Carbon in Atmosphere
Carbon in the atmosphere refers to the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other carbon-based gases in the Earth's air. These gases contribute to the greenhouse effect, trapping heat and leading to global warming and climate change. Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, have significantly increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, impacting the planet's climate and ecosystems.
7 Key excerpts on "Carbon in Atmosphere"
eBook - ePubCarbon Reduction
Policies, Strategies and Technologies
- Stephen A. Roosa, Arun G. Jhaveri(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- River Publishers(Publisher)
...These are typically classified as biomass fuels and considered to be renewable. Ice core data provide a record of the levels of carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere. Over the last 800,000 years, the amounts of atmospheric carbon have varied from 180 ppm to a pre-industrial level of 280 ppm. The concentrations of CO 2 have since increased to 385 ppm (approximately 800 gigatons) and continue to augment. The 1994 level of 358 ppm exceeded any verifiable levels of CO 2 over the last 220,000 years. 2 The amount of CO 2 released into the atmosphere annually by human activities is estimated to be approximately 27 billion metric tons (30 billion tons). 3 This is only a small fraction of the 130 to 255 million metric tons (145 to 255 million tons) that are typically released by volcanic eruptions. 4 Table 3.1 shows the recent history of measured variations in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations since 1960. Table 3-1. Atmospheric Levels of CO 2 Source: Carbon Dioxide Gallery, developed by Rohde, R. from published data. www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Mauna_Loa_Carbon_Dioxide_png, accessed 21 September 2007. SOURCES OF ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE Though concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are increasing, the sources can be readily identified as they result mainly from six processes: 5 1) As a byproduct in ammonia and hydrogen plants, where methane is converted to CO 2 ; 2) From combustion of carbonaceous fuels; 3) As a byproduct of fermentation; 4) From thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3); 5) As a byproduct of sodium phosphate manufacture; 6) Directly from natural CO 2 gas wells. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by the combustion of carbon-containing fuels and petroleum-based distillates. Carbon-containing fuels include oil, wood, coal and natural gas (e.g., methane). Petroleum distillates that generate carbon include gasoline, kerosene, propane and diesel fuels...
eBook - ePubThe Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change
Scaling Ecological Energetics from Organism to the Biosphere
- David E. Reichle(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Elsevier(Publisher)
...The solid Earth contains a huge quantity of carbon, far more than is present in the atmosphere or oceans. Some of this carbon is released from the rocks in the form of carbon dioxide, through vents at volcanoes and hot springs. Carbon dioxide from volcanic eruptions is a natural flux which is periodic, generally unpredictable, and which can contribute large amounts of CO 2 to the atmosphere. The volcanic flux published in reports ranges from 1.8 to 8.6 × 10 13 of carbon as CO 2 emitted, on average, per year (Mörner and Etiope, 2002 ; Kerrick, 2001). Carbon reservoirs in the global cycle. The global carbon cycle has four major subcomponents, or carbon pools. The contemporary values for these pools are (Trabalka, 1985): • the atmosphere, 0.720 × 10 18 g C, • the oceans, which include dissolved inorganic carbon, living and nonliving marine biota (3.86 × 10 19 g C), • the terrestrial biosphere, into which are usually grouped freshwater ecosystems and nonliving organic material such as soil carbon (1.7 × 10 18 g C), and • the sediments: ocean sediments (10 23 g C), plus carbonaceous rocks (∼10 24 g C), and fossil fuels (3.7 × 10 18 g C). The estimated values of key parameters in the global carbon cycle, and their associated uncertainties, are given in Table 10.1. 10.2. Carbon cycle regulators Regulation of the rates of flux in the global carbon cycle occurs in enumerable biogeochemical processes, but overall through major feedbacks in the biogeochemical cycle of carbon. The weathering CO 2 thermostat. The removal of CO 2 from the atmosphere, and the long-term geological cycle of carbon, is referred to as the “weathering CO 2 thermostat” (Archer, 2010)...
eBook - ePubThe Warming Papers
The Scientific Foundation for the Climate Change Forecast
- David Archer, Raymond Pierrehumbert, David Archer, Raymond Pierrehumbert(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley-Blackwell(Publisher)
...It appears that the warming will eventually occur, and the associated regional climatic changes so important to the assessment of socioeconomic consequences may well be significant, but unfortunately the latter cannot yet be adequately projected.2 Carbon in the AtmosphereA brief account of the key features of the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere, the living and dead organic matter on land (the terrestrial biosphere), and the oceans is essential as a basis for the discussion that follows. The intermediate layers (100–1000 m) of the oceans also play a central role both as a sink for excess atmospheric CO2and for heat. For these reasons some basic features of the carbon cycle will be outlined, based primarily on the recently published review by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (Bolinet al.,1979).The CO2concentration in the atmosphere has risen from about 314 ppm (parts per million, volume) in 1958 to about 334 ppm in 1979, i.e., an increase of 20 ppm, which is equivalent to 42 × 109tons of carbon. During this same period, about 78 × 109tons of carbon have been emitted to the atmosphere by fossil-fuel combustion. It has further been estimated that more than 150 × 109tons of carbon have been released to the atmosphere since the middle of the nineteenth century, at which time the CO2concentration in the atmosphere most likely was less than 300 ppm, probably about 290 ppm.By reducing the extent of the world forests (at present about 30 percent of the land surface) and increasing the area of farmland (at present about 10 percent of the land surface) man has also transformed carbon in trees and in organic matter in the soil into CO2. The magnitude of this additional emission into the atmosphere is poorly known...
