ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the traceability analysis of transient carbon storage, which is a modification of the original traceability framework that relies on an assumption of steady state. Transient traceability analysis is particularly useful to address the origin and drivers of carbon flow of a system in a state of transition towards a new steady state – a transient system. We will illustrate how the transient traceability can be applied to address scientific questions with two examples. One tracks the differences in modeled carbon storage between two forest ecosystems, the second compares and contrasts outcomes of a set of Model Intercomparison Projects (MIPs) encompassing multiple land carbon models.
