Sampling frequency affects estimates of annual nitrous oxide fluxes.

Quantifying nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes, a potent greenhouse gas, from soils is necessary to improve our knowledge of terrestrial N2O losses. Developing universal sampling frequencies for calculating annual N2O fluxes is difficult, as fluxes are renowned for their high temporal variability. We demonstrate daily sampling was largely required to achieve annual N2O fluxes within 10% of the 'best' estimate for 28 annual datasets collected from three continents--Australia, Europe and Asia.

Quantitative DNA Analyses for Airborne Birch Pollen.

Birch trees produce large amounts of highly allergenic pollen grains that are distributed by wind and impact human health by causing seasonal hay fever, pollen-related asthma, and other allergic diseases. Traditionally, pollen forecasts are based on conventional microscopic counting techniques that are labor-intensive and limited in the reliable identification of species. Molecular biological techniques provide an alternative approach that is less labor-intensive and enables identification of any species by its genetic fingerprint.

Enhanced light absorption by mixed source black and brown carbon particles in UK winter.

Black carbon (BC) and light-absorbing organic carbon (brown carbon, BrC) play key roles in warming the atmosphere, but the magnitude of their effects remains highly uncertain. Theoretical modelling and laboratory experiments demonstrate that coatings on BC can enhance BC's light absorption, therefore many climate models simply assume enhanced BC absorption by a factor of ∼1.5.

Significant radiative impact of volcanic aerosol in the lowermost stratosphere.

Despite their potential to slow global warming, until recently, the radiative forcing associated with volcanic aerosols in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS) had not been considered. Here we study volcanic aerosol changes in the stratosphere using lidar measurements from the NASA CALIPSO satellite and aircraft measurements from the IAGOS-CARIBIC observatory. Between 2008 and 2012 volcanism frequently affected the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere aerosol loadings, whereas the Southern Hemisphere generally had loadings close to background conditions.

Characterization of ice-nucleating bacteria using on-line electron impact ionization aerosol mass spectrometry.

The mass spectral signatures of airborne bacteria were measured and analyzed in cloud simulation experiments at the AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere) facility. Suspensions of cultured cells in pure water were sprayed into the aerosol and cloud chambers forming an aerosol which consisted of intact cells, cell fragments and residual particles from the agar medium in which the bacteria were cultured. The aerosol particles were analyzed with a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer equipped with a newly developed PM2.

Carbon cycle. The dominant role of semi-arid ecosystems in the trend and variability of the land COâ‚‚ sink.

The growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations since industrialization is characterized by large interannual variability, mostly resulting from variability in CO2 uptake by terrestrial ecosystems (typically termed carbon sink). However, the contributions of regional ecosystems to that variability are not well known. Using an ensemble of ecosystem and land-surface models and an empirical observation-based product of global gross primary production, we show that the mean sink, trend, and interannual variability in CO2 uptake by terrestrial ecosystems are dominated by distinct biogeographic regions.

Stratospheric sulfur and its implications for radiative forcing simulated by the chemistry climate model EMAC.

Multiyear simulations with the atmospheric chemistry general circulation model EMAC with a microphysical modal aerosol module at high vertical resolution demonstrate that the sulfur gases COS and SO, the latter from low-latitude and midlatitude volcanic eruptions, predominantly control the formation of stratospheric aerosol. Marine dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and other SO sources, including strong anthropogenic emissions in China, are found to play a minor role except in the lowermost stratosphere. Estimates of volcanic SO emissions are based on satellite observations using Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer and Ozone Monitoring Instrument for total injected mass and Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on Envisat or Stratospheric Aerosol and Gases Experiment for the spatial distribution.

Recent Northern Hemisphere stratospheric HCl increase due to atmospheric circulation changes.

The abundance of chlorine in the Earth's atmosphere increased considerably during the 1970s to 1990s, following large emissions of anthropogenic long-lived chlorine-containing source gases, notably the chlorofluorocarbons. The chemical inertness of chlorofluorocarbons allows their transport and mixing throughout the troposphere on a global scale, before they reach the stratosphere where they release chlorine atoms that cause ozone depletion. The large ozone loss over Antarctica was the key observation that stimulated the definition and signing in 1987 of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty establishing a schedule to reduce the production of the major chlorine- and bromine-containing halocarbons.

