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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 10, OCTOBER 1989

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
OF GENERAL INTEREST

Item #d89oct42

"Evidence of the Mid-Latitude Impact of Antarctic Ozone Depletion," R.J. Atkinson, W. Andrew Matthews, P.A. Newman, R.A. Plumb (Ctr. Meteor. & Phys. Oceanog., MIT, Cambridge MA 02139), Nature, 340(6231), 290-294, July 27, 1989.

Analyzes record low ozone values found over Australia and New Zealand during December 1987, following the record low Antarctic values of October 1987. Found that a sudden decline of ozone amounts in mid-month rules out a photochemical cause and effect. Using data from ozonesondes, radiosondes and the Nimbus-7 total ozone mapping spectrometer, and meteorological analyses from the National Meteorological Center (Washington), argues that these low values resulted from transport of ozone-poor air from higher latitudes. The chemical destruction of ozone over Antarctica in early spring is apparently having an impact on lower latitudes.

Item #d89oct43

"Interpretation of Cloud-Climate Feedback as Produced by 14 Atmospheric General Circulation Models," R.D. Cess (Inst. Atmos. Sci., State Univ., Stony Brook NY 11794), G.L. Potter et al., Science, 245(4917), 513-516, Aug. 4, 1989.

An intercomparison of 14 atmospheric general circulation models, in which sea surface temperature perturbations were used as a surrogate climate change, showed that there was a roughly threefold variation in global climate sensitivity. Most of this variation is attributable to differences in the models' depictions of cloud-climate feedback. Emphasizes the need for improvements in the treatment of clouds in these models if they are to be used as climatic predictors.

Item #d89oct44

"The Hydrologic Cycle: A Major Variable During Earth History," E.J. Barron (Earth Sys. Sci. Ctr., Penn. State Univ., 512 Deike Bldg., University Park PA 16802), W.W. Hay, S. Thompson, Global Plan. Change, 1(3), 157-174, Aug. 1989.

Presents model analyses, based on a series of simulations using the Community Climate Model at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which show that the hydrologic cycle is highly sensitive to climate change and to climatic forcing factors such as changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Suggests that the hydrologic cycle should be of primary interest in studies of future global change.

Item #d89oct45

"The Greenhouse Effect: A Tropical Forestry Response," N. Meyers (Upper Meadow, Old Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 8SZ, UK), Biomass, 18, 1989, 4 pp. (in press).

Suggests that a management response to the build-up of carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere could lie with a massive tree-planting program in the humid tropics, accompanied by vigorous measures to stem deforestation.

Item #d89oct46

"Valuation of an Amazonian Rainforest," C.M. Peters (Inst. Econ. Botany, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx NY 10458), A.H. Gentry, R.O. Mendelsohn, Nature, 339(6227), 655-656, June 29, 1989.

Presents data concerning inventory, production and current market value for all the commercial tree species occurring in one hectare of species-rich Amazonian forest. Data indicate that tropical forests are worth considerably more than previously assumed and that the actual market benefits of timber are very small relative to those non-wood resources. Suggests a detailed accounting of non-wood resources before claiming that deforestation is more economical. (See related Economist article (July 15, 1989) in PERIODICALS, this Global Climate Change Digest issue--Oct. 1989.)

Item #d89oct47

"Comparison of Oceanic and Continental Sources of Non-Sea-Salt Sulphate over the Pacific Ocean," D.L. Savoie (Rosenstiel Sch. Marine & Atmos. Sci., Univ. Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami FL 33149), J.M. Prospero, ibid., 685-687.

Summarizes the results of aerosol sulfate measurements made over five- to seven-year periods from 1981 to 1987 at island stations in the Pacific Ocean. The mean mass ratio of methanesulfonate (MSA) to n.s.s. SO4-2 is 0.065. Based on this ratio and mean MSA concentrations, estimates that the biogenic source accounts for about 80% of the annual average n.s.s. SO4-2 over the mid-latitude North Pacific, suggesting that nuclei concentrations over the Pacific are largely controlled by biological sources in the ocean.

Item #d89oct48

"Effect of Continental Sources on Nitrate Concentrations over the Pacific Ocean," J.M. Prospero (address immed. above), D.L. Savoie, ibid., 687-689.

Data from several years of continuous sampling in a Pacific Island network indicate nitrate concentrations in the North Pacific to be about three times greater than in the South Pacific, and co-seasonal with Asian dust transport. Concludes that continental sources, which are predominantly anthropogenic, are responsible for 40-70% of the atmospheric nitrate over the North Pacific.

Item #d89oct49

"Fine Particles in the Global Troposphere--A Review," J. Heintzenberg (Dept. Meteor., Univ. Stockholm, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden), ibid., 149-160.

Reviews data available on fine particles in relation to understanding sources, sinks and transformation processes of atmospheric aerosols. Fine particle interaction with clouds is important for understanding their climatic effects because their interaction with atmospheric radiation is strongest during passage through clouds, about which little is known. Presents chemical composition for the three aerosol types: urban, non-urban continental and remote regions. Suggests special attention be focused on 1) how clouds and haze eliminate fine particles from the atmosphere, 2) what processes take place as aerosols pass through clouds, and 3) what trends exist in particle concentrations globally.