ABOUT

WHY

The exchange of GHGs between the atmosphere and the northern oceans and coastal areas, as well as Arctic and Subarctic terrestrial ecosystems, are very sensitive to temperature changes due to the melting of sea ice and glaciers, thawing of permafrost, and changes in snow cover. Over the past 100 years, the surface ocean has warmed by more than 0.7°C on average. This warming is enhanced at high latitudes in the northern hemisphere, and future warming is projected to be strongest in these regions.

The change in surface temperature will lead to biodiversity changes and potential greening and/or browning of the Arctic/subarctic terrestrial areas, freshwaters and coastal waters, causing a poorly-known GHG feedback effect. The current description of the surface exchange processes over such ecosystems is associated with large uncertainties partly due to limited data coverage in both space and time. Measurements and thereby studies in these types of ecosystems have been challenging.

OVERALL OBJECTIVE

The overall objective of GreenFeedBack is to enhance our understanding of key processes of the terrestrial biosphere – freshwater – ocean continuum in surface-atmosphere GHG exchange, the connection between them, and the impacts from human pressures. We will primarily focus on enhancing our understanding of the GHG exchange processes, biogeochemical cycles and feedback mechanisms in high latitude terrestrial and freshwater systems, marine shelves and ocean areas and thereby advance the process-based representation of ecosystems in Earth System Models (ESM), allowing for more certain climate change projections from which climate mitigation and adaptation strategies can be evaluated.

AMBITION

Our ambition is to enhance knowledge of the GHG dynamics in the ecosystems and link GHG in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems to provide a solid basis for estimation of regional and global climate feedback processes taking human pressure on ecosystems into account. Thus, we will study the processes in sensitive terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine areas of which some are hypothesized to be tipping elements in the climate system. GreenFeedBack will improve and apply ecosystem- and Earth System models to advance our understanding of GHGs effect on climate variability over different time horizons.

CONCEPTS AND ELEMENTS

Our ambition is to enhance knowledge of the GHG dynamics in the ecosystems and link GHG in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems to provide a solid basis for estimation of regional and global climate feedback processes taking human pressure on ecosystems into account. Thus, we will study the processes in sensitive terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine areas of which some are hypothesized to be tipping elements in the climate system. GreenFeedBack will improve and apply ecosystem- and Earth System models to advance our understanding of GHGs effect on climate variability over different time horizons.

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