Jacob Nelson

Jacob Nelson is a Project Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in the Department of Biogeochemical Integration. He leads the Cross-Scale Terrestrial Ecophysiology (XTE) project group within the Global Diagnostic Modeling team, focusing on plant water use and interactions between carbon and water cycles across diverse ecosystems.

• Research Focus: Data-driven approaches using machine learning, guided by physiological understanding, to estimate transpiration and improve global models of terrestrial fluxes.
• Collaboration: Active member of the FLUXCOM team, advancing next-generation global carbon, energy, and water flux estimates.

His work bridges ecophysiological principles with computational modeling, emphasizing the impacts of climate extremes (e.g., droughts) on ecosystem function. Recent publications highlight methodological innovations in eddy covariance data analysis, remote sensing integration, and multiscale carbon-water flux partitioning.

Current research trends include:

• Development of post-hoc corrections for flux tower measurements
• Exploration of deep learning for evapotranspiration upscaling
• Integration of satellite data with ground-based observations
• Studies on nitrogen/phosphorus availability effects on water use efficiency
• Analysis of drought legacy impacts on carbon exchange

Key methodologies involve the TEA algorithm (Transpiration Estimation Algorithm), FLUXCOM-X extensions, and multisensor data fusion. His team investigates ecosystems ranging from Mediterranean savannas to European forests, addressing energy balance closure gaps and enhancing climate policy frameworks.