Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Logo
Menu
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Organizational Charts
    • Virtual Tours
    • EESA Strategic Vision
  • Our People
    • A-Z People
    • Alumni Network
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • IDEA Working Group
    • Paul A. Witherspoon
    • Postdocs & Early Careers
    • Search by Expertise
  • Careers & Opportunities
    • Careers
    • Intern Pilot w/CSUEB
    • Mentorship Program
    • Recognition & Funding Opps
    • EESA Mini Grants
    • S&E Metrics for Performance and Promotion
    • Student Opportunities
    • Supervisor EnRichment (SupER) Program
    • Promotion Metrics (Scientific)
  • Research
    • Our Divisions
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
      • Environmental & Biological Systems Science
        • Programs
        • Environmental Remediation & Water Resources
        • Ecosystems Biology Program
        • Bioenergy
      • Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
        • Terrestrial Ecosystem Science
      • Climate & Atmosphere Processes
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
      • Earth Systems & Society
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
    • Energy Geosciences Division
      • Discovery Geosciences
        • Programs
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geophysics
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geochemistry
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Isotope
      • Energy Resources
        • Programs
        • Geologic Carbon Sequestration
        • Hydrocarbon Resources
        • Geothermal Systems
        • Nuclear Energy & Waste
      • Resilient Energy, Water & Infrastructure
        • Programs
        • Water-Energy
        • Critical Infrastructure
        • Environmental Resilience
        • Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage
    • Projects
    • Research at a Glance
    • Publication Lists
    • Centers and Resources
    • Technologies & National User Programs
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
    • Operations
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Earth & Environment Newsletter
  • Intranet
  • COVID & Safety
    • EESA Safety
    • EESA COVID-19
  • Search

  • all
  • people
  • events
  • posts
  • pages
  • projects
  • publications

Negron-Juarez et al. find that most ESMs show carbon uptake bias for tropical forests1 min read

by Marilyn Saarni on October 27, 2015

Announcements Climate & Carbon Sciences Program Climate & Carbon Sciences Program Area Climate and Atmosphere Processes Program Domain Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division Climate Sciences Department
Amazon Forest at dusk. Photo taken by Jeff Chambers.

Amazon Forest at dawn. Photo taken by Jeff Chambers.

Robinson Negrón-Juárez, Charles Koven, William Riley, Ryan Knox, and Jeff Chambers, researchers in EESA and CESD, published a letter in Environmental Research Letters showing that most earth system models (ESM) overpredict tropical forest biomass in response to increased forest productivity. In contrast, observations show that as tropical forest productivity increases, trees do not continue to store CO2 at the same rate, and biomass saturates. This bias may lead to an overprediction of carbon uptake in response to climate change. Negrón-Juárez et al. explain that observations of how plants allocate the carbon derived from photosynthesis into leaves, wood and roots are useful to assess model performance. Including these allocation patterns and turnover times into ESMs will improve understanding of how quickly the climate system will warm over the coming decades.

Their paper was highlighted by Environmental Research Web this September.

Citation: Observed allocations of productivity and biomass, and turnover times in tropical forests are not accurately represented in CMIP5 Earth system models. Robinson I Negrón-Juárez, Charles D Koven, William J Riley, Ryan G Knox and Jeffrey Q Chambers. Open Access: Environmental Research Letters 10 (2015) 064017; doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/6/064017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/6/064017

News & Events

EESA Climate Experts Co-Author Study Predicting 100% Increase in Arctic Lightning2 min read

April 5, 2021

EESA climate scientists contributed to the stunning discovery that lightning strikes will increase by 100% this century above the Arctic Circle, where lightning is practically unheard of, due to climate warming. A paper published today in the journal Nature Climate Change describes how such an increase in lightning will drive further warming and wildfires across…

EESA Participates in International HotBENT Project1 min read

March 29, 2021

The alteration of bentonite buffer under high temperature is a critical research question for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Researchers at Berkeley Lab have actively participated with international colleagues in the “HotBENT” project, the centerpiece of which is long-term evaluation of bentonite buffer heated at 175-200 oC at the Grimsel Test Site in Switzerland.…

Study Finds Natural Organic Carbon Source Fuels Growth of Diverse, Distinct Bacteria from Groundwater1 min read

March 25, 2021

  Xiaoqin Wu, Sara Gushgari-Doyle, and Mon Oo Yee from Romy Chakraborty’s group in EESA’s Ecology Department and the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT have published a paper in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology describing a study they hope will advance cultivation and isolation strategies for recovering diverse, uncultivable, and novel microorganisms from Earth’s…

Nigel Quinn Receives ASCE’s Highest Honor1 min read

Nigel Quinn leads the HydroEcological Engineering Advanced Decision Support research group (HEADS) which specializes in the development of environmental decision support systems to improve understanding and find solutions to complex water resources and water quality problems in California and worldwide. In January, Nigel was awarded life membership in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This…

  • Our People
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • Organizational Charts
    • Postdocs
    • Staff Only
    • Search by Expertise
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
  • Research
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
    • Energy Geosciences Division
    • Program Domains
      • Programs
    • Projects
  • Contact
    • 510 486 6455
    • [email protected]
    • Our Identity

Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo DOE Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo UC

A U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory Managed by the University of California

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · Earth and Environmental Sciences Area · Privacy & Security Notice