Responses of Australian Dryland Vegetation to the 2019 Heat Wave at a Subdaily...

Qiu, B., J. Ge, W. Guo, A. J. Pitman, and M. Mu (2020), Responses of Australian Dryland Vegetation to the 2019 Heat Wave at a Subdaily Scale, Geophys. Res. Lett., 47, e2019GL086569, doi:10.1029/2019GL086569.
Abstract: 

Satellite solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) products from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2 (GOME‐2) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO‐2) are used to investigate the responses of vegetation growth to the 2019 heat wave in Australia. Both satellite SIF data sets are more sensitive to water and heat stress than is the greenness‐based vegetation index (enhanced vegetation index). Moreover, the OCO‐2 SIF observations show a more significant reduction and earlier response to the heat stress than does GOME‐2 SIF, indicating that the two satellite SIF data sets differ in how they monitor the drought and heat wave event due to the different timing of observations. Eddy covariance measurements confirm the different responses of dryland vegetation to the 2019 heat wave at a subdaily time scale. The differences in the timing of the satellite SIF products can be used to assess different elements of the impact of heat and water stress on Australian dryland ecosystems. Plain Language Summary An extreme heat wave occurred across Australia during the summer of 2019, and the high air temperatures and low precipitation affected the vegetation. We used two satellite solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) data sets to investigate the response of vegetation growth to the extremely high temperatures in Australia. Vegetation growth was reduced during the 2019 summer, but SIF measurements allowed us to separate the impact of the heat wave on the vegetation in the morning and in the afternoon. Our work illustrates how the timing of satellite observations provides different information on how dryland vegetation responds to heat waves in Australia.

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Mission: 
Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2)