Climate Change: An Inter-disciplinary Approach to Problem Solving��Carbon Dioxide / Carbon Cycle

Richard B. Rood

rbrood@umich.edu

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Winter 2021

How do we account for greenhouse gases?

• Behavior
• Some greenhouse gas amounts in the atmosphere are part of cycles.

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• What do we mean by cycles?
• Perhaps – there are a number of factors that influence the amount of something, for example carbon dioxide or water. There are places where it is stored and released. The quantity in the atmosphere varies as these different factors change.

How do we account for greenhouse gases?

• What is our science-based approach for accounting for a greenhouse gas cycle?
• Observations
• Data
• Conservation principle
• Budgets

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Important things in this figure.

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Enormous amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean.

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Exchange of carbon dioxide between atmosphere and ocean.

-2

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Large amount of carbon dioxide in the “soil” and plants

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Exchange of carbon dioxide between atmosphere and “land.”

-1

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Large amount of carbon dioxide in coal, oil, gas

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Movement of carbon dioxide by burning

+5.5

Millions of Years

Tens to Hundreds of Years

What are the mechanisms for production and loss of CO₂?

Movement of carbon dioxide by land use changes

+1

CO₂ increase

Global Carbon Project

CO₂ from 2012 to 2013

Global Carbon Project

Were you counting?

• Net sources into the atmosphere

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• Net removal from the atmosphere

5.5 + 1 = 6.5

2+1 = 3

Carbon and Oceanic Exchange

Carbon and Terrestrial Exchange

Intervention

• Human enhanced natural sinks
• Human mechanical and chemical sinks