eBook - ePubThe Global Carbon Crisis
Emerging Carbon Constraints and Strategic Management Options
- Timo Busch, Paul Shrivastava(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Thus, deforestation has significantly contributed to an increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere: as the number of trees has been reduced, the capacity of our planet to absorb carbon dioxide has also been diminished. Furthermore, burning of forests has been shown to release previously captured carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Figure 4 illustrates a similar development (increase in concentration) for two other IPCC greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide. Figure 4 Increasing accumulation of greenhouse gases (AD 0–2005) Source: IPCC 2007c: Frequently Asked Questions, Figure 1 Sources of climatic changes The global climate evolves over time owing to naturally occurring factors outside the climate system such as volcanic eruptions and solar variations. However, in recent years this climate evolution has become more marked as a result of human activities, which have induced changes in the atmosphere’s composition. The majority of serious climate scientists ascribe the unprecedented increase in recent concentrations of greenhouse gases to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation (Sills 2010). Reports published by the IPCC (2007b) and Stern (2006) outline the effects of the increasing accumulation of anthropogenic greenhouse gases on the Earth’s climate system. The main consequences can be summarized as follows. The sun is ultimately the source of virtually all energy that reaches the Earth’s surface. The Earth receives and absorbs solar energy, which is then either reflected or radiated back out into space...
eBook - ePub- Brian Dawson, Matt Spannagle(Authors)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...CARBON CYCLE The carbon cycle refers to the processes by which carbon moves between the atmosphere, the terrestrial (land) system, and the oceans. Carbon is constantly moving between the three active reservoirs, and these exchanges are called carbon fluxes. Understanding how the carbon cycle works, and how these fluxes influence carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentrations in the atmosphere, is essential to understanding how anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions influence the global climate. Reservoirs that absorb more CO 2 from the atmosphere than they emit to the atmosphere are termed carbon sinks. In total around 41,000 billion tonnes (or gigatonnes—Gt) of carbon (C) are available for exchange between the three principal reservoirs. The major reservoir of carbon is the ocean, which is estimated to contain around 38,000 GtC, or 93% of all exchangeable carbon. The ocean can be further subdivided into the surface ocean (down to about 100 m), which contains around 1,000 Gt C, and the deep ocean, which contains the remaining 37,000 GtC. The land carbon reservoir is estimated to contain just over 2,000 GtC, about 5% of exchangeable carbon. Of this, approximately 30% is stored in vegetation and other living organisms and the remainder in the soil and detritus. The atmosphere is the smallest of the three active reservoirs and is estimated, at present, to contain around 800 GtC, roughly 2% of exchangeable carbon. There is also a vast reservoir of geological carbon (20,000,000 Gt) stored in the earth’s crust, mainly as carbonate rocks. Of this, a small fraction (about 5,000 Gt) is stored as fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and methane hydrates (5,000–10,000 Gt)...
eBook - ePubClimate Change And Society
Consequences Of Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
- William W. Kellogg(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...We will only briefly review the subject here, drawing in part from these two sources, and provide more complete information on past and future use of fossil fuel in Appendix A. Just before the Industrial Revolution, the natural sources and sinks of carbon dioxide must have been in near-equilibrium. Undoubtedly there have been large changes in carbon dioxide concentration during the Earth’s geological history. In fact there have been changes of a factor of two in just the past 20,000 years (Berner et al., 1980; Delmas et al., 1980). One hundred years ago the concentration of carbon dioxide was probably between 270 and 290 parts per million by volume (ppmv). But at that time there was a new source introduced. Mankind began taking carbon locked in the Earth’s crust in the form of coal, petroleum, and natural gas and burning it, thereby producing carbon dioxide. Since the turn of the century the rate of carbon dioxide increase from burning fossil fuels has been about 4.3 percent per year, a steady rise that slackened only during the two world wars and the 1930s depression (Rotty, 1979; Appendix A). Carbon dioxide concentration is now almost 336 ppmv, a 17 percent increase over the pre-industrial Revolution value. This long term increase is shown in Figure II.2. The United Nations has calculated how much fossil fuel has been used worldwide. These figures make it possible to compare the cumulative amount of carbon dioxide produced with the amount that has remained in the atmosphere. It appears that about 55 percent is still airborne. Generally, it has been assumed that the rest was taken up by the oceans, or possibly by the living biota—that is, primarily the forests of the world. We will first discuss what part the forests play. Perceptions of the biosphere’s role have altered in the past few years...
eBook - ePub- Wayne T. Davis, Joshua S. Fu, Thad Godish(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
...Mean monthly column O 3 concentrations are illustrated as a function of latitude and time of year in Figure 1.2. Column O 3 concentrations are highest at latitudes where O 3 production is relatively low. The highest O 3 values are found at high latitudes in winter and early spring; the lowest values are found in the tropics. Most O 3 production occurs near the equator where high levels of solar radiation are received; the observed stratospheric O 3 distribution reflects a strong poleward transport during winter. FIGURE 1.2 Total column O 3 (Dobson units) averaged over the period 1979–1986 reflecting latitudinal and seasonal differences. (From WMO, Report of the International Ozone Trends Panel: 1988, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, 1990.) In contrast to N 2 and O 2, the atmospheric concentration of CO 2 is relatively low, ~0.041% or 412 ppmv. Carbon dioxide is enormously important. It is one of the two principal raw materials from which green plants (during photosynthesis) make food molecules on which most living things depend. Life is carbon based, and CO 2 is the source of that carbon. Carbon dioxide is also a major greenhouse gas and, because of its thermal absorptivity, is responsible in good measure for maintaining a favorable global heat balance. However, carbon dioxide is also increasing at a rate of ~2.5 ppmv/year and is also a major contributor to global warming. Other greenhouse gases are often referred to with respect to their global warming potential (GWP) when compared to CO 2 which, by definition, has a value of 1.0. The GWP is the ratio of a specific gas’s ability to trap heat when compared to the same mass of carbon dioxide...