Silica nanoparticles are less toxic to human lung cells when deposited at the air-liquid interface compared to conventional submerged exposure.

Background: Investigations on adverse biological effects of nanoparticles (NPs) in the lung by in vitro studies are usually performed under submerged conditions where NPs are suspended in cell culture media. However, the behaviour of nanoparticles such as agglomeration and sedimentation in such complex suspensions is difficult to control and hence the deposited cellular dose often remains unknown. Moreover, the cellular responses to NPs under submerged culture conditions might differ from those observed at physiological settings at the air-liquid interface.

Laser-induced plasma cloud interaction and ice multiplication under cirrus cloud conditions.

Potential impacts of lightning-induced plasma on cloud ice formation and precipitation have been a subject of debate for decades. Here, we report on the interaction of laser-generated plasma channels with water and ice clouds observed in a large cloud simulation chamber. Under the conditions of a typical storm cloud, in which ice and supercooled water coexist, no direct influence of the plasma channels on ice formation or precipitation processes could be detected.

Nitrous oxide emissions from soils: how well do we understand the processes and their controls?

Although it is well established that soils are the dominating source for atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O), we are still struggling to fully understand the complexity of the underlying microbial production and consumption processes and the links to biotic (e.g. inter- and intraspecies competition, food webs, plant-microbe interaction) and abiotic (e.

Interspecific temporal and spatial differences in the acquisition of litter-derived nitrogen by ectomycorrhizal fungal assemblages.

The spatiotemporal dynamics of, and interspecific differences in, the acquisition of litter-derived nitrogen (N) by natural assemblages of ectomycorrhizal root tips are poorly understood. Small cylindrical mesh bags containing (15)N-labelled beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaf litter that permit hyphal but not root ingrowth were inserted vertically into the top soil layer of an old-growth beech forest. The lateral transfer of (15)N into the circumjacent soil, roots, microbes and ectomycorrhizas was measured during an 18-month exposure period.

Contact freezing efficiency of mineral dust aerosols studied in an electrodynamic balance: quantitative size and temperature dependence for illite particles.

Contact freezing has long been discussed as a candidate for cloud ice formation at temperatures warmer than about -25 degrees C, but until now the molecular mechanism underlying this process has remained obscure and little quantitative information about the size and temperature dependent contact freezing properties of the various aerosol species is available. In this contribution, we present the first quantitative measurements of the freezing probability of a supercooled droplet upon a single contact with a size selected illite mineral particle. It is found that this probability is a strong function of temperature and aerosol particle size.

Infrared optical constants of crystalline sodium chloride dihydrate: application to study the crystallization of aqueous sodium chloride solution droplets at low temperatures.

Complex refractive indices of sodium chloride dihydrate, NaCl·2H(2)O, have been retrieved in the 6000-800 cm(-1) wavenumber regime from the infrared extinction spectra of crystallized aqueous NaCl solution droplets. The data set is valid in the temperature range from 235 to 216 K and was inferred from crystallization experiments with airborne particles performed in the large coolable aerosol and cloud chamber AIDA at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The retrieval concept was based on the Kramers-Kronig relationship for a complex function of the optical constants n and k whose imaginary part is proportional to the optical depth of a small particle absorption spectrum in the Rayleigh approximation.

Modeling the isoprene emission rate from leaves.

The leaves of many plants emit isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) to the atmosphere, a process which has important ramifications for global and regional atmospheric chemistry. Quantitation of leaf isoprene emission and its response to environmental variation are described by empirically derived equations that replicate observed patterns, but have been linked only in some cases to known biochemical and physiological processes. Furthermore, models have been proposed from several independent laboratories, providing multiple approaches for prediction of emissions, but with little detail provided as to how contrasting models are related.

On the role of surface charges for homogeneous freezing of supercooled water microdroplets.

Charge induced changes in homogeneous freezing rates of water have been proposed to constitute a possible link between the global atmospheric electric circuit and cloud microphysics and thus climate. We report here on high precision measurements of the homogeneous nucleation rate of charged, electro-dynamically levitated single water droplets as a function of their surface charge. No evidence has been found that the homogeneous volume specific ice nucleation rate of supercooled microdroplets is influenced by surface charges in the range between +/-200 elementary charges per μm(2).

