The Changing Carbon Cycle
Date: Thursday, September 29 @ 11:00:00 MDT
Topic: Carbon Cycle Response to Climate Change
by Inez Fung
The carbon cycle has undergone
changes from 1998-2003 as a result of extensive droughts. The CO2 seasonal amplitude at MLO
halted its increase, and the CO2 growth rate accelerated as a result
of a slowing down of the North American carbon sink. In a series of coupled carbon-climate model
experiments, we show a greater probability of drier soils in the 21st
century, especially in the tropics and in mid-latitude summers as
temperature-driven evapotranspiration exceed precipitation, and a positive
feedback between the carbon cycle and climate. This positive feedback reduces
the land and ocean’s capacity to store fossil fuel CO2 and
accelerates the warming. A fossil fuel emission accelerating rapidly as the
sink capacities decrease leads to further increases in the airborne fraction of
fossil fuel CO2.
Link to Abstract
Updated! Link to Slides
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