Interactions between the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ecosystems at northern high latitudes

CO2 and CH4 exchanges between land ecosystems and the atmosphere in northern high latitudes over the 21st century

[1] Terrestrial ecosystems of the northern high latitudes (above 50 N) exchange large amounts of CO2 and CH4 with the atmosphere each year. Here we use a process-based model to estimate the budget of CO2 and CH4 of the region for current climate conditions and for future scenarios by considering effects of permafrost dynamics, CO2 fertilization of photosynthesis and fire. We find that currently...

Upper atmosphere differences between northern and southern high-latitudes: the role of magnetic field asymmetry

The non-dipolar portions of the Earth’s main magnetic field constitute substantial differences between the two hemispheres. Beside the magnetic flux densities and patterns being different in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and Southern Hemisphere (SH), also the offset between the invariant magnetic and the geographic poles is larger in the SH than in the NH. We investigated the effects of this mag...

The dynamics of ecosystems, biodiversity management and social institutions at high northern latitudes.

Ecosystems at high latitudes are highly dynamic, influenced by a multitude of large-scale disturbances. Due to global change processes these systems may be expected to be particularly vulnerable, affecting the sustained production of renewable wood resources and abundance of plants and animals on which local cultures depend. In this paper, we assess the implications of new understandings of hig...

Methane Fluxes Between Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Atmosphere at Northern High Latitudes During the Past Century: A Retrospective Analysis with a Process-Based Biogeochemistry Model

[1] We develop and use a new version of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) to study how rates of methane (CH4) emissions and consumption in high-latitude soils of the Northern Hemisphere have changed over the past century in response to observed changes in the region’s climate. We estimate that the net emissions of CH4 (emissions minus consumption) from these soils have increased by an avera...

Seismic Wave Interactions Between the Atmosphere - Ocean - Cryosphere System and the Geosphere in Polar Regions