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1.
Tropical forests and the global carbon cycle   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
New data on the three major determinants of the carbon release from tropical forest clearing are used in a computer model that simulates land use change and its effects on the carbon content of vegetation and soil in order to calculate the net flux of carbon dioxide between tropical ecosystems and the atmosphere. The model also permits testing the sensitivity of the calculated flux to uncertainties in these data. The tropics were a net source of at least 0.4 x 10(15) grams but not more than 1.6 x 10(15) grams of carbon in 1980, considerably less than previous estimates. Decreases in soil organic matter were responsible for 0.1 x 10(15) to 0.3 x 10(15) grams of the release, while the burning and decay of cleared vegetation accounted for 0.3 x 10(15) to 1.3 x 10(15) grams. These estimates are lower than many previous ones because lower biomass estimates and slightly lower land clearing rates were used and because ecosystem recovery processes were included. These new estimates of the biotic release allow for the possibility of a balanced global budget given the large remaining uncertainties in the marine, terrestrial, and fossil fuel components of the carbon cycle.  相似文献   

2.
Wong CS 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1978,200(4338):197-200
The atmospheric input of carbon dioxide from burning wood, in particular from forest fires in boreal and temperate regions resulting from both natural and man-made causes and predominantly from forest fires in tropical regions caused by shifting cultivation, is estimated to be 5.7 x 10(15) grams of carbon per year as gross input and 1.5 x 10(15) grams of carbon per year as net input. This is a significant amount as compared to the fossil fuel carbon dioxide produced from the utilization of oil, gas, coal, and limestone, and bears on the hypothesis of the enhanced sedimentation of marine detritus as a removal mechanism of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide.  相似文献   

3.
Carbon dioxide supersaturation in the surface waters of lakes   总被引:9,自引:0,他引:9  
Data on the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) in the surface waters from a large number of lakes (1835) with a worldwide distribution show that only a small proportion of the 4665 samples analyzed (less than 10 percent) were within +/-20 percent of equilibrium with the atmosphere and that most samples (87 percent) were supersaturated. The mean partial pressure of CO(2) averaged 1036 microatmospheres, about three times the value in the overlying atmosphere, indicating that lakes are sources rather than sinks of atmospheric CO(2). On a global scale, the potential efflux of CO(2) from lakes (about 0.14 x 10(15) grams of carbon per year) is about half as large as riverine transport of organic plus inorganic carbon to the ocean. Lakes are a small but potentially important conduit for carbon from terrestrial sources to the atmospheric sink.  相似文献   

4.
Termites may emit large quantities of methane, carbon dioxide, and molecular hydrogen into the atmosphere. Global annual emissions calculated from laboratory measurements could reach 1.5 x 10(14) grams of methane and 5 x 10(16) grams of carbon dioxide. As much as 2 x 10(14) grams of molecular hydrogen may also be produced. Field measurements of methane emissions from two termite nests in Guatemala corroborated the laboratory results. The largest emissions should occur in tropical areas disturbed by human activities.  相似文献   

5.
Carbon pools and flux of global forest ecosystems   总被引:40,自引:0,他引:40  
Forest systems cover more than 4.1 x 10(9) hectares of the Earth's land area. Globally, forest vegetation and soils contain about 1146 petagrams of carbon, with approximately 37 percent of this carbon in low-latitude forests, 14 percent in mid-latitudes, and 49 percent at high latitudes. Over two-thirds of the carbon in forest ecosystems is contained in soils and associated peat deposits. In 1990, deforestation in the low latitudes emitted 1.6 +/- 0.4 petagrams of carbon per year, whereas forest area expansion and growth in mid- and high-latitude forest sequestered 0.7 +/- 0.2 petagrams of carbon per year, for a net flux to the atmosphere of 0.9 +/- 0.4 petagrams of carbon per year. Slowing deforestation, combined with an increase in forestation and other management measures to improve forest ecosystem productivity, could conserve or sequester significant quantities of carbon. Future forest carbon cycling trends attributable to losses and regrowth associated with global climate and land-use change are uncertain. Model projections and some results suggest that forests could be carbon sinks or sources in the future.  相似文献   

6.
Arctic tundra has large amounts of stored carbon and is thought to be a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) (0.1 to 0.3 petagram of carbon per year) (1 petagram = 10(15) grams). But this estimate of carbon balance is only for terrestrial ecosystems. Measurements of the partial pressure of CO(2) in 29 aquatic ecosystems across arctic Alaska showed that in most cases (27 of 29) CO(2) was released to the atmosphere. This CO(2) probably originates in terrestrial environments; erosion of particulate carbon plus ground-water transport of dissolved carbon from tundra contribute to the CO(2) flux from surface waters to the atmosphere. If this mechanism is typical of that of other tundra areas, then current estimates of the arctic terrestrial sink for atmospheric CO(2) may be 20 percent too high.  相似文献   

