Working Groups
Aboveground woody biomass in terrestrial ecosystems, especially forests, represents some of the highest carbon densities of any terrestrial biome. Not surprisingly, a disproportionate number of CMS projects also focus on this carbon pool, from local to global scales. This makes for overlapping objectives between various CMS projects aiming to improve methods and data products associated with biomass estimation, mapping, and monitoring. This working group seeks to increase dialogue and coordination between Investigators leading different yet complementary CMS projects, with an aim to deliver improved terrestrial biomass products. We trust that there are important efficiencies and synergies to be gained through closer collaboration, including discussions of error accounting, data sharing, field survey coordination, etc. One potential product of our working group is a review paper comparing different CMS terrestrial biomass map products where they overlap in space and time.
The focus of the Flux Working Group is to determine and quantify the carbon balance of individual point sources to state or multi-state regions to hemispheric or global domains. These estimates of carbon fluxes and stocks are needed to help understand processes at various spatiotemporal scales, to help develop and test hypotheses, to provide inputs for models, and to provide estimates for policy needs, such as reporting GHG emissions and sinks to stakeholders and decision-makers. Current projects by the working group members estimate carbon fluxes using a variety of measurements and diagnostic modeling techniques, including top-down (atmospheric inversions) and bottom-up (process-based, inventory-based and bookkeeping) methods. The working group aims to facilitate communication between colleagues, to raise awareness of current work, to advance flux estimation methodologies, to identify community needs for observations, data synthesis and modeling, and to develop future research directions.
The methane WG is a forum for exchanging information on CMS projects related to better understanding of the budget of atmospheric methane
The CMS Stakeholder Engagement Working Group focuses on coordination and information-sharing about best practices to engage with stakeholders, potential users of CMS data products, and other decisionmakers. The working group will have quarterly meetings where members will present a case example of successful engagement with stakeholders, updates from the applications team, open discussion and sharing of experiences, discussion about future work and events to engage stakeholders, and highlight potential stakeholder organizations to engage for CMS, as well as feedback from actual stakeholders that will participate as ex-officio members of the working group.
The uncertainty working group continues from the prior cycle of CMS. For the most recent science team meeting in November 2013, we established a conceptual framework to describe the different approaches taken to quantifying uncertainty among CMS projects, and evaluated how Phase 2 2012 CMS projects fit into that framework. For the next science team meeting, we will work to bring the Phase 2 2013 projects into the framework. This will involve re-publicizing the survey framework, encouraging PIs to fill it out, and grouping projects. This work focuses on documentation of existing approaches to characterizing uncertainty within projects.
The next critical step is to move beyond documentation toward integration. Ideally, these concepts of uncertainty could allow the larger CMS effort a means to reconcile uncertainty estimates across projects. This work involves significant effort to compare and evaluate patterns of agreement and disagreement in uncertainties and estimates across projects.
It is likely beyond what any individual project can support as a sideline effort. However, to lay the groundwork for such comparisons, we propose to:
Our goal for the next science team meeting would be to present such comparison approaches to the larger team to lay the groundwork for potential focused comparison efforts.
2013 Uncertainty Report: .pptx
The focus of the Wet Carbon Working group is to determine the current status of carbon monitoring at the terrestrial-aquatic interface, including coastal and freshwater wetlands, rivers, lakes, and the coastal and open ocean. The main aim of the group is to synthesize the current state of the wet carbon science with a particular emphasis on CMS activities. In addition, the group will work to advance the development of more generalized tools and paradigms for monitoring carbon stocks and flux estimates at the terrestrial-aquatic interface including new protocols, methods and recommendations for future research opportunities for the NASA CMS program and stakeholders.
Current projects by the working group members focus on estimating carbon stocks and fluxes in a various wetland and aquatic ecosystems with a wide range of methodologies including field surveys, airborne Lidar, Radar, passive optical and radiometer measurements. The working group aims to facilitate communication between colleagues, to raise awareness of current work, to advance carbon stock and flux estimation methodologies, to identify community needs and gaps, and to develop future research directions.
The primary motivations of the Algorithm Assessment/Intercomparison Working Group are to document activities and strategies for intercomparison activities and identify key gaps where further intercomparison efforts are warranted. The approach to date has consisted of soliciting CMS team input to survey questions and coordinating with Working Group members to document "best-practices" for intercomparison activities. The current activities of the Working Group are to complete the documentation of Phase II projects and continue domain-level discussions on effective strategies for intercomparison activities.
2013 Algorithm Assessment/Intercomparison Report: .pptx
The focus of the Atmospheric Validation Working Group is on the integration of atmospheric measurements and modeling to study carbon emissions using so-called "top-down" approaches. Current projects by the working group members range in scale from individual point sources to state or multi-state regions to hemispheric or global domains. The working group aims to facilitate communication between colleagues, to raise awareness of current work, to advance the state of the art of top-down methodologies, to identify community needs for observations, data synthesis and modeling, and to develop future research directions.
View Telecon Schedule & Recordings
List of Atmospheric Validation Data Useful to CMS
The Biomass-Flux working group seeks to integrate information about both land-atmosphere carbon fluxes and changes in biomass to improve estimation of both. The seven projects participating in this working group represent investigations at local, regional, and global scale. We have developed algorithms to predict and monitor fluxes and changes in biomass in response to fire, agriculture, land use change, and other disturbances. If funding can be sustained in the future, we are prepared to (1) define domains in space and time for which various projects overlap; (2) to cross-compare flux and biomass products as appropriate; and (3) to compare integrated fluxes with changes in biomass over time.
