Our Goal

The overall goal of this program to develop a regional-scale Earth Systems Model (EaSM) that is an integration of existing process-based models for the atmospheric, terrestrial, aquatic, and human systems in order to understand the interactions between inter-annual to decadal-scale climate variability and carbon-nitrogen-water dynamics over the Pacific Northwest.

Objectives

• Air to Land Linkage: To investigate the role that atmospheric processes play in land surface carbon-nitrogen-water cycles.
• Coupled Air/Land: To explore how ecosystem changes in the Pacific Northwest affect land/atmosphere interactions.
• Coupled Air/Land/Human: To examine how potential policy changes might affect the interactions between carbon-nitrogen-water cycles and regional-scale climate.
• Communication: To explore how to best communicate the model results to resource managers and policy makers.

Broader Impacts

• Integrated science to support decisions on resource management and policy
• Increased capability to perform synergistic multidisciplinary climate and nitrogen-systems research
• PhD graduates who can seamlessly integrate climate and nitrogen-cycling science for effective communication with public policy makers
• Increased participation of minorities in science and engineering