The sixth element
-
Upload
ulla-blair -
Category
Documents
-
view
23 -
download
1
description
Transcript of The sixth element
The sixth element
Atmospheric CO2
Where do emissions come from? How unique are modern CO2 levels? Where does it all go? How long will it stick around?
Main Concepts
Forms of C
Current CO2 levels and fluxes
What are C reservoirs?
What are C transfer rates? Why important?
Residence time?
Timescales of C cycling
How much is a gigaton (Gt)?
• One billion metric tons.
• It is about 2750 Empire State Buildings.
• 142 million African elephants.
• Global C emissions are about 6 Gt.
Storage Reservoir type Author(s)
750 Gt (1.) In atmosphere, CO2, CH4 (1990) IPCC (1990) (s.)
11,500 Gt (2.) Methane clathrates Macdonald (1992)
38,725 Gt (3.) Dissolved or in suspension in oceans IPCC (1990) (s.)
700 Gt (4.) Dissolved organic C; intermediate & surface waters IPCC. (1990) (s.)
4,000 Gt (5.) Fossil fuel Johns. & Ker. (s.)
Calculating Residence time
Residence time is a “replacement time”: time required to affect a reservoir given a certain flux.
(years) = reservoir / input rate
Example: Residence time of a Stony Brook undergrad
Reservoir: Size of Student Body?Input rate: Incoming 1st-year class size
Carbon cycle fluxes
Cycling Flux rate (Gt/year)
Ocean uptake -2.0
Photosynthesis -120.0
Respiration +120.0
Fossil Fuel Combustion
+6.0
Biomass burning +1.0
( “-” means removed from atmosphere)
Atmospheric CO2:Last 50 years
Atmospheric CO2:Last 250 years
Atmospheric CO2: last 400,000 years!
Calculating residence time of Carbon due to air-sea exchange
Ocean uptake rate: -2.0 Gt / year
Total Ocean C reservoir : 39,000 Gt
Surface Ocean C reservoir : 600 Gt
C residence time (whole ocean) = ?
C residence time (surface only) = ?
The fate of fossil CO2
How quickly would the planet take up our CO2?
Fast: “solubility pump” Air-Sea CO2 exchange (centuries)
Moderate: “Deep ocean acid neutralization” (tens of thousands of years)
Really slow: “Weathering of continental rocks” (millions of years)
Moderate C Cycling
Neutralize deep ocean acidity by Dissolving ocean CaCO3 sediments
104 years
75% in 300 years
25% “forever”
Bottom Line
Human C Emissions are large
Nature can’t keep up
Natural C sinks are diminishing
Lifetime of CO2 from your tailpipe:
“300 years, plus 25% that lasts forever”