Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Carbon Project (ARM Carbon)

In the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Carbon (ARM Carbon) Project, we aim to improve our ability to predict exchanges of carbon, water, and energy at the landscape scale. As we develop these models, we can better understand how the fluxes of carbon, water and energy link to land use and climate. Developing such a predictive ability requires —

• integrating ecosystem processes over heterogeneous land surfaces
• coupling with hydrological and meteorological processes
• bridging measurements and modeling methodologies

Winter wheat and ARM Southern Great Plains (Photo Credit: R. Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab)

To address these issues we are measuring stocks and fluxes of carbon, water, and energy at various spatial and temporal scales. The mixture of land uses and simple topography in the Southern Great Plains make this an ideal region to test methods of scaling flux predictions from plot to regional scales. During intensive field campaigns we measure ecosystem H₂¹⁸O and C¹⁸OO stocks and fluxes. We use three portable eddy co-variance towers, a 60m tower with eddy co-variance and precise CO₂ concentration measurements, and automated flask samplers to measure ¹³C fluxes.

This work was supported primarily by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, with additional support and collaboration from USDA, NASA, and NOAA.