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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 7, NUMBERS 11-12, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1994

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS... CARBON CYCLE

Item #d94nov97

"Net Primary Productivity in the Terrestrial Biosphere: The Application of a Global Model," J.A. Foley (CPEP, Inst. Environ. Studies, Univ. Wisconsin, Madison WI 53706), J. Geophys. Res., 99(D10), 20,773-20,783, Oct. 20, 1994.

Describes DEMETER, a process-based model designed to provide a functional and structural description of the terrestrial biosphere. A simulation for modern climate indicates a net primary productivity of 62.1 Gt/yr and vegetation biomass of 800.6 Gt C.

Item #d94nov98

"Physical and Biological Controls on Carbon Cycling in the Equatorial Pacific," J.W. Murray (Sch. Oceanog., Univ. Washington, Seattle WA 98195), R.T. Barber et al., Science, 266(5182), 58-65, Oct. 7, 1994.

A study of the chemistry and biology of the equatorial Pacific from 170· to 95· W establishes El Niño events as the main source of interannual variability in carbon concentration and fluxes.

Item #d94nov99

"Annual Flux of Dissolved Organic Carbon [DOC] from the Euphotic Zone in the Northwestern Sargasso Sea," C.A. Carlson (Horn Pt. Environ. Lab., Univ. Maryland, POB 775, Cambridge MD 21613), H.W. Ducklow, A.F. Michaels, Nature, 371(6496), 405-408, Sep. 29, 1994.

Measurements of DOC near Bermuda support this component of oceanic carbon as an important and dynamic part of the ocean carbon cycle, and account for the annual vertical carbon budget for this site within a factor of two. The observations should apply to other temperate, sub-polar and continental-shelf regions that exhibit convective mixing and vernal restratification.

Item #d94nov100

"Experimental Demonstration of Coupling of Heat and Matter Fluxes at a Gas-Water Interface," L.F. Phillips (Chem. Dept., Univ. Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ), J. Geophys. Res., 99(D9), 18,577-18,584, Sep. 20, 1994.

Shows the importance of coupling and the role of liquid surface temperature in controlling the magnitude and sometimes the direction of the gas flux. The data may be the basis of a practical method for determining air-sea fluxes of CO2 and other trace gases.

Item #d94nov101

"Methane Emissions from Rice Fields: Effect of Soil Properties," R.L. Sass (Dept. Ecol. & Evol. Biol., Rice Univ., POB 1892, Houston TX 77251), F.M. Fisher et al., Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 8(2), 135-140, June 1994.

Seasonal methane emissions correlate directly with the percent sand in soil at a Texas site, ranging from 15.1 to 36.3 g m-2 along a transect with sand content ranging from 18.8% to 32.5%.

Item #d94nov102

"Carbon Dioxide Supersaturation in the Surface Waters of Lakes," J.J. Cole (Inst. Ecosys. Studies, Cary Arboretum, Millbrook NY 12545), N.F. Caraco et al., Science, 265(5178), 1568-1570, Sep. 9, 1994.

Data from 1835 lakes showed that nearly 90% had CO2 concentrations an average of threefold greater than the surrounding atmosphere. Lakes are sources, not sinks, of atmospheric CO, and they are a small but potentially important conduit for carbon from terrestrial sources to the atmospheric sink.

Item #d94nov103

Five items from Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 8(3), Sep. 1994:

"Modeling Carbon Biogeochemistry in Agricultural Soils," C. Li (Inst. Study Earth, Oceans & Space, Univ. New Hampshire, Durham NH 03824), S. Frolking, R. Harriss, 237-254. A model of C and N soil dynamics, combined with a plant growth submodel and agricultural practices, showed that the largest C sequestration occurred with manure addition. Generally, increased N fertilization enhanced C sequestration, and reduced tillage increased soil organic carbon (SOC) content. Long-term simulations revealed the factors that would enhance C sequestration, and agricultural practices with the greatest potential for increasing soil C content.

"CARAIB: A Global Model of Terrestrial Biological Productivity," P. Warnant (Inst. Astrophys., Univ. Liège, 5 ave. Cointe, B-4000 Liège, Belg.), L. François, et al., 255-270. Used mechanistic models to predict net primary productivity (NPP) on a global scale as a first step toward the modeling of CO2 assimilation by continental vegetation. Tests the model's sensitivity to the diurnal cycle and shows that ignoring this cycle may introduce important errors in NPP estimates.

"Climatic, Edaphic and Biotic Controls over Storage and Turnover of Carbon in Soils," D.S. Schimel (NCAR, POB 3000, Boulder CO 80307), B.H. Braswell et al., 279-293. Applied the Century ecosystem model to forest and grassland sites to examine large-scale controls over soil carbon, and estimated the effect of changing temperature on soil organic carbon. Inclusion of the N cycle is important for predictions of terrestrial carbon balance, and soil carbon loss rates can be high if climate change results in drying of organic soils.