7.
Biomass burning is widespread, especially in the tropics. It serves to clear land for shifting cultivation, to convert forests to agricultural and pastoral lands, and to remove dry vegetation in order to promote agricultural productivity and the growth of higher yield grasses. Furthermore, much agricultural waste and fuel wood is being combusted, particularly in developing countries. Biomass containing 2 to 5 petagrams of carbon is burned annually (1 petagram = 10(15) grams), producing large amounts of trace gases and aerosol particles that play important roles in atmospheric chemistry and climate. Emissions of carbon monoxide and methane by biomass burning affect the oxidation efficiency of the atmosphere by reacting with hydroxyl radicals, and emissions of nitric oxide and hydrocarbons lead to high ozone concentrations in the tropics during the dry season. Large quantities of smoke particles are produced as well, and these can serve as cloud condensation nuclei. These particles may thus substantially influence cloud microphysical and optical properties, an effect that could have repercussions for the radiation budget and the hydrological cycle in the tropics. Widespread burning may also disturb biogeochemical cycles, especially that of nitrogen. About 50 percent of the nitrogen in the biomass fuel can be released as molecular nitrogen. This pyrdenitrification process causes a sizable loss of fixed nitrogen in tropical ecosystems, in the range of 10 to 20 teragrams per year (1 teragram = 10(12) grams).  相似文献   

8.
Simulations of carbon storage suggest that conversion of old-growth forests to young fast-growing forests will not decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) in general, as has been suggested recently. During simulated timber harvest, on-site carbon storage is reduced considerably and does not approach old-growth storage capacity for at least 200 years. Even when sequestration of carbon in wooden buildings is included in the models, timber harvest results in a net flux of CO(2) to the atmosphere. To offset this effect, the production of lumber and other long-term wood products, as well as the life-span of buildings, would have to increase markedly. Mass balance calculations indicate that the conversion of 5 x 10(9) to 1.8 x 10(9) megagrams of carbon to the atmosphere.  相似文献   

9.
10.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide increased at a rate of 2.8 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C year-1) during 1988 to 1992 (1 Pg = 10(15) grams). Given estimates of fossil carbon dioxide emissions, and net oceanic uptake, this implies a global terrestrial uptake of 1.0 to 2. 2 Pg C year-1. The spatial distribution of the terrestrial carbon dioxide uptake is estimated by means of the observed spatial patterns of the greatly increased atmospheric carbon dioxide data set available from 1988 onward, together with two atmospheric transport models, two estimates of the sea-air flux, and an estimate of the spatial distribution of fossil carbon dioxide emissions. North America is the best constrained continent, with a mean uptake of 1.7 +/- 0.5 Pg C year-1, mostly south of 51 degrees north. Eurasia-North Africa is relatively weakly constrained, with a mean uptake of 0.1 +/- 0.6 Pg C year-1. The rest of the world's land surface is poorly constrained, with a mean source of 0.2 +/- 0.9 Pg C year-1.  相似文献   

11.
Stabilizing the carbon dioxide-induced component of climate change is an energy problem. Establishment of a course toward such stabilization will require the development within the coming decades of primary energy sources that do not emit carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, in addition to efforts to reduce end-use energy demand. Mid-century primary power requirements that are free of carbon dioxide emissions could be several times what we now derive from fossil fuels (approximately 10(13) watts), even with improvements in energy efficiency. Here we survey possible future energy sources, evaluated for their capability to supply massive amounts of carbon emission-free energy and for their potential for large-scale commercialization. Possible candidates for primary energy sources include terrestrial solar and wind energy, solar power satellites, biomass, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, fission-fusion hybrids, and fossil fuels from which carbon has been sequestered. Non-primary power technologies that could contribute to climate stabilization include efficiency improvements, hydrogen production, storage and transport, superconducting global electric grids, and geoengineering. All of these approaches currently have severe deficiencies that limit their ability to stabilize global climate. We conclude that a broad range of intensive research and development is urgently needed to produce technological options that can allow both climate stabilization and economic development.  相似文献   

12.
Fate of fossil fuel carbon dioxide and the global carbon budget   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
The fate of fossil fuel carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere depends on the exchange rates of carbon between the atmosphere and three major carbon reservoirs, namely, the oceans, shallow-water sediments, and the terrestrial biosphere. Various assumptions and models used to estimate the global carbon budget for the last 20 years are reviewed and evaluated. Several versions of recent atmosphere-ocean models appear to give reliable and mutually consistent estimates for carbon dioxide uptake by the oceans. On the other hand, there is no compelling evidence which establishes that the terrestrial biomass has decreased at a rate comparable to that of fossil fuel combustion over the last two decades, as has been recently claimed.  相似文献   

13.
Carbon dioxide builds up in the eartht's atmosphere principally from increased use of fossil fuels. Estimates of the escalating uses of fossil fuels in the United States, especially for the generation of electric power and in the internal combustion engine, show that by the year 2000 emissions will have increased approximately eighteenfold from 1890. In the period 1965 to 1985 an emission-rate increase of around 4.0 percent per year compounded is expected. The expected intrusion and expansion of nuclear power will tend to lower the rates of increase of emission after 1985. Increases in emission rates in the rest of the world will probably equal or exceed the values projected for the United States.  相似文献   

