Scientific Theme: Advanced Modeling and Observing Systems

Theme report: Climate System Variability
ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR GMD04.2:
Two Radon-222 sensors, collecting data at half-hourly resolution, have been installed at the NOAA/GMD tall-tower
at Moody, TX, (site-code, WKT) and at the DOE ARM Southern Great Plains site (site-code, SGP).
MILESTONE GMD04.3:
Implement following carbon flux emissions models for use within GMD Ensemble Kalman Filter
Carbon Data Assimilation System: Fire, fossil fuel and ocean carbon.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR GMD04.3:
Fire, fossil fuel and ocean carbon modules were implemented with the ensemble Kalman filter system (commonly
referred to as CarbonTracker. http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/carbontracker). This website contains detailed
output of national and global carbon fluxes, and the atmospheric CO2 concentrations consistent with those fluxes, as
produced by the model. There are also general and detailed explanations of the modeling system. This
documentation and all the model outputs are available for public download.
MILESTONE GMD04.4:
Implement full description of 14 CO2 (radio-carbon) within TM5 global transport model, for
simulation of North American and global 14 CO2 measurements.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR GMD04.4:
A full description of 14 CO2 (radiocarbon) has been implemented with the global model TM5. The model has been
tested against 14 CO2 observations in both North America and Siberia, and has performed very well.
MILESTONE GMD04.5:
Establish two new tall-tower sites in the NOAA/GMD North American Carbon Observing System
(Carbon America).
ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR GMD04.5:
Two new tall-tower sites were established during FY07, one near Boulder, CO, using a 300-m tall NOAA research
tower and the other near West Branch, IA using a privately owned >400-m television transmission tower.
Continuous in-situ Carbon Dioxide/Carbon Monoxide mixing ratios and regular air samples (analyzed in Boulder
for up to 40 atmospheric trace gas species) are publicly available and are being used as part of the CarbonTracker
system mentioned above.
MILESTONE GMD04.6:
Complete development of automated quality control algorithms.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR GMD04.6:
Work is ongoing, but continued funding restrictions are delaying completion of these automated algorithms.
MILESTONE GMD04.7:
Develop and field test a temperature/humidity/GPS system to augment current trace gas vertical
profile measurements in the NOAA/GMD Carbon America aircraft network (allowing for
automated measurements of the ambient temperature and humidity and the position and altitude
of each sample in a vertical profile); and install systems at five sites.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR GMD04.7:
The current system has been installed and is operating at five sites in the NOAA/ESRL/GMD Carbon America
aircraft network. GPS position/height data and ambient temperature, pressure, humidity data are part of the auxiliary
data stream for these aircraft-based trace-gas measurements.
MILESTONE GMD04.8:
Field test new automated carbon dioxide analyzer systems aboard the small-aircraft platforms
used in the NOAA/GMD Carbon America aircraft network.
54