Regional and Local Carbon Flux Information from a Continuous Atmospheric CO2 Network in the Rocky Mountains

We will present preliminary carbon flux estimates from the Regional Atmospheric Continuous CO2 Network in the Rocky Mountains (Rocky RACCOON). In order to improve our understanding of regional carbon fluxes in the Rocky Mountain West, we have developed and deployed autonomous, inexpensive, and robust CO2 analyzers (AIRCOA) at five sites throughout Colorado and Utah, and plan additional deployments on the Navajo Reservation, Arizona in September 2007 and atop Mount Kenya, Africa in November 2007. We have used a one- dimensional CO2 budget equation, following Bakwin et al. (2004), to estimate regional monthly-mean fluxes from our continuous CO2 concentrations. These comparisons between our measurements and estimates of free- tropospheric background concentrations reveal regional-scale CO2 flux signals that are generally consistent with one another across the Rocky RACCOON sites. We will compare the timing and magnitude of these estimates with expectations from local-scale eddy-correlation flux measurements and bottom-up ecosystem models. We will also interpret the differences in monthly-mean flux signals between our sites in terms of their varying upwind areas of influence and inferred regional variations in CO2 fluxes. Our measurements will be included in future CarbonTracker assimilation runs and other planned model-data fusion efforts. However, questions still exist concerning the ability of these models to accurately represent the various influences on CO2 concentrations in continental boundary layers, and at mountaintop sites in particular. We will present an analysis of the diurnal cycles in CO2 concentration and CO2 variability at our sites, and compare these to various model estimates. Several of our sites near major population centers reflect the influence of industrial CO2 sources in afternoon upslope flows, with CO2 concentration increasing and variable in the mid to late afternoon. Other more remote sites show more consistent and decreasing CO2 concentrations throughout the afternoon. These measurements provide insight as to when and under what conditions mountaintop CO2 signals are regionally representative, as well as first-order constraints on boundary-layer heights and flux rates for use in evaluating model fidelity. Because of coarse representation of topography and boundary-layer mixing biases, forward model CO2 diurnal cycles can be 180 degrees out of phase with respect to assimilated mountaintop CO2 observations if care is not taken in the choice of model level used.