Overview

The Biogeochemical Signals department is a newly formed department succeeding the former Biogeochemical Systems department headed by Prof. Dr. Martin Heimann, and the former research group on Terrestrial Biosphere Modelling. The main aim of the new department is to study and interpret observed large-scale biogeochemical signals in the Earth system by linking these signals to process-understanding and process-oriented modelling of key processes in the terrestrial biosphere. To accomplish this goal, the group develops and employs numerical models of terrestrial biosphere processes, and develops new observational constraints obtained from biosphere monitoring or ecosystem manipulation to challenge model formulations. An improved representation of key (eco-physiological) processes, in particular those affecting nutrient availability and its role in ecosystem dynamics, is a key component of the group's research. The group investigates the consequences of the coupling of the terrestrial biogeochemical cycles for biogeochemical and biogeophysical interactions with the climate system.

Latest Key Result

Meyerholt, J, Sickel, K, Zaehle, S. Ensemble projections elucidate effects of uncertainty in terrestrial nitrogen limitation on future carbon uptake. Glob Change Biol. 2020; 00: 1– 19. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15114

Latest publications

	Bastos, A., Fleischer, K. (2021). Effects of rising CO2 levels on carbon sequestration are coordinated above and below ground. Nature, 591, 532-534. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-00737-1.
	Bezerra, V. L., Dias-Júnior, C. Q., Vale, R. S., Santana, R. A., Botia, S., Manzi, A. O., Cohen, J. C. P., Martins, H. S., Chamecki, M., Fuentes, J. D. (2021). Near-surface atmospheric turbulence in the presence of a squall line above a forested and deforested region in the Central Amazon. Atmosphere, 12(4): 461. doi:10.3390/atmos12040461.
	Fay, A. R., Gregor, L., Landschützer, P., McKinley, G. A., Gruber, N., Gehlen, M., Iida, Y., Laruelle, G. G., Rödenbeck, C., Zeng, J. (2021). Harmonization of global surface ocean pCO2 mapped products and their flux calculations; an improved estimate of the ocean carbon sink. Earth System Science Data Discussions. doi:10.5194/essd-2021-16.
	Lacroix, F., Ilyina, T., Laruelle, G. G., Regnier, P. (2021). Reconstructing the preindustrial coastal carbon cycle through a global ocean circulation model: was the global continental shelf already both autotrophic and a CO2 sink? Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 35(2): e2020GB006603. doi:10.1029/2020GB006603.
	Sha, M. K., Langerock, B., Blavier, J.-F.-L., Blumenstock, T., Borsdorff, T., Buschmann, M., Dehn, A., Mazière, M. D., Deutscher, N. M., Feist, D. G., García, O. E., Grif?th, D. W. T., Grutter, M., Hannigan, J. W., Hase, F., Heikkinen, P., Hermans, C., Iraci, L. T., Jeseck, P., Jones, N., Kivi, R., Kumps, N., Landgraf, J., Lorente, A., Mahieu, E., Makarova, M. V., Mellqvist, J., Metzger, J.-M., Morino, I., Nagahama, T., Notholt, J., Ohyama, H., Ortega, I., Palm, M., Petri, C., Pollard, D. F., Rettinger, M., Robinson, J., Roche, S., Roehl, C. M., Röhling, A. N., Rousogenous, C., Schneider, M., Shiomi, K., Smale, D., Stremme, W., Strong, K., Sussmann, R., Té, Y., Uchino, O., Velazco, V. A., Vrekoussis, M., Wang, P., Warneke, T., Wizenberg, T., Wunch, D., Yamanouchi, S., Yang, Y., Zhou, M. (2021). Validation of methane and carbon monoxide from sentinel-5 precursor using TCCON and NDACC-IRWG stations. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions. doi:10.5194/amt-2021-36.
	Vellalassery, A., Pillai, D., Marshall, J., Gerbig, C., Buchwitz, M., Schneising, O., Ravi, A. (2021). Using TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) measurements and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) CO modelling to understand the contribution of meteorology and emissions to an extreme air pollution event in India. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 21(7), 5393-5414. doi:10.5194/acp-21-5393-2021.