REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP)
Steering Scientific Committee
Philippe Ciais, Chair (France), Pep Canadell (Australia),
Chris Field (USA), Niki Gruber (Switzerland), Corinne Le Quere
(UK), Antonio Nobre (Brazil), Mike Raupach (Australia), Chris
Sabine (USA), Ming Xu (China)
Mandate:
1. Establish the mean carbon balance of large regions of the globe
at the scale of continents and large ocean basins, including their
component fluxes, using a combination of bottom up data and models
from regional carbon cycle programs and global analyses.
2. Compare these bottom up estimates with the results of regional
top-down atmospheric inversions, and thereby test the compatibility
of regional bottom-up estimates with global atmospheric constraints.
3. Evaluate the regional ‘hot-spots’ of interannual
variability and possibly the trends and underlying processes over
the past decades by combining available long-term observations.
Products:
1. Synthesis book (or special issue), including chapters on regional
land and ocean C budgets, chapters assessing overall state, trends
and variabilities in carbon fluxes, and synthesis chapters testing
compatibility of regional bottom-up estimates with global atmospheric
constraints (pdfs should be available shortly after publication
for wide distribution).
2. High-level synthesis paper reporting key results
3. Database (updatable in the future) of C fluxes from regional
and global estimates
Synthesis individual chapters to be prepared before-hand
:
Principle:
A group of scientists will take responsibility for assembling
a synthesis of the C balance of their region, using an ensemble
of methods and data. This synthesis should broadly follow the
IPCC principles : (1) draw mostly on existing research work and
tools, although specific new data analysis or model simulations
will be welcome, (2) give a fair account of representative results
obtained by different groups which can be reflected in the multiple
authorhip of the chapter, (3) provide traceable and referenced
information about the data and model sources, (4) provide a clear
assessment of uncertainties and methods, including remaining areas
of discrepancy, or uncharted areas. We do not expect an even distribution
of knowledge and uncertainties over each region of the globe,
given the contrasting density of regional C observation networks.
Guidelines for chapters scope, content and lengths:
No more than 15 pages of text double spaced + additional figures
and references. The text should consist of synthesis work for
a general scientific readership, summarizing the various existing
streams of data or model results, and focusing on analyzing the
results and their uncertainties.
Global Chapters G1-G3:
Each of these chapters will cover and analyze the globe subdivided
into large regions (e.g. the TRANSCOM land and ocean regions)
using a globally homogeneous approach global analysis of fossil
fuel and cement emissions from harmonized energy-related statistics.
Synthesis work in each of these ‘global’ chapters
should begin with a summary decsription of the approach and data
used, focus primarily on discussing regional differences in C
balance and uncertainties, possibly in light of the underlying
mechanisms. Each region will be analyzed both for its long term
mean C budget over the target period 1990-2004, but also wherever
possible for their rate of interannual variability and trends.
Regions poorly constrained by data should be identified
Land Chapters L1-L8:
Each regional land chapter should at least provide :
- Estimate of the long term mean C budget, over the past 15 years
(1990-2004) excluding anthopogenic emissions that will be treated
in a separate chapter ;
- Provide estimate of the average (monthly) seasonal cycle of
ecosystem fluxes and (if possible) of disturbance-related emissions
- Provide a simple breakdown, e.g. in a summary table, of the
long term mean C budget into component gross fluxes of GPP, NPP,
RH, and Disturbance emissions for major land cover types including
at least croplands, grassland and forests (themselves possibly
separated if necessary into types such as deciduous vs. conifers).
- Provide estimation of the interannual flux anomalies over the
past 15 years
- Give an overview of the dominant underlying processes causing
sources and sinks and, if relevant, of sub-regional ‘hot
spots’
Ocean Chapters O1-O6:
Each regional ocean chapter should at least provide :
- Estimate of the long term mean C budget, over the past 15 years
(1990-2004);
- Provide an estimate of the natural and anthropogenic CO2 fluxes
- Provide estimate of the average (monthly) seasonal cycle of
CO2 fluxes
- Provide a simple breakdown, e.g. in a summary table, of the
long term mean C budget into component gross fluxes of primary
production, export production, thermal component.
- Provide estimation of the interannual flux anomalies over the
past 15 years
- Give an overview of the dominant underlying processes causing
sources and sinks and, if relevant, of sub-regional ‘hot
spots’
Synthesis Chapters S1-4:
These Synthesis Of Synthesis (= S chapters) will be drafted during
the meeting, drawing upon the results of chapters 1-12 above.
To facilitate this process, a speadsheet with the main regional
results from these chapters will be prepared and distributed short
before the meeting. Four SOS chapters are foreseen that will integrate
top-down invresions results with state of the art bottom-up long
term mean fluxes, and their interannual variability, possibly
also in key regions the long term trends. Areas where both aproaches
converge or differ will be identified, as well as uncertainties
assessed into a coherent framework. A discussion of the different
processes contributing regionally (eg CO2 fertilization vs legacy
from past land use change and climate change) will be provided
in Ch-S3. Finally, Ch-S4 will make essential recommendations for
rducing errors in the future (e.g. organizing data exchange protocols,
taylored model intercomparisons or model-data comparison, identify
regions where key information is missing and ways to reduce uncertainties
in a 5-10 years time frame, including the forthcoming advent of
remotely sensed CO2 columns from new sensors)
List of (potential) chapters and lead authors
Ch-G1 Anthopogenic emissions (globe) = Marland et al.
Ch-G2 Atmospheric inversions (globe) = Law et al.
Ch-L1 Africa = ? Hanaan ?
Ch-L2 Australia = ?Raupach?
Ch-L3 China = Ming Xu ?
Ch-L4 Europe = Freibauer + Ciais ?
Ch-L5 N America = (Hanson handles the process of consultation),
Field, Denning, Pacala
Ch-L6 Russia = Shvidenko ?
Ch-L7 S. America = * TBD identified by Pep
Ch-L8 South and S.E. Asia = * TBD identified by Pep
Ch-O1 Global ocean climatologies = Sabine
Ch-O2 Pacific = Feely
Ch-O3 Atlantic and Arctic = Schuster
Ch-O4 Southern Ocean = Tilbrook
Ch-O5 Indian = Sharma
Ch-O6 Coastal Ocean = Chen
Ch-G3 Rivers and lateral fluxes (globe) = TBD possible Chen, Abril,
Sundquist
Ch-S1 Comparison of atmospheric & bottom up fluxes (mean decadal)
Ch-S2 IAV at regional scale
Ch-S3 Attribution to regional processes over the globe
Ch-S4 Final recommendations
Time line
Aug 2007
Draft of mandate and scope (= this document) by Philippe
Oct 2007 (end of)
“sign-in” on chapter scope ; regional programs are
contacted and will provide a quick feedback to Pep on the initiative
+ help to identify a list of key persons (= regional representatves,
on the order of up to 3 persons per region responsible for representing
their science communities).
Jan 2008
Chapter framework (list of questions to be adressed) and time
window (spatial & temporal resolution) circulated by Philippe
and Mike
Sep 2008
Regional groups deliver chapters drafts by chapter lead authors
Sep 2008 through Oct 2008
Internal review of the chapters & model results output is
collected. Option to give short presentations at the CarboEurope
final conference.
Jan 2009 (end of)
Hold the meeting over 4 days ; get revised MS from internal review
; draft of the SOS chapters
Jan 2009 (After)
Estimated 14 months processing ; reviewing and termainating the
SOS chapters, checking the consistency between chapters (units,
definitions …); provide summary tables with fluxes in Annex
Contact
For more information and becoming involved,
please contact: Pep Canadell <pep.canadell@csiro.au>