A model for urban biogenic CO2 fluxes: Solar-Induced Fluorescence for Modeling Urban biogenic Fluxes (SMUrF v1)

When estimating fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO2) emissions from observed CO2 concentrations, the accuracy can be hampered by biogenic carbon exchanges during the growing season, even for urban areas where strong fossil fuel emissions are found. While biogenic carbon fluxes have been studied extensively across natural vegetation types, biogenic carbon fluxes within an urban area have been challenging to quantify due to limited observations and differences between urban and rural regions. Here we developed a simple model representation, i.e., SolarInduced Fluorescence (SIF) for Modeling Urban biogenic Fluxes (SMUrF), that estimates the gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R-eco) over cities around the globe. Specifically, we leveraged space-based SIF, machine learning, eddy-covariance (EC) flux data, and ancillary remote-sensing-based products, and we developed algorithms to gap-fill fluxes for urban areas. Grid-level hourly mean net ecosystem exchange (NEE) fluxes are extracted from SMUrF and evaluated against (1) non-gap-filled measurements at 67 EC sites from FLUXNET during 2010-2014 (r > 0.7 for most data-rich biomes), (2) independent observations at two urban vegetation and two crop EC sites over Indianapolis from August 2017 to December 2018 (r = 0.75), and (3) an urban biospheric model based on fine- grained land cover classification in Los Angeles (r = 0.83). Moreover, we compared SMUrF-based NEE with inventory-based FFCO2 emissions over 40 cities and addressed the urban-rural contrast in both the magnitude and timing of CO2 fluxes. To illustrate the application of SMUrF, we used it to interpret a few summertime satellite tracks over four cities and compared the urban-rural gradient in column CO2 (XCO2) anomalies due to NEE against XCO2 enhancements due to FFCO2 emissions. With rapid advances in space-based measurements and increased sampling of SIF and CO2 measurements over urban areas, SMUrF can be useful to inform the biogenic CO2 fluxes over highly vegetated regions during the growing season.

Automated summary

The study highlights the challenges in estimating fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions in urban areas due to biogenic carbon exchanges. By developing a simple model representation, it was possible to estimate ecosystem respiration and gross primary production across cities globally. Through advanced data analysis and modeling, the study provides valuable insights into the dynamics of biogenic carbon fluxes in urban environments.