Functional-type modeling approach and data-driven parameterization of methane emissions in wetlands (Final Technical Science Report)

Abstract

Our goals are to improve understanding and quantitative representation of the multiple processes that affect methane emissions at a high (patch level, vertically detailed) spatial resolution, and translate this understanding to improved modeling capability of coastal wetland fluxes using the E3SM Land Model (ELM v1) wetland CH4 biogeochemistry module. We propose an experimental approach to identify and parameterize uncertainties in ELM. Understanding of methane emissions can be improved along three conceptual axes: (i) horizontal (ecohydrological patch resolution), (ii) vertical (through the depth of the soil column), and (iii) process level (e.g., resolving microbial pathways, vegetation specific transport pathways). Along each of the three axes, we will characterize, quantify, and model, the key ecological, hydrological, and meteorological controls of methane (CH4) flux heterogeneity in four model coastal wetlands.