The carbon cycle and hurricanes in the United States between 1900 and 2011

Scientific Reports
By: , and 

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Abstract

Hurricanes cause severe impacts on forest ecosystems in the United States. These events can substantially alter the carbon biogeochemical cycle at local to regional scales. We selected all tropical storms and more severe events that made U.S. landfall between 1900 and 2011 and used hurricane best track database, a meteorological model (HURRECON), National Land Cover Database (NLCD), U. S. Department of Agirculture Forest Service biomass dataset, and pre- and post-MODIS data to quantify individual event and annual biomass mortality. Our estimates show an average of 18.2 TgC/yr of live biomass mortality for 1900–2011 in the US with strong spatial and inter-annual variability. Results show Hurricane Camille in 1969 caused the highest aboveground biomass mortality with 59.5 TgC. Similarly 1954 had the highest annual mortality with 68.4 TgC attributed to landfalling hurricanes. The results presented are deemed useful to further investigate historical events, and the methods outlined are potentially beneficial to quantify biomass loss in future events.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The carbon cycle and hurricanes in the United States between 1900 and 2011
Series title Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/srep05197
Volume 4
Issue 5197
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher Nature Publishing Group
Contributing office(s) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
Description 10 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Scientific Reports
Country United States
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