Physical and biological land surface characteristics affect how energy, water, aerosols, and greenhouse gases are exchanged with the atmosphere. Thus, interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere represent a key component of the climate system. To improve predictions of global and regional climates, a better understanding of the tight coupling between land and atmosphere is needed. Observational and experimental studies can improve our understanding of land-atmosphere interactions. For example, eddy covariance measurements of fluxes of energy and matter help constrain flux dynamics across multiple time scales from hours to years and create large, long-term datasets to examine variability in land-atmosphere interactions. This data provides base data for ecosystem models. Chamber studies have provided the information needed to investigate process-based dynamics of GHG emissions. New technologies are expanding measurements to all landscapes across Canada – i.e., agricultural, forest, and peatland sites. These studies provide powerful tools to explore biophysical and biogeochemical processes underlying land-atmosphere interactions. This session highlights innovative research of all aspects of field campaigns observing land-atmosphere interactions.
10:00 - 10:15: Global Warming and Extreme weather: Are Cold Extremes on the Rise?
Presenter(s): E. Ray Garnett, Consultant, Agro-Climatic Consulting, Dr. M.L. Khandekar, retired Environment Canada scientist
10:15 - 10:30: Ecosystem-scale surface energy fluxes of a newly constructed boreal upland-fen watershed
Presenter(s): Natasa Popovic, Richard M. Petrone, University of Waterloo, Adam Green, University of Waterloo
Myroslava Khomik, University of Waterloo and Jonathan S. Price, University of Waterloo
10:30 - 10:45: The dependence of non-bare soil evaporative efficiency on ground cover biomass fractions in mesic ecosystems
Presenter(s): Yi Wang, Graduate student, University of Waterloo, Richard. M. Petrone, Hydrometeorology Research Group, University of Waterloo
10:45 - 11:00: Effects of wildfire and permafrost thaw on ecosystem fluxes from boreal peatland complexes in northwestern Canada
Presenter(s): Christopher Schulze, University of Alberta, Christopher Schulze1, David Olefeldt, Craig Emmerton, Lorna Harris, Natascha Kljun, Laura Chasmer, Chris Hopkinson, Matteo Detto, Manuel Helbig, Gabriel Hould Gosselin1, and Oliver Sonnentag, Département de géographie & Centre d’études nord
11:00 - 11:15: Tree and soil fluxes of methane in the Montane Spruce Biogeoclimatic zone in the Southern Interior of British Columbia
Presenter(s): Emily Browne, MSc Student, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus and Edward Hornibrook
11:15 - 11:30: Applications of a UAV-based platform for agricultural emissions measurements
Presenter(s): Trevor Coates, , Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Tom Flesch, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, Jean-Francois Coulombe, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Lethbridge, AB, Canada and Mackenzie Broughton, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Rese