14.
The late Mesozoic rock and life records implicate short-term (up to 10(5) to 10(6) years) global warming resulting from carbon dioxide-induced "greenhouse" conditions in the late Maestrichtian extinctions that terminated the Mesozoic Era. Oxygen isotope data from marine microfossils suggest late Mesozoic climatic cooling into middle Maestrichtian, and warming thereafter into the Cenozoic. Animals adapting to climatic cooling could not adapt to sudden warming. Small calcareous marine organisms would have suffered solution effects of carbon dioxide-enriched waters; animals dependent upon them for food would also have been affected. The widespread terrestrial tropical floras would likely not have reflected effects of a slight climatic warming. In late Mesozoic, the deep oceanic waters may have been triggered into releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a chain reaction of climatic warming and carbon dioxide expulsion. These conditions may be duplicated by human combustion of the fossil fuels and by forest clearing.  相似文献   

15.
A comparison of the contribution of various gases to the greenhouse effect   总被引:8,自引:0,他引:8  
Rodhe H 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1990,248(4960):1217-1219
The current concern about an anthropogenic impact on global climate has made it of interest to compare the potential effect of various human activities. A case in point is the comparison between the emission of greenhouse gases from the use of natural gas and that from other fossil fuels. This comparison requires an evaluation of the effect of methane emissions relative to that of carbon dioxide emissions. A rough analysis based on the use of currently accepted values shows that natural gas is preferable to other fossil fuels in consideration of the greenhouse effect as long as its leakage can be limited to 3 to 6 percent.  相似文献   

16.
Clay samples from three Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sites contain 0.36 to 0.58 percent graphitic carbon, mainly as fluffy aggregates of 0.1 to 0.5 micrometers-apparently a worldwide layer of soot. It may have been produced by wildfires triggered by a giant meteorite. This carbon, corresponding to a global abundance of 0.021 +/- 0.006 gram per square centimeter, could have greatly enhanced the darkening and cooling of the earth by rock dust, which has been suggested as a cause of the extinctions. The surprisingly large amount of soot (10 percent of the present biomass of the earth) implies either that much of the earth's vegetation burned down or that substantial amounts of fossil fuels were ignited also. The particle-size distribution of the soot is similar to that assumed for the smoke cloud of "nuclear winter," but the global distribution is more uniform and the amounts are much greater, suggesting that soot production by large wildfires is about 10 times more efficient that has been assumed for a nuclear winter. Thus cooling would be more pervasive and lasting. No trace of meteoritic noble gases and no meteoritic spinel were found in these carbon fractions. Accordingly, limits can be set on the mass fraction of the meteorite that escaped degassing (相似文献   

17.
In April 1979, measurements of nitrogen dioxide in the upper atmosphere were made near Soufriere Volcano by twilight optical-absorption techniques. The derived value of 5 x 10(15) molecules per square centimeter column implies an enhancement of 25 percent over earlier abundances measured in the same latitudinal regions. This enhancement may represent the normal stratospheric variability of nitrogen dioxide in the equatorial region but in any case may be considered an upper limit to the volcano's effect on the total nitrogen dioxide abundance.  相似文献   

18.
《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1981,212(4501):1389-1391
The rate of carbon monoxide oxidation by soil increased with increasing carbon monoxide concentration in the gas phase, in line with Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Rates of carbon monoxide oxidation were determined for 20 soils at 0 degrees , 10 degrees , 20 degrees , and 30 degrees C. The observed oxidation rates were used to calculate a global soil uptake rate of atmospheric carbon monoxide of 4.1 x 10(14) grams per year, which is slightly less than the amount of carbon monoxide believed to be produced annually as a result of fossil fuel combustion.  相似文献   

19.
Gas emissions and the eruptions of mount st. Helens through 1982   总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3  
The monitoring of gas emissions from Mount St. Helens includes daily airborne measurements of sulfur dioxide in the volcanic plume and monthly sampling of gases from crater fumaroles. The composition of the fumarolic gases has changed slightly since 1980: the water content increased from 90 to 98 percent, and the carbon dioxide concentrations decreased from about 10 to 1 percent. The emission rates of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide were at their peak during July and August 1980, decreased rapidly in late 1980, and have remained low and decreased slightly through 1981 and 1982. These patterns suggest steady outgassing of a single batch of magma (with a volume of not less than 0.3 cubic kilometer) to which no significant new magma has been added since mid-1980. The gas data were useful in predicting eruptions in August 1980 and June 1981.  相似文献   

20.
Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt   总被引:8,自引:0,他引:8  
Increasing energy use, climate change, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels make switching to low-carbon fuels a high priority. Biofuels are a potential low-carbon energy source, but whether biofuels offer carbon savings depends on how they are produced. Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands to produce food crop-based biofuels in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and the United States creates a "biofuel carbon debt" by releasing 17 to 420 times more CO2 than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that these biofuels would provide by displacing fossil fuels. In contrast, biofuels made from waste biomass or from biomass grown on degraded and abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials incur little or no carbon debt and can offer immediate and sustained GHG advantages.  相似文献   

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