Event

One of the largest uncertainties in projections of future climate change is the role of terrestrial ecosystems in contributing to or mediating the rise in atmospheric CO2. This is because terrestrial ecosystems can act both as carbon sinks (i.e., photosynthesis, net primary production) and also as carbon sources (i.e., respiration, decomposition, combustion). The reasons tipping the source/sink balance depend on conditions, sensitivities, thresholds, and projections of temperature, moisture, nutrients, disturbance, and adaptation. At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), we are working on understanding these feedbacks and impacts through satellite remote sensing and land surface modeling across carbon, water, and nutrient cycles. In this talk, Dr. Fisher will give an overview of the latest remote sensing datasets and model developments from JPL, and discuss new insights into the behavior and understanding of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing climate.