Response of crop evapotranspiration on the elevated CO2 in Northwest China

Author(s):  
Dehai Liao ◽  
Jun Niu

<p>The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) concentration is changing plant physiology, thus affecting terrestrial hydrological response. A nonlinear stomatal conductance response to carbon dioxide concentration (gs – CO<sub>2</sub>) was incorporated in the VIC model for better representation of the evapotranspiration (ET) response to the elevated CO<sub>2</sub>. The annual ET of maize and wheat over the agricultural land in Northwest China was found to decrease by 0.54% and 0.21% during 1980–2010, respectively. Under doubled CO<sub>2 </sub>concentration (660 ppm), the ET reduction of maize and wheat was 23.3 mm and 8.9 mm, which accounted for 4.3% and 1.8% of the corresponding annual ET. The annual ET reduction of maize, under the four future scenarios (RCP4.5_2040s, RCP4.5_2080s, RCP8.5_2040s, and RCP8.5_2080s), was about 1.1–6.4%, resulted from an ensemble mean of eight general circulation models. The effects of elevated CO<sub>2 </sub>offset part of ET increase caused by the precipitation and temperature changes. This study has practical implications for precise irrigation. The ET response of maize should be paid more attention for its larger potential in saving irrigation water for the studied region. The elevated CO<sub>2 </sub>concentration will be beneficial for saving irrigation water to a certain degree.</p>

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 837-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Bragg ◽  
D. J. Lunt ◽  
A. M. Haywood

Abstract. The Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP) project is a sub-project of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) whose objective is to compare predictions of the mid-Pliocene climate from the widest possible range of general circulation models. The mid-Pliocene (3.3–3.0 Ma) is the most recent sustained period of greater warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration than the pre-industrial times and as such has potential to inform predictions of our warming climate in the coming century. This paper describes the UK contribution to PlioMIP using the Hadley Centre Model both in atmosphere-only mode (HadAM3, PlioMIP Experiment 1) and atmosphere-ocean coupled mode (HadCM3, PlioMIP Experiment 2). The coupled model predicts a greater overall warming (3.3 °C) relative to the control than the atmosphere-only (2.5 °C). The Northern Hemisphere latitudinal temperature gradient is greater in the coupled model with a warmer equator and colder Arctic than the atmosphere-only model, which is constrained by sea surface temperatures from Pliocene proxy reconstructions. The atmosphere-only model predicts a reduction in equatorial precipitation and south Asian monsoon intensity whereas the coupled models shows and increase in the intensity of these systems. Sensitivity studies using alternative boundary conditions for both the Pliocene and the control simulations are presented, which indicate the sensitivity of the mid-Pliocene warming to uncertainties in both pre-industrial and mid-Pliocene climate.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1109-1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Bragg ◽  
D. J. Lunt ◽  
A. M. Haywood

Abstract. The Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP) is a sub-project of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) whose objective is to compare predictions of the mid-Pliocene climate from the widest possible range of general circulation models. The mid-Pliocene (3.3–3.0 Ma) is the most recent sustained period of greater warmth and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration than the pre-industrial times and as such has potential to inform predictions of our warming climate in the coming century. This paper describes the UK contribution to PlioMIP using the Hadley Centre Model both in atmosphere-only mode (HadAM3, PlioMIP Experiment 1) and atmosphere-ocean coupled mode (HadCM3, PlioMIP Experiment 2). The coupled model predicts a greater overall warming (3.3 °C) relative to the control than the atmosphere-only (2.5 °C). The Northern Hemisphere latitudinal temperature gradient is greater in the coupled model with a warmer Equator and colder Arctic than the atmosphere-only model, which is constrained by sea surface temperatures from Pliocene proxy reconstructions. The atmosphere-only model predicts a reduction in equatorial precipitation and south Asian monsoon intensity, whereas the coupled model shows an increase in the intensity of these systems. We present sensitivity studies using alternative boundary conditions for both the Pliocene and the control simulations, indicating the sensitivity of the mid-Pliocene warming to uncertainties in both pre-industrial and mid-Pliocene climate.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar A. Douglas-Gallardo ◽  
Cristián Gabriel Sánchez ◽  
Esteban Vöhringer-Martinez

