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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 2, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1989

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
GLOBAL C AND CO₂ BUDGETS

Item #d89jun38

"Seasonal Sources and Sinks of Atmospheric CO₂--Direct Inversion of Filtered Data," I.G. Enting (CSIRO Div. Atmos. Res., Private Bag 1, Mordialloc, Victoria 3195, Australia), J.V. Mansbridge, Tellus, 41B(2), 111-126, Apr. 1989.

Uses a two-dimensional atmospheric transport model with transport fields derived from a general circulation model to perform the inverse calculation of determining surface CO₂ sources from surface concentration data. The distribution of sources and sinks is consistent with recent results concerning oceanic uptake of CO₂. Results show an additional Northern Hemisphere sink that is interpreted as additional biotic growth, and a seasonal tropical source that may represent seasonal burning of cleared biomass.

Item #d89jun39

"Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Ratios of Carbon Dioxide of a Stratospheric Profile over Japan," T. Gamo (Ocean Res. Inst., Univ. Tokyo, Minamidai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164, Japan), M. Tsutsumi et al., ibid., 127-133.

Four stratospheric air samples from 19 to 25 km altitudes were collected by a balloon-borne cryogenic sampling system to measure the vertical profiles of carbon and oxygen stable isotopic ratios of lower stratospheric CO₂. The delta 13C value of the stratospheric CO₂ increased with increasing altitude, while the CO₂ mixing ratios decreased, consistent with anthropogenic input of isotopically light, fuel-derived CO₂ into the atmosphere. The delta 18O of the stratospheric CO₂ was found to be about 2% greater than that of the tropospheric CO₂ at an altitude of 19 km and to increase further with increasing altitude. Discusses two possibilities that explain this phenomenon.

Item #d89jun40

"Rapid Response of Tree Cellulose Radiocarbon Content to Changes in Atmospheric 14CO₂ Concentration," P.M. Grootes (Dept. Phys., Univ. Washington, Seattle WA 98195), G.W. Farwell et al., ibid., 134-148.

To determine how quickly changes in atmospheric CO₂ composition are incorporated in stem cellulose, detailed 14C measurements were made in Sitka spruce of the United States Pacific coast in growth rings for the years 1962-1964. This followed a large rapid increase in atmospheric 14CO₂, caused by the nuclear weapons tests of 1963, that acted as a global tracer. The tree cellulose 14C closely followed atmospheric 14CO₂ concentrations, responding to changes with an apparent delay of 5 to 6 weeks.

Item #d89jun41

"Latitudinal Distribution of the Sources and Sinks of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Derived from Surface Observations and an Atmospheric Transport Model," P.P. Tans (Coop. Inst. Res. Environ. Sci., Univ. Colorado, Boulder CO 80309), T.J. Conway, T. Nakazawa, J. Geophys. Res., 94(D4), 5151-5172, Apr. 20, 1989.

The extensive sets of global CO₂ measurements of the NOAA Geophysical Monitoring for Climatic Change division and the Upper Atmosphere and Space Research Laboratory of Tohoku University were combined with a two-dimensional transport model, to derive an inverse calculation of the latitudinal and seasonal sources and sinks of CO₂ necessary to reproduce the observed concentrations. Found that the southern oceans were a sink and the equatorial areas were a source, with significant seasonality in the sources and sinks. Evidence suggests that longitudinal variability of the data was large enough that a three-dimensional transport model is necessary to calculate a credible source/sink field.

Item #d89jun42

"Coagulation on Bubbles Allows Microbial Respiration of Oceanic Dissolved Organic Carbon," P.E. Kepkay, B.D. Johnson (Dept. Oceanog., Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J1, Can.), Nature, 338(6210), 63-65, Mar. 2, 1989.

Study shows for the first time that the coagulation of colloidal dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on bubble surfaces initiates the rapid microbial respiration of carbon which would otherwise be less accessible to the biota. This coupling of respiration to surface coagulation as a physical means of regenerating a substantial fraction (5-15%) of oceanic DOC could be a key factor in the mechanism required to recycle a recalcitrant reservoir of carbon back to CO₂.

Item #d89jun43

Letter on "Boreal Forests and the Global Carbon Cycle," Science, 243(4898), 1535-1536, Mar. 24, 1989.

Item #d89jun44

"CO₂ Storage and Alkalinity Trends in Lakes," A. Lerman (Dept. Geol. Sci., Northwestern Univ., Evanston IL 60208), W. Stumm, Wat. Res., 23(2), 139-146, Feb. 1989.

Examines the potential of fresh-water lakes to act as sinks for the excess of atmospheric CO₂ produced by fossil fuel burning. Establishes that greater transfer of CO₂ from the atmosphere to lakes can be driven by an increase in lake-water alkalinity. Higher alkalinity values can be attained through biological productivity, carbonate-mineral dissolution, reduction reactions in water and sediments, or input of chemical bases. The present near-annual increment of atmospheric CO₂ (2x1014 mole C yr-1) could be taken up by a mean net primary productivity of approximately 850 mg C m-2 yr-1, a value that is typical of eutrophic and tropical lakes.

Item #d89jun45

"A High-Temperature Catalytic Oxidation Method for the Determination of Non-Volatile Dissolved Organic Carbon in Seawater by Direct Injection of a Liquid Sample," Y. Sugimura (Geochem. Lab., Meteor. Res. Inst., Nagamine 1-1, Yatabe, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan), Y. Suzuki, Marine Chem., 24(2), 105-131, June 1988.

Describes a method for the rapid, precise determination of non-volatile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in seawater in concentrations between 0 and 2000 micro M. Results reveal that the concentration of DOC in surface water is about 300 micro M and decreases with depth, which is a much higher value than those obtained previously. Concludes that previous methods obtained low concentrations because of improper sample handling and the incomplete oxidation of the high-polymer organic matter dissolved in seawater.

Item #d89jun46

"High Precision Measurements of Alkalinity and Total Carbon Dioxide in Seawater by Potentiometric Titration. 2. Measurements on Standard Solution," A.L. Bradshaw (Woods Hole Oceanog. Inst., Woods Hole MA 02543), P.G. Brewer, ibid., 155-162.

Shows that both titrimetric and gas extraction procedures yielded virtually identical results of 2140.5 + or - 2.7 micro m CO₂ kg-1 for standard solutions identical to those of Hansson. Earlier measurements on natural seawater yielded discrepancies of 21 micro m CO₂ kg-1. Results reported here confirm authors hypothesis of organic acids present in sea water that masquerade as CO₂ in the titration procedure.