Ryan Vella: Incorporating vegetation dynamics for terrestrial isoprene and monoterpene emission estimates

Earth system models integrate previously separate models of the ocean, atmosphere and vegetation in one comprehensive modelling system enabling the investigation of interactions between different components of the Earth system. Global isoprene and monoterpene emissions from terrestrial vegetation, which represents the most important source of volatile organic compounds in the Earth system, need to be included in global and regional chemical transport models given their major chemical impacts on the atmosphere. Due to the feedback of vegetation activity involving interactions with the weather and climate, a coupled modelling system between vegetation and atmospheric chemistry is a recommended tool to address the fate of biogenic volatile organic compounds. I will present details on how we coupled the atmospheric chemistry-climate model EMAC with the global dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS for global isoprene and monoterpene emission estimates.