Atmosphere-Biosphere Signal Attribution in the Tropics (BSAT)
Junior Research Group
In the Atmosphere-Biosphere Signal Attribution (BSAT) research group our main objective is to understand tropical ecosystem dynamics by investigating and monitoring changes in atmospheric trace gases like CO2, CH4 and CO. We aim to (1) quantify and attribute sources and sinks of CO2, CH4 and CO and (2) to study their development over time and at different spatial scales under a changing climate. For this we combine top-down (atmospheric inversions) and bottom-up (land surface models) approaches with multiple data streams, like in-situ or flask mole fraction measurements and remotely-sensed atmospheric composition. Our group complements the regional scale modeling with local process understanding by studying ecosystem response to environmental drivers using eddy covariance and stable isotope on CO2 and CH4.
The overarching goals guiding our research are:
Improve estimates and reduce uncertainty of net exchange of CO2 and CH4 over the tropical ecosystems.
Disentangle the main drivers of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and net biome exchange (NBE) in individual tropical ecosystems but also at the pan-tropical scale.
To better quantify spatial and temporal patterns in tropical biogenic methane emissions and to provide insights into the current global methane growth rate.
Use stable isotopes in CH4 to improve the characterization of source signatures in the tropics with the aim to advance our understanding in interannual emission patterns.
Selected Figures:
Relationship between prior and posterior mean net land flux (FNetLand) in Tropical South America. On the y and x axes of each panel the density distribution is shown. Botía et al., (2025): https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6219-2025.
Relationship between prior and posterior mean net land flux (FNetLand) in Tropical South America. On the y and x axes of each panel the density distribution is shown. Botía et al., (2025): https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6219-2025.
Noelia Rojas Benavente (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil)
Luan de Paula Cordeiro (Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil)
Flavio D’Oliveira (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Brazil)
Micael Gutierrez-Diaz (National Agrarian University La Molina, Perú)
Previous Members
Gisela Dajti (MSc Thesis: Fire trends on the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) footprint over the last two decades)
Leif Meyer-Clasen (BSc Thesis: Exploring how data on local atmospheric CO2 concentrations can be used to describe extreme drought events in the Amazon)
Richard Slevin (MSc Intern: NEE and aerosols at ATTO)
Munassar, S.; Rödenbeck, C.; Galkowski, M.; Koch, F.-T.; Totsche, K. U.; Botia, S.; Gerbig, C.: To what extent does the CO2 diurnal cycle impact flux estimates derived from global and regional inversions? Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 25 (1), pp. 639 - 656 (2025)
Ho, D.; Galkowski, M.; Reum, F.; Botia, S.; Marshall, J.; Totsche, K. U.; Gerbig, C.: Recommended coupling to global meteorological fields for long-term tracer simulations with WRF-GHG. Geoscientific Model Development 17 (20), pp. 7401 - 7422 (2024)
Machado, L. A. T.; Kesselmeier, J.; Botia, S.; van Asperen, H.; Andreae, M. O.; de Araújo, A. C.; Artaxo, P.; Edtbauer, A.; Ferreira, R. R.; Franco, M. A.et al.; Harder, H.; Jones, S. P.; Dias-Júnior, C. Q.; Haytzmann, G. G.; Quesada, C. A.; Komiya, S.; Lavrič, J. V.; Lelieveld, J.; Levin, I.; Nölscher, A.; Pfannerstill, E.; Pöhlker, M. L.; Pöschl, U.; Ringsdorf, A.; Rizzo, L.; Yáñez-Serrano, A. M.; Trumbore, S. E.; Valenti, W. I. D.; de Arellano, J. V.-G.; Walter, D.; Williams, J.; Wolff, S.; Pöhlker, C.: How rainfall events modify trace gas mixing ratios in central Amazonia. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 24 (15), pp. 8893 - 8910 (2024)
de Arellano, J. V.-G.; Hartogensis, O. K.; de Boer, H.; Moonen, R.; González-Armas, R.; Janssens, M.; Adnew, G. A.; Bonell-Fontás, D. J.; Botia, S.; Jones, S. P.et al.; van Asperen, H.; Komiya, S.; de Feiter, V. S.; Rikkers, D.; de Haas, S.; Machado, L. A. T.; Dias-Junior, C. Q.; Giovanelli-Haytzmann, G.; Valenti, W. I. D.; Figueiredo, R. C.; Farias, C. S.; Hall, D. H.; Mendonça, A. C. S.; da Silva, F. A. G.; da Silva, J. L. M.; Souza, R.; Martins, G.; Miller, J. N.; Mol, W. B.; Heusinkveld, B.; van Heerwaarden, C. C.; D’Oliveira, F. A. F.; Ferreira, R. R.; Gotuzzo, R. A.; Pugliese, G.; Williams, J.; Ringsdorf, A.; Edtbauer, A.; Quesada, C. A.; Portela, B. T. T.; Alves, E. G.; Pöhlker, C.; Trumbore, S. E.; Lelieveld, J.; Röckmann, T.: CloudRoots-Amazon22: Integrating clouds with photosynthesis by crossing scales. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 105 (7), pp. E1275 - E1302 (2024)
