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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 6, NUMBER 10, OCTOBER 1993

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
GENERAL INTEREST--SCIENCE

Item #d93oct12

"Tropospheric Ozone and Climate Change," V.A. Mohnen (Dept. Atmos. Sci., SUNY-Albany, 100 Fuller Rd., Albany NY 12205), W. Goldstein, W.-C. Wang, Air & Waste, 43(10), 1332-1344, Oct. 1993.

A new round of scientific concern will be devoted to the observed increase in tropospheric ozone in the Northern Hemisphere, which will influence global warming. Reviews the processes contributing to ozone changes, the observational evidence for them, and the results of model simulations of past and future radiative forcing caused by increasing ozone in the upper troposphere. Estimates that over the next two decades, increased aircraft emissions of nitric oxide will lead to a radiative forcing equivalent to 10-25% of that attributable to CO₂ alone.

Item #d93oct13

"1992 Brings Return to Moderate Global Temperatures," M.S. Halpert (Nat. Weather Serv., NMC, NOAA, Washington DC 20233), C.F. Ropelewski et al., Eos, 74(38), 433, 437-439, Sep. 21, 1993.

Examines how natural events such as Mt. Pinatubo and the El Niño/Southern Oscillation returned global temperatures to moderate levels after several years of near-record highs.

Item #d93oct14

"Effect of Pasture Age on Soil Trace-Gas Emissions from a Deforested Area of Costa Rica," M. Keller (Intl. Inst. Tropical For., USDA For. Serv., Call Box 25000, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 00928), E. Veldkamp et al., Nature, 365(6443), 244-246, Sep. 16, 1993.

Measurements on Puerto Rican pasture of various ages show that nitrogen oxide emissions peak during the first 10 years after conversion. Previous studies have overestimated the contribution of pastures to the global budget of N₂O, emissions of which depend on land-use history.

Item #d93oct15

Two related items from Nature, 365(6442), Sep. 9, 1993:

"Ice Sheets, Wayward winds and Sea Change," S. Lehman (Woods Hole Oceanog. Inst., Woods Hole MA 02543), 108-110. Comments on the following paper.

"Correlations Between Climate Records from North Atlantic Sediments and Greenland Ice," G. Bond (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observ., Palisades NY 10964), W. Broecker et al., 143-147. Confirms that the rapid temperature fluctuations of the last glaciation seen in ice cores are also seen in ocean sediments. The details of the sediment temperature history also indicate a previously unrecognized link between ice sheet behavior and ocean temperature changes.

Item #d93oct16

"Stratospheric Ozone Depletion by ClONO2 Photolysis," R. Toumi (Ctr. Atmos. Sci, Univ. Cambridge, Lensfield Rd., Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK), R.L. Jones, J.A. Pyle, Nature, 365(3441), 37-39, Sep. 2, 1993.

ClONO₂, found in polar air and at lower latitudes, can lead to ozone depletion. Model simulations for the Arctic vortex and a mid-latitude site show increasing ozone loss from March to May, apparently due to ClONO₂. The mechanism may be important in middle latitude ozone loss.

Item #d93oct17

"Primary Production Control of Methane Emission from Wetlands," G.J. Whiting (Dept. Biol., C. Newport Univ., Newport News VA 23606), J.P. Chanton, ibid., 364(6440), 794-795, Aug. 26, 1993.

Simultaneous measurements of CO₂ and CH₄ exchange in a variety of wetlands suggest a positive correlation between CH₄ emissions and net ecosystem production. Because elevated CO₂ levels are expected to stimulate primary production and soil microbial activity in wetlands, the global rise in atmospheric CO₂ has the potential for increasing CH₄ emissions from inundated wetlands, further enhancing the greenhouse effect.

Item #d93oct18

"Wavelengths Effective in Induction of Malignant Melanoma," R.B. Setlow (Biol. Dept., Brookhaven Nat. Lab, Upton NY 11973), E. Grist et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 90(14), 6666-6670, July 1993.

Laboratory exposure of fish to various wavelengths of light indicate that 90-95% of the melanoma induction by natural sunlight may be attributed to wavelengths in the UV-A and visible spectral regions. This result suggests that ozone depletion would have a minor effect on skin cancer incidence. (See news article references in Research News.)

Item #d93oct19

"Gas Hydrates--Geological Perspective and Global Change," K.A. Kvenvolden (US Geol. Survey, MS 999, 345 Middlefield Rd., Menlo Pk. CA 94025), Rev. Geophys., 31(2), 173-187, May 1993.

Icelike gas hydrate deposits, normally associated with permafrost and the ocean floor, represent a large amount of methane within 2000 m of the Earth's surface. Changes in pressure and temperature affect their stability, making them a consideration in climate change.

Item #d93oct20

"The Role of the Stratosphere in Climate Change," D. Rind (NASA Goddard Inst. Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York NY 10025), A. Lacis, Surveys Geophys., 14(2), 133-165, Mar. 1993. Reviews a variety of mechanisms by which alterations in the chemical and physical nature of the stratosphere could affect climate, in the light of incorporation of middle atmosphere studies into the IGBP.