NASA Global Daily Downscaled Projections, CMIP6

We describe the latest version of the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP-CMIP6). The archive contains downscaled historical and future projections for 1950–2100 based on output from Phase 6 of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The downscaled products were produced using a daily variant of the monthly bias correction/spatial disaggregation (BCSD) method and are at 1/4-degree horizontal resolution. Currently, eight variables from five CMIP6 experiments (historical, SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585) are provided as procurable from thirty-five global climate models.

Measurement(s)	temperature of air • volume of hydrological precipitation • humidity • stellar radiation • atmospheric wind speed
Technology Type(s)	statistical downscaling
Sample Characteristic - Environment	atmosphere

DeepEmSat: Deep Emulation for Satellite Data Mining

The growing volume of Earth science data available from climate simulations and satellite remote sensing offers unprecedented opportunity for scientific insight, while also presenting computational challenges. One potential area of impact is atmospheric correction, where physics-based numerical models retrieve surface reflectance information from top of atmosphere observations, and are too computationally intensive to be run in real time. Machine learning methods have demonstrated potential as fast statistical models for expensive simulations and for extracting credible insights from complex datasets. Here, we develop DeepEmSat: a deep learning emulator approach for atmospheric correction, and offer comparison against physics-based models to support the hypothesis that deep learning can make a contribution to the efficient processing of satellite images.

Modelling the influence of land-use changes on biophysical and biochemical interactions at regional and global scales

Land-use changes since the start of the industrial era account for nearly one-third of the cumulative anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In addition to the greenhouse effect of CO2 emissions, changes in land use also affect climate via changes in surface physical properties such as albedo, evapotranspiration and roughness length. Recent modelling studies suggest that these biophysical components may be comparable with biochemical effects. In regard to climate change, the effects of these two distinct processes may counterbalance one another both regionally and, possibly, globally. In this article, through hypothetical large-scale deforestation simulations using a global climate model, we contrast the implications of afforestation on ameliorating or enhancing anthropogenic contributions from previously converted (agricultural) land surfaces. Based on our review of past studies on this subject, we conclude that the sum of both biophysical and biochemical effects should be assessed when large-scale afforestation is used for countering global warming, and the net effect on global mean temperature change depends on the location of deforestation/afforestation. Further, although biochemical effects trigger global climate change, biophysical effects often cause strong local and regional climate change. The implication of the biophysical effects for adaptation and mitigation of climate change in agriculture and agroforestry sectors is discussed.

A high-resolution approach to estimating ecosystem respiration at continental scales using operational satellite data

A better understanding of the local variability in land-atmosphere carbon fluxes is crucial to improving the accuracy of global carbon budgets. Operational satellite data backed by ground measurements at Fluxnet sites proved valuable in monitoring local variability of gross primary production at highly resolved spatio-temporal resolutions. Yet, we lack similar operational estimates of ecosystem respiration (Re) to calculate net carbon fluxes. If successful, carbon fluxes from such a remote sensing approach would form an independent and sought after measure to complement widely used dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs). Here, we establish an operational semi-empirical Re model, based only on data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) with a resolution of 1 km and 8 days. Fluxnet measurements between 2000 and 2009 from 100 sites across North America and Europe are used for parameterization and validation. Our analysis shows that Re is closely tied to temperature and plant productivity. By separating temporal and intersite variation, we find that MODIS land surface temperature (LST) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) are sufficient to explain observed Re across most major biomes with a negligible bias [R² = 0.62, RMSE = 1.32 (g C m(-2) d(-1)), MBE = 0.05 (g C m(-2) d(-1))]. A comparison of such satellite-derived Re with those simulated by the DGVM LPJmL reveals similar spatial patterns. However, LPJmL shows higher temperature sensitivities and consistently simulates higher Re values, in high-latitude and subtropical regions. These differences remain difficult to explain and they are likely associated either with LPJmL parameterization or with systematic errors in the Fluxnet sampling technique. While uncertainties remain with Re estimates, the model formulated in this study provides an operational, cross-validated and unbiased approach to scale Fluxnet Re to the continental scale and advances knowledge of spatio-temporal Re variability.

