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Analytical relationships between atmospheric carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, and ocean processes
Author(s) -
Goodwin Philip,
Follows Michael J.,
Williams Richard G.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2008gb003184
Subject(s) - carbon dioxide , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , alkalinity , total inorganic carbon , carbonate , dissolved organic carbon , atmospheric carbon cycle , carbon cycle , environmental chemistry , chemistry , environmental science , total organic carbon , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , carbon sequestration , geology , ecology , ecosystem , organic chemistry , biology
Carbon perturbations leading to an increase in atmospheric CO 2 are partly offset by the carbon uptake by the oceans and the rest of the climate system. Atmospheric CO 2 approaches a new equilibrium state, reached after ocean invasion ceases after typically 1000 years, given by P CO 2 = P 0 exp( δI χ / I B ), where P 0 and P CO 2 are the initial and final partial pressures of atmospheric CO 2 , δI χ is a CO 2 perturbation, and I B is the buffered carbon inventory of the air‐sea system. The perturbation, δI χ , includes carbon emissions and changes in the terrestrial reservoir, as well as ocean changes in the surface carbon disequilibrium and fallout of organic soft tissue material. Changes in marine calcium carbonate, δI CaCO 3 , lead to a more complex relationship with atmospheric CO 2 , where P CO 2 is changed by the ratio P CO 2 = P 0 { I O ( A − C ) /( I O ( A − C ) − δI CaCO 3 )} and then modified by a similar exponential relationship, where I O ( A − C ) is the difference between the inventories of titration alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon. The overall atmospheric P CO 2 response to a range of perturbations is sensitive to their nonlinear interactions, depending on the product of the separate amplification factors for each perturbation.