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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 5, NUMBER 5, MAY 1992

PERIODICALS...
SCIENCE

Item #d92may101

"Forecast Cloudy: The Limits of Global Warming Models," P.H. Stone, Technol. Review, 32-40, Feb./Mar. 1992.

Gives a lucid, well illustrated discussion of current limitations of global climate models, and describes research (particularly field observations) that will help reduce these problems. (Comments on this article by Lindzen and Schneider appear on pp. 10-11, ibid., May/June 1992.)

Item #d92may102

"The Oldest Ice in the World," R.H. Nielsen, New Scientist, 34-38, Feb. 29, 1992.

Describes the international Greenland Icecore Project (GRIP) which, in its third summer of drilling this year, may sample ice up to 500,000 years old. One of the most exciting results so far is the first ice core indication of biomass burning. Questions being addressed include how fast the Earth's climate can change.

Item #d92may103

"Plant Life in a CO₂-Rich World," F.A. Bazzaz, E.D. Fajer, Sci. American, 68-74, Jan. 1992.

Research by the authors and others suggests that current optimism concerning the fertilization effect on individual plants of elevated CO₂ levels may be overstated. Alterations in community structure and ecosystem productivity, possibly in the presence of elevated temperatures, will not necessarily benefit plants. Society must limit CO₂ emissions, and seek a better understanding of ecosystem responses.

Item #d92may104

"As the World Breathes: The Carbon Dioxide Cycle," S.A. Zaburunov, Earth, 26-33, Jan. 1992. (New publication: Kalmbach Pub. Co., 21027 Crossroads Circ., Waukesha WI 53187; 6 issues per year; $19.95)

Examines the global carbon cycle in the context of Earth's geologic evolution, explaining how extremely high CO₂ levels in the atmosphere dropped as carbon became stored in rocks, and how present-day oxygen levels developed.

Item #d92may105

"Forest Response to Carbon Dioxide," L. Pitelka, EPRI Journal, 38-42, Jan./Feb. 1992. (Elec. Power Res. Inst., POB 10412, Palo Alto CA 94303)

Describes EPRI research that will ultimately contribute to an integrated model for predicting forest ecosystem response to elevated CO₂. It is possible that trees could become progressively more effective in storing carbon as CO₂ increases, but early results from experiments indicate that the relationship between tree growth and rising CO₂ may be more complex than scientists once thought, being highly dependent both on species and on soil mineral nutrient levels.

Item #d92may106

"La Couche d'Ozone Victime des Particules Atmosphériques," C. Granier, G. Brasseur, La Recherche, 1492-1495, Dec. 1991. In French. Discusses the important role of aerosols, including those from volcanic eruptions, in ozone destruction.