. Read more
