The quality of weather forecasts, seasonal simulations, and climate projections depends critically on the adequate representation of land-atmosphere (L-A) feedbacks. These feedbacks are the result of a highly complex network of processes and variables related to the exchange of momentum, energy, and mass. Significant challenges persist in understanding processes and feedbacks, which this initiative will address.
The Land-Atmosphere Feedback Initiative (LAFI) is an interdisciplinary consortium led by the University of Hohenheim, and consitsts of researchers from atmospheric, agricultural, and soil sciences as well as from bio-geo-physics, hydrology, and neuroinformatics proposing a novel combination of advanced research methods. The overarching goal of LAFI is to understand and quantify L-A feedbacks via unique synergistic observations and model simulations from the micro-gamma (~ 2 m) to the meso-gamma (~ 2 km) scales across diurnal to seasonal time scales.
Our LAFI project aims at a better understanding of the role of surface heterogeneity in land-atmosphere coupling and plans to test its relevance in case studies guided by detailed, high-quality observations. We aim at closing the methodological gap between global ESMs and small-scale Large-Eddy Modeling (LEM) with respect to vegetation-atmosphere interactions by using the same land surface component - JSBACH4, a part of the ICON-ESM (Jungclaus et al. 2022). JSBACH includes a full functionality of vegetation processes, including land-use and land management aspects, and connects physical climate interactions with biogeochemical fluxes. This will provide the means to directly investigate if resolving the land-atmosphere interactions at high spatial detail will avoid strong known biases of ESMs like biases in turbulent heat fluxes, and how this depends on atmospheric conditions. With the help of high-resolution simulations, we will infer conclusions about the net climate effect of land use (i.e., when water, energy and CO2 fluxes are considered together) at a level relevant for decision-making.
For further information please visit our LAFI Web Page: https://www.lafi-dfg.de
- Duration
- 04/2024 - 03/2028
- Project management
- Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz, Prof. Dr. Mirjana Sakradzija (co-supervision), Prof. Dr. Volker Wulfmeyer et al. (Universität Hohenheim)
- Project scientist(s)
- Deepam Jyoti
- Subject
- Land-Atmosphere Interactions, Earth-System Modelling
- Funded by
- German Research Foundation (DFG)