Recent Amazonian carbon cycle and climate trends
2nd June 2022 | 10.40 am – 11.00 am
Hans-Knöll-Straße 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
BGC Lecture Hall
Zoom: will be provided
Session 1 – Long-term observations of change (Martin Heimann, moderator)
2nd June 2022 | 9.45 am – 11.40 am
Abstract
Amazonia hosts the largest tropical forests and one of the three main air upwelling centers of the globe. It is thus important both for the global carbon cycle and to some extent global climate. Recent climate and oxygen data from tree rings suggest an unexpected intensification of the Amazon hydrological cycle. Our analyses demonstrate that this is related to a strengthening of the Walker circulation, counter to expectations, caused by strong tropical Atlantic warming and tropical Pacific cooling. Tropical Atlantic warming may be related to a southward shift of the Westerlies around Antarctica which permits Indian ocean waters to enter the Atlantic and be transported northwards. With regards to the carbon cycle, greenhouse gas data from a joint Brazil, Leeds, NOAA program started in 2010 combined with data from NOAA/ESRL and inverse atmospheric transport modelling suggest that Amazonia is either in balance or possibly a weak source of carbon, in agreement with analysis which locate the global land carbon sink outside the tropics in the northern hemisphere mid to high latitudes (Tans et al.1990 and more recently Wang et al. 2013).
Biography
Emanuel Gloor Professor Biogeochemical Cycles University of Leeds. Studied Physics ETH Zuerich. PhD at EAWAG / ETH Zuerich studying the physics of vertical transport in stratified water bodies using a variety of approaches. Post-Doc at Princeton University / NOAA GFDL with focus on analysis of carbon cycle and related cycles, both ocean and land-atmosphere using inverse modelling of transport. Research Scientist, Jena MPI Biogeochemistry, with focus on boreal forests in global carbon cycle. After a short stay in Princeton Assistant Professor at University of Leeds.