BOREAS Forest Canopy CO2 Isotope Measurements

1994 measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentration and stable carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope ratios from air samples collected at multiple heights within forest canopies. Data were gathered by the BOREAS TE-05 team in the Northern (NSA) and Southern (SSA) Study Areas during Intensive Field Campaigns (IFCs) at sites including OJP, OBS, and OA. The dataset was created to determine the influence of forest ecosystem photosynthesis and respiration on atmospheric CO2 composition.

Use Cases

• Modeling carbon source/sink dynamics in boreal forests using CO2 concentration and isotope ratio columns.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of δ13C within forest canopies to study photosynthetic fractionation.
• Investigating seasonal (IFC-based) variations in atmospheric δ18O of CO2 linked to ecosystem respiration.
• Comparing carbon isotope signatures (relative to PDB standard) between different forest sites (OJP, OBS, OA).
• Calibrating or validating remote sensing or biogeochemical models with ground-truthed CO2 composition data.

Strengths

• Data provides dual isotope (carbon-13 and oxygen-18) measurements for CO2, offering multiple tracers for process attribution.
• Samples were collected at multiple heights within the canopy, enabling analysis of vertical gradients.
• Coverage includes two major boreal forest study areas (NSA and SSA) across multiple site types during 1994 IFCs.
• Measurements are expressed using standard delta notation relative to the PDB international standard, ensuring comparability.

Limitations

• The exact row count, column names, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting last update dates exist: one source lists 1994-09-08, while others list 2026-03-13 (likely a metadata refresh).
• The specific license is ambiguous, listed only as 'other-license-specified'.

Provenance

Source

BOREAS TE-05 group, associated with ORNL_CLOUD.

Collection Method

Air samples collected at different heights within forest canopies during BOREAS Intensive Field Campaigns (IFCs).

Time Range

1994

Freshness

2026-03-13 12:16:44.592941

Geography

Boreal forest ecosystems in the Northern (NSA) and Southern (SSA) Study Areas of the BOREAS project, including specific sites like OJP, OBS, OA, T6R5S TE UBS, and T2Q6A TE OA.