Education & Outreach

Scientists in TSS develop the land/vegetation model used in the Community Earth System Model (CESM). This model, the Community Land Model (CLM), includes biogeophysics, biogeochemistry (carbon, nitrogen, dust, volatile organic compounds), hydrology, and vegetation dynamics. TSS provides a focal point for CGD and university ecological, biogeochemical, and hydrological research and serves as a resource to these communities in the use of CESM. Scientists in TSS support numerous student and faculty visitors to NCAR.

• Student and Postdoc Visitors
• Faculty Visitors

BIOCLIMATE

The Terrestrial Sciences Section BIOCLIMATE project establishes a framework to engage the university ecological, environmental sciences, and agricultural sciences communities in the Community Land Model (CLM) project. The approach, entitled BIOCLIMATE (Building Interdisciplinary Opportunities for CLImate Modeling And Terrestrial Ecosystems), creates educational and research opportunities for graduate students and post-doctoral researchers beyond core ecological, environmental sciences, and agricultural sciences disciplines to include large-scale geophysical Earth system models.

BIOCLIMATE is a consortium of academic institutions to engage the university ecological, environmental sciences, and agricultural sciences communities in Earth system modeling. Collaborations are supported through proposals. Partner institutions are: Cornell University (Christy Goodale, Jed Sparks), University of New Hampshire (Stuart Grandy, Serita Frey), Purdue University (Jeff Dukes), and Virginia Tech (Quinn Thomas).

The BIOCLIMATE project has numerous student and faculty visitors to CGD.  The BIOCLIMATE project has also supported the first CLM tutorial (18-21 February 2014), held at NCAR's Mesa Lab. Tutorial materials include scientific lectures on CLM components and practical sessions on running the model and analyzing model data. Course material can be found here

Funding for BIOCLIMATE activities has been provided by grants from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Bonan G. (PI) and E.A. Holland (co-PI) "Collaborative Research: ETBC – The cycling of nitrogen in an earth system model: Constraints and implications for climate change." National Science Foundation, 10/1/10 – 9/30/14 (AGS-1020767)

Bonan, G. (PI) and C.L. Goodale and D.W. Nychka (co-PIs) "Type 1 - L02170320: Assessing and improving the scale dependence of ecosystem processes in earth system models." National Science Foundation, 5/1/11 – 4/30/14 (EF-1048481)