<div> <div> <div> <p>Nowadays, the search of efficient methods able to reduce the high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has turned into a very dynamic research area. Several environmental problems have been closely associated with the high atmospheric level of this greenhouse gas. Here, a novel system based on the use of surface-functionalized silicon quantum dots (sf -SiQDs) is theoretically proposed as a versatile device to bind carbon dioxide. Within this approach, carbon dioxide trapping is modulated by a photoinduced charge redistribution between the capping molecule and the silicon quantum dots (SiQDs). Chemical and electronic properties of the proposed SiQDs have been studied with Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Density Functional Tight-Binding (DFTB) approach along with a Time-Dependent model based on the DFTB (TD-DFTB) framework. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that proposes and explores the potential application of a versatile and friendly device based on the use of sf -SiQDs for photochemically activated carbon dioxide fixation. </p> </div> </div> </div>


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1375-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masakazu Yoshimori ◽  
Marina Suzuki

Abstract. There remain substantial uncertainties in future projections of Arctic climate change. There is a potential to constrain these uncertainties using a combination of paleoclimate simulations and proxy data, but such a constraint must be accompanied by physical understanding on the connection between past and future simulations. Here, we examine the relevance of an Arctic warming mechanism in the mid-Holocene (MH) to the future with emphasis on process understanding. We conducted a surface energy balance analysis on 10 atmosphere and ocean general circulation models under the MH and future Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 scenario forcings. It is found that many of the dominant processes that amplify Arctic warming over the ocean from late autumn to early winter are common between the two periods, despite the difference in the source of the forcing (insolation vs. greenhouse gases). The positive albedo feedback in summer results in an increase in oceanic heat release in the colder season when the atmospheric stratification is strong, and an increased greenhouse effect from clouds helps amplify the warming during the season with small insolation. The seasonal progress was elucidated by the decomposition of the factors associated with sea surface temperature, ice concentration, and ice surface temperature changes. We also quantified the contribution of individual components to the inter-model variance in the surface temperature changes. The downward clear-sky longwave radiation is one of major contributors to the model spread throughout the year. Other controlling terms for the model spread vary with the season, but they are similar between the MH and the future in each season. This result suggests that the MH Arctic change may not be analogous to the future in some seasons when the temperature response differs, but it is still useful to constrain the model spread in the future Arctic projection. The cross-model correlation suggests that the feedbacks in preceding seasons should not be overlooked when determining constraints, particularly summer sea ice cover for the constraint of autumn–winter surface temperature response.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 2222-2246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Oglesby ◽  
Monica Y. Stephens ◽  
Barry Saltzman

Abstract A coupled mixed layer–atmospheric general circulation model has been used to evaluate the impact of ocean thermocline temperatures (and by proxy those of the deep ocean) on the surface climate of the earth. Particular attention has been devoted to temperature regimes both warmer and cooler than at present. The mixed layer ocean model (MLOM) simulates vertical dynamics and thermodynamics in the upper ocean, including wind mixing and buoyancy effects, and has been coupled to the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM3). Simulations were made with globally uniform thermocline warmings of +2°, +5°, and +10°C, as well as a globally uniform cooling of −5°C. A simulation was made with latitudinally varying changes in thermocline temperature such that the warming at mid- and high latitudes is much larger than at low latitudes. In all simulations, the response of surface temperature over both land and ocean was larger than that expected just as a result of the imposed thermocline temperature change, largely because of water vapor feedbacks. In this respect, the simulations were similar to those in which only changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide were imposed. In fact, when carbon dioxide was explicitly changed along with thermocline temperatures, the results were not much different than if only the thermocline temperatures were altered. Land versus ocean differences are explained largely by latent heat flux differences: the ocean is an infinite evaporative source, while land can be quite dry. The latitudinally varying case has a much larger response at mid- to high latitudes than at low latitudes; the high latitudes actually appear to effectively warm the low latitudes. Simulations exploring scenarios of glacial inception suggest that the deep ocean alone is not likely to be a key trigger but must operate in conjunction with other forcings, such as reduced carbon dioxide. Moist upland regions at mid- and high latitudes, and land regions adjacent to perennial sea ice, are the preferred locations for glacial inception in these runs. Finally, the model combination equilibrates very rapidly, meaning that a large number of simulations can be made for a fairly modest computational cost. A drawback to this is greatly reduced sensitivity to parameters such as atmospheric carbon dioxide, which requires a full response of the ocean. Thus, this approach can be considered intermediate between fixing, or prescribing, sea surface temperatures and a fully coupled modeling approach.


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