A large proportion of North American net ecosystem production is offset by emissions from harvested products, river/stream evasion, and biomass burning

Diagnostic carbon cycle models produce estimates of net ecosystem production (NEP, the balance of net primary production and heterotrophic respiration) by integrating information from (i) satellite-based observations of land surface vegetation characteristics; (ii) distributed meteorological data; and (iii) eddy covariance flux tower observations of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) (used in model parameterization). However, a full bottom-up accounting of NEE (the vertical carbon flux) that is suitable for integration with atmosphere-based inversion modeling also includes emissions from decomposition/respiration of harvested forest and agricultural products, CO2 evasion from streams and rivers, and biomass burning. Here, we produce a daily time step NEE for North America for the year 2004 that includes NEP as well as the additional emissions. This NEE product was run in the forward mode through the CarbonTracker inversion setup to evaluate its consistency with CO2 concentration observations. The year 2004 was climatologically favorable for NEP over North America and the continental total was estimated at 1730 ± 370 TgC yr(-1) (a carbon sink). Harvested product emissions (316 ± 80 TgC yr(-1) ), river/stream evasion (158 ± 50 TgC yr(-1) ), and fire emissions (142 ± 45 TgC yr(-1) ) counteracted a large proportion (35%) of the NEP sink. Geographic areas with strong carbon sinks included Midwest US croplands, and forested regions of the Northeast, Southeast, and Pacific Northwest. The forward mode run with CarbonTracker produced good agreement between observed and simulated wintertime CO2 concentrations aggregated over eight measurement sites around North America, but overestimates of summertime concentrations that suggested an underestimation of summertime carbon uptake. As terrestrial NEP is the dominant offset to fossil fuel emission over North America, a good understanding of its spatial and temporal variation - as well as the fate of the carbon it sequesters ─ is needed for a comprehensive view of the carbon cycle.

Enhancement of understory productivity by asynchronous phenology with overstory competitors in a temperate deciduous forest

Some saplings and shrubs growing in the understory of temperate deciduous forests extend their periods of leaf display beyond that of the overstory, resulting in periods when understory radiation, and hence productivity, are not limited by the overstory canopy. To assess the importance of the duration of leaf display on the productivity of understory and overstory trees of deciduous forests in the north eastern United States, we applied the simulation model, BIOME-BGC with climate data for Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA and mean ecophysiological data for species of deciduous, temperate forests. Extension of the overstory leaf display period increased overstory leaf area index (LAI) by only 3 to 4% and productivity by only 2 to 4%. In contrast, extending the growing season of the understory relative to the overstory by one week in both spring and fall, increased understory LAI by 35% and productivity by 32%. A 2-week extension of the growing period in both spring and fall increased understory LAI by 53% and productivity by 55%.

Reactivity of sulfhydryl groups of the catalytic subunits of rabbit skeletal muscle protein phosphatases 1 and 2A

Chemical modification of the sulfhydryl residues of the catalytic subunits of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A was studied. Both enzymes were inactivated by a variety of thiol group reagents. Mercurial compounds were the most effective inactivators. Of the alkylating agents the maleimides were more effective than iodoacetate or iodoacetamide which were relatively slow reacting. Both enzymes were also inactivated by disulfides, including glutathione disulfide, 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), and 4,4'-dipyridyl disulfide. The latter two were much more reactive than glutathione disulfide and, in addition, displayed a significant differential reactivity toward phosphatase 1. The apparent second-order rate constants for the inactivation of phosphatase 1 were 20- to 70-fold higher than for phosphatase 2A with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and 4,4'-dipyridyl disulfide. Kinetic analysis indicated that inactivation of both enzymes could be correlated with the modification of one cysteine per one mole of enzyme.

Effect of parathyroid hormone on rat renal calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II

Rat parathyroid hormone (PTH) stimulates cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C activity in the kidney. However, PTH increases intracellular Calcium in primary cultures of proximal tubular cells. We have investigated the possibility that PTH also stimulates Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II). We have employed the tandem chromatographic column method, using synthetic peptide as a substrate, to measure the renal CaM kinase II activity. PTH (250 nM) stimulated CaM kinase II activity by about 50% after 15 sec., and activity returned to baseline by 2 min. Calmodulin antagonists significantly impaired the stimulatory action of PTH whereas basal levels of CaM kinase II activity were relatively unaffected. This study demonstrates that PTH does activate CaM kinase II in renal tissue, and suggests another pathway for the actions of PTH in the kidney.