"Simple Global Carbon Model: The Atmosphere-Terrestrial Biosphere-Ocean Interaction," O-Y. Kwon (Ctr. Global & Regional Environ. Res., Univ. Iowa, Iowa City IA 52242), J.L. Schnoor, 295-305. Developed a model that includes fertilization and temperature effects, and calculated time-variable oceanic carbon uptake, for various scenarios. If CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion continue at the present rate, doubling may occur in 2060. Resulting warming would be responsible for 40 Gt carbon accumulation in land biota and 7 Gt in oceans, 88 Gt depletion from soil, and a 19 ppm increase in atmospheric CO2.

Item #d94nov104

"Modeling the Global Carbon Cycle: Nitrogen Fertilization of the Terrestrial Biosphere and the 'Missing' CO2 Link," R.J.M. Hudson (Inst. Marine Sci., Univ. California, Santa Cruz CA 95064), S.A. Gherini, R.A. Goldstein, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 8(3), 307-333, Sep. 1994.

Describes and applies GLOCO, a global carbon cycle model with relatively detailed treatment of oceanic and terrestrial processes and anthropogenic activities. Confirms previous suggestions that because temperate and boreal forests are nitrogen limited, CO2 fertilization is less than predicted by short-term CO2 response factors. Fertilization by anthropogenic nitrogen emissions probably constitutes a significant portion of the "missing" CO2 sink.

Item #d94nov105

"A Simple Global Carbon-Cycle Model," K. Kamiuto (Dept. Production Sys. Eng., Oita Univ., Dannoharu 700, Oita 870-11, Jap.) Energy, 19(8), 825-829, Aug. 1994.

The model, with three main reservoirs (atmosphere, biosphere, oceans), reconstructed the time history of CO2 emission rates due to deforestation and changing land use during the past 200 years, and estimated CO2 transfer rates among the reservoirs in 1980. The history has two stages with a turning point in 1875. Land biota act as a large sink of atmospheric CO2, thus the problem of the missing sink does not exist.

Item #d94nov106

"Photosynthetic Climate in Selected Regions During the Northern Hemisphere Growing Season," R.T. Pinker (Dept. Meteor., Univ. Maryland, College Pk. MD 20742), I. Laszlo, F. Miskolczi, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 8(2), 117-125, June 1994.

Derives from satellite data the first consistent information on the temporal and spatial variability in photosynthetically active radiation on a continental scale during a growing season. Such information can be used to develop new parameterizations of net primary productivity and evapotranspiration.

Item #d94nov107

"The Carbon Budget of the Spanish Forests," J.C.R. Murillo (CSIC, C/Serrano 115 Dpdo. 28006 Madrid, Spain), Biogeochem., 25(3), 197-217, 1994.

Describes a model that calculates anthropogenic CO2 emissions from perturbed forests, based on timber production, wildfire statistics and physicochemical parameters for Spanish forests, including soils. Emissions increased from 5.3 x 106 t C in 1970 to 10.6 x 106 t C in 1990. Compares and discusses the methods used to calculate biospheric carbon balance and their results.

Specialized Papers

Item #d94nov108

"Terrestrial Carbon Storage at the LGM [Last Glacial Maximum]," M.I. Bird (Res. Sch. Earth Sci., Australian Natl. Univ., Canberra ACT 0200, Australia), J. Lloyd, G.D. Farquhar, Nature, 371(6498), 566, Oct. 13, 1994.

Item #d94nov109

"Stratospheric Contribution to the Global Bomb Radiocarbon Inventory: Model Versus Observation," W.S. Broecker (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observ., Palisades NY 10964), T.-H. Peng, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 8(3), 377-384, Sep. 1994.

Item #d94nov110

Two items from Nature, 370(6490), Aug. 18, 1994:

"Kitty Litter for Carbon Control," C. Lee, 503-504.

"Sorptive Preservation of Labile Organic Matter in Marine Sediments," R.G. Keil (Sch. Oceanog., WB-10, Univ. Washington, Seattle WA 98195), D.B. Montluçon et al., 549-552. Shows that sorption of organic matter to mineral surfaces in marine sediments stabilizes the component molecules.

Item #d94nov111

"Carbon Dioxide Exchange Between an Undisturbed Old-Growth Temperate Forest and the Atmosphere," D.Y. Hollinger (USDA Forest Serv., POB 640, Durham NH 03824), F.M. Kelliher et al., Ecology, 75(1), 134-150, Jan. 1994.