Large variability in ecosystem models explains uncertainty in a critical parameter for quantifying GPP with carbonyl sulphide

Abstract

Regional gross primary productivity (GPP) estimates are crucial to estimating carbon-climate feedbacks but are highly uncertain with existing methods. An emerging approach uses atmospheric carbonyl sulphide (COS) as a tracer for carbon dioxide: COS plant uptake is simulated by scaling GPP. A critical parameter for this method is leaf-scale relative uptake (LRU). Plant chamber and eddy covariance studies find a narrow range of LRU values but some atmospheric modelling studies assign values well outside this range. Here we study this discrepancy by conducting new regional chemical transport simulations for North America using the underlying data from previous studies. We find the wide range of ecosystem model GPP estimates can explain the discrepancy in LRU values. We also find that COS concentration uncertainty is more sensitive to GPP uncertainty than to LRU parameter uncertainty. These results support the COS tracer technique as a useful approach for constraining GPP estimates.

Keywords

• carbon cycle
• GPP
• carbonyl sulphide