Evaluation of seasonal atmosphere–biosphere exchange estimations with TCCON measurements

Abstract. We evaluate three estimates of the atmosphere-biosphere exchange against total column CO₂ observations from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Using the GEOS-Chem transport model, we produce forward simulations of atmospheric CO₂ concentrations for the 2006–2010 time period using the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA), the Simple Biosphere (SiB) and the GBiome-BGC models. Large differences in the CO₂ simulations result from the choice of the atmosphere-biosphere model. We evaluate the seasonal cycle phase, amplitude and shape of the simulations. The version of CASA currently used as the a priori model by the GEOS-Chem carbon cycle community poorly represents the season cycle in total column CO₂. Consistent with earlier studies, enhancing the CO₂ uptake in the boreal forest and shifting the onset of the growing season earlier significantly improve the simulated seasonal CO₂ cycle using CASA estimates. The SiB model gives a better representation of the seasonal cycle dynamics. The difference in the seasonality of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) between these models is not the absolute gross primary productivity (GPP), but rather the differential phasing of ecosystem respiration (RE) with respect to GPP between these models.