Effect of parathyroid hormone on rat renal cAMP-dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C activity measured using synthetic peptide substrates

The actions of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on the renal cortex are thought to be mediated primarily by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) with some suggestion of a role for protein kinase C (PKC). However, present methods for assaying PKA and PKC in subcellular fractions are insensitive and require large amounts of protein. Recently, a sensitive method for measuring the activity of protein kinases has been reported. This method uses synthetic peptides as substrates and a tandem chromatographic procedure for isolating the phosphorylated peptides. We have adapted this method to study the effect of PTH on PKA and PKC activity using thin slices of rat renal cortex. PTH (250 nM) stimulated cytosolic PKA activity four- to fivefold within 30 s, and PKA activity was sustained for at least 5 min. PTH also rapidly stimulated PKC activity in the membrane fraction and decreased PKC activity in the cytosol. These changes were maximal at 30 s, but unlike changes in PKA, they declined rapidly thereafter. PTH significantly activated PKC only at concentrations of 10 nM or greater. This study demonstrates that PTH does activate PKC in renal tissue, although the duration of activation is much less than for PKA. It also demonstrates that a combination of synthetic peptides with tandem chromatography can be used as a sensitive assay procedure for protein kinase activity in biological samples.

Phosphorylation of ferredoxin and regulation of renal mitochondrial 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1 alpha-hydroxylase activity in vitro

The kidney is the principal physiologic site of production of biologically active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1 alpha-hydroxylase (1-OHase) activity found in renal mitochondria is under tight hormonal control. Parathyroid hormone stimulates the renal conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in young animals, which is accompanied by dephosphorylation of ferredoxin (Fx), a component of the mitochondrial 1-OHase enzyme complex (Siegel, N., Wongsurawat, N., and Armbrecht, H. J. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 16998-17003). The present study investigates the capacity of Fx to be phosphorylated in vitro and to modulate the 1-OHase activity of a reconstituted system. Fx was phosphorylated by renal mitochondrial type II protein kinase. Phosphorylation did not alter Fx mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels but did decrease the pI as measured by isoelectric focusing. Amino acid analysis demonstrated that 1 mol of serine and 1 mol of threonine were phosphorylated per mol of Fx. Peptide mapping of phosphorylated Fx was consistent with phosphorylation of serine 88 and threonine 85 or 97. Fx was selectively dephosphorylated by rabbit skeletal muscle protein phosphatase C2 but not C1. Phosphorylation of Fx significantly inhibited the 1-OHase activity of a reconstituted system consisting of Fx reductase, Fx, and renal mitochondrial cytochrome P-450. These findings suggest that phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of Fx may play a role in modulating renal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D production.

Isolation and characterization of rabbit skeletal muscle protein phosphatases C-I and C-II

Previous studies have shown that phosphorylase phosphatase can be isolated from rabbit liver and bovine heart as a form of Mr approximately 35,000 after an ethanol treatment of tissue extracts. This enzyme form was designated as protein phosphatase C. In the present study, reproducible methods for the isolation of two forms of protein phosphatase C from rabbit skeletal muscle to apparent homogeneity are described. Protein phosphatase C-I was obtained in yields of up to 20%, with specific activities toward phosphorylase a of 8,000-16,000 units/mg of protein. This enzyme represents the major phosphorylase phosphatase activity present in the ethanol-treated muscle extracts. The second enzyme, protein phosphatase C-II, had a much lower specific activity toward phosphorylase a (250-900 units/mg). Phosphatase C-I and phosphatase C-II had Mr = 32,000 and 33,500, respectively, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate disc gel electrophoresis. The two enzymes displayed distinct enzymatic properties. Phosphatase C-II was associated with a more active alkaline phosphatase activity toward p-nitrophenyl phosphate than was phosphatase C-I. Phosphatase C-II activities were activated by Mn2+, whereas phosphatase C-I was inhibited. Phosphatase C-I was inhibited by rabbit skeletal muscle inhibitor 2 while phosphatase C-II was not inhibited. Both enzymes dephosphorylated glycogen synthase and phosphorylase kinase, but displayed different specificities toward the alpha- and beta-subunit phosphates of phosphorylase kinase (Ganapathi, M. K., Silberman, S. R., Paris, H., and Lee, E. Y. C. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 246, 3213-3217). The amino acid compositions of the two proteins were similar. Peptide mapping of the two proteins showed that they are distinct proteins and do not have a precursor-proteolytic product relationship.