2013 Biomass-Flux Report: .pptx
The charge for the Capability Risk Working group is to create a report of current and planned remote sensing capabilities used across the CMS, and their expected lifespans. Then, we are to identify missing parts or expected gaps to help with future planning. The approach is to gather existing tables of relevant missions, instruments, and lifespans, and update related tables through user input from CMS.
2013 Capability Risk Report: .pptx
The data working group will adopt protocols and workflows to make CMS data available to scientists and stakeholders over project and archival time frames. The mode of operation will be to communicate and coordinate between both the domain (e.g., atmosphere, land, ocean) and derived (e.g., algorithm, uncertainty) working groups in CMS for appropriate data storage and accessibility to relevant carbon cycle research communities. The data working group cross cuts all CMS working groups and will serve as a model of coordination and communication. Initially, the data working group will respond to several needs and responsibilities:
The external communications working group continues from the CMS Phase 1 and 2a, where the focus of the working group was to create materials for the CMS website and to communicate the products, science, and impact that CMS has had during its existence. Going forward, the working group will focus on finding ways to broaden and strengthen the knowledge of CMS research and engagement with the broader Earth science community through communication products such as articles, websites and meetings. Through this engagement, we seek to ensure that the community understands the nature, quality, and utility of NASA CMS science information and data products, and that CMS scientists are responsive to these needs through ongoing research.
2013 External Communications Report: .pptx
The CMS Methane WG focuses on coordination and information-sharing between the CMS investigations targeting the processes that control atmospheric methane. WG topics include methane biogeochemistry, emission inventories, atmospheric observations, and inverse analyses to constrain sources.
MRV stands for Measuring, Reporting and Verifying (or Verification) and describes the procedures associated with the communication of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Measuring is estimating the effect of the mitigation action, reporting is communication to the international community, and verifying is checking the estimation. MRV is a central concept within international efforts aimed at reducing terrestrial emissions of greenhouse gases. An effort of importance is REDD+ or Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation which aims at mitigating climate change through economic incentives for enhanced forest management in developing countries. For example, an important mitigation action is the reduction of emissions from deforestation; an MRV system would include descriptions of how deforestation is monitored using remote sensing, how the area of deforestation and its uncertainty are estimated in sampling-based approach, how the carbon emissions (with uncertainty) associated with the deforestation estimates are quantified, and how the results are communicated.
While the availability of data, tools and computing power have increased exponentially in recent years, research is needed to investigate how to harness such resources for advancing MRV systems. Capacity building organizations that work with countries to enhance MRV capabilities are often not in a position to sponsor research. Instead, they rely on the findings of research programs to enhance capabilities.
NASA CMS is an important research program for advancing MRV systems, and findings from several CMS projects are actively being used in capacity building efforts by SilvaCarbon, UN-FAO and GOFC-GOLD. A successful link between CMS research and capacity building has been established. But capacity building is not static as new obstacles to successful MRV implementation are discovered as capacities grow. The MRV working group aims at identifying current obstacles to MRV implementation and how CMS-funded research has furthered implementation and can, in the future, help overcome obstacles. As a first step in this process, we aim to publish a paper that reviews MRV obstacles and opportunities.
Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) is a very broad concept guiding the application of monitoring technology to the needs of countries or entities for reporting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions. Credibility, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility are important features of global MRV efforts. Thus, the scope of this working group is broad and could involve linking with most if not all of the projects and other working groups that comprise NASA's CMS. Initially, the MRV WG will develop a broad-brush review of the CMS projects and their potential contribution to resolving some of the difficult issues that are encountered when designing MRV systems in various contexts around the world. After this review and subsequent interactions with others in the CMS community, the MRV WG can focus on one or a few of the most useful MRV-related tasks to support CMS.
Some wide-ranging MRV considerations that need additional focus in CMS have been identified.
2013 Responsiveness Report: .pdf
No Description Provided
The uncertainty working group continues from the prior cycle of CMS. For the most recent science team meeting in November 2013, we established a conceptual framework to describe the different approaches taken to quantifying uncertainty among CMS projects, and evaluated how Phase 2 2012 CMS projects fit into that framework. For the next science team meeting, we will work to bring the Phase 2 2013 projects into the framework. This will involve re-publicizing the survey framework, encouraging PIs to fill it out, and grouping projects. This work focuses on documentation of existing approaches to characterizing uncertainty within projects.
The next critical step is to move beyond documentation toward integration. Ideally, these concepts of uncertainty could allow the larger CMS effort a means to reconcile uncertainty estimates across projects. This work involves significant effort to compare and evaluate patterns of agreement and disagreement in uncertainties and estimates across projects.
It is likely beyond what any individual project can support as a sideline effort. However, to lay the groundwork for such comparisons, we propose to:
Our goal for the next science team meeting would be to present such comparison approaches to the larger team to lay the groundwork for potential focused comparison efforts.
2013 Uncertainty Report: .pptx
The primary motivations of the Algorithm Assessment/Intercomparison Working Group are to document activities and strategies for intercomparison activities and identify key gaps where further intercomparison efforts are warranted. The approach to date has consisted of soliciting CMS team input to survey questions and coordinating with Working Group members to document "best-practices" for intercomparison activities. The current activities of the Working Group are to complete the documentation of Phase II projects and continue domain-level discussions on effective strategies for intercomparison activities.
2013 Algorithm Assessment/Intercomparison Report: .pptx