Integrating surface-atmosphere Exchange Processes Across Scales - Modeling and Monitoring (IPAS)

Scales play an important role for the analysis and interpretation of climate-relevant feedback processes between biosphere and atmosphere. Particularly for highly structured domains such as Arctic permafrost landscapes, to accurately predict large-scale, long-term changes in ecosystem functionality, we need to investigate processes at fine-scales to understand the drivers of these changes. Also, new observational insight into links between ecosystem characteristics and carbon and energy processes needs to be assimilated into flexible modeling frameworks, ideally combining the individual advantages of different modeling philosophies.

Our working group integrates multi-disciplinary observational and modeling approaches, currently with a regional focus on Arctic permafrost landscapes. The monitoring techniques cover scales ranging from a few centimeters (e.g. soil cores) to thousands of kilometers (e.g. atmospheric trace gas mixing ratios), with a strong focus on atmospheric observations but also including disciplines such as hydrology and soil science. On the modeling site, the IPAS group customizes process-based biogeochemical models, data-driven statistical modeling and atmospheric inverse modeling techniques for application in high-latitude permafrost environments, with the overarching objective of combining their individual strengths, and assimilating the newly generated datasets.

Focus Areas

UAS-based greenhouse gas emissions mapping in Arctic permafrost

Abdullah Bolek
To better understand the impact of heterogenous landscape features on the Arctic carbon cycle and to characterize the spatial variability of the carbon fluxes, we will use a UAS instrumented with greenhouse gas analyzers (CO₂, CH₄, H₂O) and meteorological sensors. more

Impact of micro habitat properties and seasonal weather conditions on N₂O fluxes in the Arctic

Nathalie Ylenia Triches
The aim of this project is to answer the following questions: What is the magnitude and what are the drivers of the three most important greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O), in spring, summer, and autumn? Are there differences between the seasons? Do N₂O fluxes play a role in the Arctic, and what drives them? more

Arctic freshwater carbon dynamics

Judith Vogt
This project aims to develop a pan-Arctic synthesis of new and existing freshwater carbon flux data to better understand underlying processes and inform high-resolution process models. more

Optimizing the classification scheme for Arctic wetlands to better understand their role in the Arctic carbon budget

Kseniia Ivanova
The project’s main aim is to improve the representation of wetlands in carbon upscaling studies in the Arctic based on CH₄ and CO₂ flux fingerprints and their response to environmental factors, such as water table level, soil temperature and moisture, pH, etc. more

Arctic methane emissions estimated by atmospheric inverse modeling

Luana Basso
The main goal of this project is to estimate Arctic CH₄ emissions using atmospheric inverse modeling to evaluate and improve a new version of the biogeochemical process model JSBACH for simulating CH₄ emissions from these permafrost ecosystems. more

Hydrology and carbon cycle processes at a permafrost site affected by drainage

Sandra Raab
Global warming can alter hydrological pathways and therefore lateral carbon export conditions in permafrost regions. In this project we compared a drained and a control area to better understand mechanisms and processes explaining these alterations. more

Interaction between Arctic landscapes and the atmospheric boundary layer

Mark Schlutow
The project investigates how the changing heterogeneity of Arctic landscapes influences the atmospheric boundary layer and potential feedback mechanisms. We use Monte Carlo methods and large eddy simulations to make progress in this pursuit. more