WRF-STILT Model Footprints for Arctic Carbon Flux Analysis

WRF-STILT model outputs provide gridded surface influence footprints for the NOAA Barrow Alaska Observatory receptor. The dataset covers 12 selected years within a 30-year study period from 1982 to 2011, focusing on the late summer to autumn window each year. These simulations are part of a retrospective analysis to link atmospheric composition changes with shifts in Arctic ecosystem structure and function.

Use Cases

• Inverse modeling of regional CO2 and CH4 surface fluxes using the provided footprint sensitivity fields.
• Analyzing changes in atmospheric transport patterns over the Arctic from 1982 to 2011.
• Linking observed atmospheric concentration changes at Barrow with upwind ecosystem shifts.
• Validating or comparing other Lagrangian particle dispersion models for polar regions.
• Studying the interannual variability of atmospheric influence regions during the Arctic late summer period.

Strengths

• Model outputs are based on a specific, documented meteorological driver (WRF version 3.5.1).
• Covers a long-term study timeframe of 30 years (1982-2011), with detailed analysis for 12 selected years.
• Provides physically-based footprint fields quantifying surface flux influence on receptor measurements.
• Dataset is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA EarthData, Data.gov), indicating recognized importance.

Limitations

• Critical technical details are unknown, including column names, row counts, and file sizes.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one source lists a last update date of 2011-10-15, while others list 2026 03-12.
• The specific license terms under 'other-license-specified' are not detailed.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD organization, with data generated for the Pre-ABoVE initiative.

Collection Method

Outputs from the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model driven by WRF meteorological fields.

Time Range

1982 to 2011, with simulations for 12 selected years between August 15 and October 15.

Freshness

2026-03 12 22:35:52.187466

Geography

Receptor location at the NOAA Barrow Alaska Observatory; footprints cover upwind surface regions.