Join us for the School of Environmental Studies Colloquium Series featuring Dr. Christian Seiler
Title: Improving Terrestrial Carbon Flux Simulations With Machine Learning and Global Earth Observations
Abstract: The land carbon cycle can act as both a negative and a positive feedback in the climate system. Currently, it acts as a negative feedback by absorbing more carbon than it emits, sequestering about one-third of anthropogenic emissions. However, multi-model studies indicate that the strength of the land sink will decline in the future, potentially shifting it to a carbon source. Significant inter-model differences remain, limiting the certainty of projections. Some of these differences may stem from parameter uncertainty. Advancements in artificial intelligence, computational resources, and global Earth observations provide new opportunities for constraining parameters. This presentation will demonstrate how we can harness the power of machine learning to improve global terrestrial carbon flux simulations.
Bio: Dr. Christian Seiler is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environmental Studies at Queen’s University. His research focuses on the role of the land surface in the global climate system under current and future climate conditions. By combining numerical modeling and global Earth observations, his work advances our ability to predict how the terrestrial carbon cycle will respond to increasing anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Dr. Seiler earned his Ph.D. and M.Sc. from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and his B.Sc. from the University of Eberswalde in Germany. Before joining Queen’s University in 2023, he held research positions at Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium at the University of Victoria.