Quantification of nitrate leaching from German forest ecosystems by use of a process oriented biogeochemical model.

Simulations with the process oriented Forest-DNDC model showed reasonable to good agreement with observations of soil water contents of different soil layers, annual amounts of seepage water and approximated rates of nitrate leaching at 79 sites across Germany. Following site evaluation, Forest-DNDC was coupled to a GIS to assess nitrate leaching from German forest ecosystems for the year 2000. At national scale leaching rates varied in a range of 0->80 kg NO(3)-N ha(-1) yr(-1) (mean 5.

Long-term effects of clear-cutting and selective cutting on soil methane fluxes in a temperate spruce forest in southern Germany.

Based on multi-year measurements of CH(4) exchange in sub-daily resolution we show that clear-cutting of a forest in Southern Germany increased soil temperature and moisture and decreased CH(4) uptake. CH(4) uptake in the first year after clear-cutting (-4.5 ± 0.

Modeling the dispersion of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. pollen with the model system COSMO-ART.

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is a highly allergenic plant that is spreading throughout Europe. Ragweed pollen can be transported over large distances by the wind.

Measurement of N2, N2O, NO, and CO2 emissions from soil with the gas-flow-soil-core technique.

Here we describe a newly designed system with three stand-alone working incubation vessels for simultaneous measurements of N(2), N(2)O, NO, and CO(2) emissions from soil. Due to the use of a new micro thermal conductivity detector and the redesign of vessels and gas sampling a so-far unmatched sensitivity (0.23 μg N(2)-N h(-1) kg(-1) ds or 8.

Measurements of biosphere-atmosphere exchange of CHâ‚„ in terrestrial ecosystems.

This chapter focuses on methods for measuring CH(4) exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere. In the context of the global importance of the biosphere as a source and a sink of atmospheric CH(4,) special emphasis is given to details of gas flux measurements. Due to their widespread use and suitability for targeted process studies, chamber techniques as a means for measuring CH(4) fluxes are highlighted.

Biogenic volatile organic compound and respiratory CO2 emissions after 13C-labeling: online tracing of C translocation dynamics in poplar plants.

Background: Globally plants are the primary sink of atmospheric CO(2), but are also the major contributor of a large spectrum of atmospheric reactive hydrocarbons such as terpenes (e.g. isoprene) and other biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC).

RNAi-mediated suppression of isoprene emission in poplar transiently impacts phenolic metabolism under high temperature and high light intensities: a transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis.

In plants, isoprene plays a dual role: (a) as thermo-protective agent proposed to prevent degradation of enzymes/membrane structures involved in photosynthesis, and (b) as reactive molecule reducing abiotic oxidative stress. The present work addresses the question whether suppression of isoprene emission interferes with genome wide transcription rates and metabolite fluxes in grey poplar (Populus x canescens) throughout the growing season. Gene expression and metabolite profiles of isoprene emitting wild type plants and RNAi-mediated non-isoprene emitting poplars were compared by using poplar Affymetrix microarrays and non-targeted FT-ICR-MS (Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry).

Grazing-induced reduction of natural nitrous oxide release from continental steppe.

Atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N(2)O) have increased significantly since pre-industrial times owing to anthropogenic perturbation of the global nitrogen cycle, with animal production being one of the main contributors. Grasslands cover about 20 per cent of the temperate land surface of the Earth and are widely used as pasture. It has been suggested that high animal stocking rates and the resulting elevated nitrogen input increase N(2)O emissions.

Isoprene emission protects photosynthesis in sunfleck exposed Grey poplar.

In the present study, we combined transient temperature and light stress (sunfleck) and comparably analyzed photosynthetic gas exchange in Grey poplar which has been genetically modified in isoprene emission capacity. Overall, we demonstrate that for poplar leaves the ability to emit isoprene is crucial to maintain photosynthesis when exposed to sunflecks. Net CO2 assimilation and electron transport rates were strongly impaired in sunfleck-treated non-isoprene emitting poplars.