The Arctic-Boreal Region (ABR) is the source of among the largest uncertainties to global climate projections. Models are challenged in how to initialize carbon pools, determine the sensitivities of soil and vegetation responses to changing temperature and hydrological regimes, and scale heterogeneous processes to large grid sizes. Numerous field-based campaigns are underway to collect data for modelers (e.g., the NASA Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment, ABoVE), but the global modeling community has largely been disconnected from these activities. We surveyed 18 modeling teams from around the world on data needs for modeling terrestrial ecosystem dynamics in the ABR.
Results/Conclusions
Results included a suite of variables encompassing carbon biogeochemistry, vegetation, permafrost, hydrology, and disturbance dynamics. Here, we describe these data needs—and gaps—and outline the NASA plan forward for a step-change improvement in modeling the ABR.