Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide

Le Quere, Corinne; Raupach, Michael R.; Canadell, Josep G.; Marland, Gregg; Bopp, Laurent; Ciais, Philippe; Conway, Thomas J.; Doney, Scott C.; Feely, Richard A.; Foster, Pru; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Gurney, Kevin; Houghton, Richard A.; House, Joanna I.; Huntingford, Chris ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5941-7770; Levy, Peter E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8505-1901; Lomas, Mark R.; Majkut, Joseph; Metzl, Nicolas; Ometto, Jean P.; Peters, Glen P.; Prentice, I. Colin; Randerson, James T.; Running, Steven W.; Sarmiento, Jorge L.; Schuster, Ute; Sitch, Stephen; Takahashi, Taro; Viovy, Nicolas; van der Werf, Guido R.; Woodward, F. Ian. 2009 Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide. Nature Geoscience, 2. 831-836. 10.1038/ngeo689

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Abstract/Summary

Efforts to control climate change require the stabilization of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This can only be achieved through a drastic reduction of global CO2 emissions. Yet fossil fuel emissions increased by 29% between 2000 and 2008, in conjunction with increased contributions from emerging economies, from the production and international trade of goods and services, and from the use of coal as a fuel source. In contrast, emissions from land-use changes were nearly constant. Between 1959 and 2008, 43% of each year's CO2 emissions remained in the atmosphere on average; the rest was absorbed by carbon sinks on land and in the oceans. In the past 50 years, the fraction of CO2 emissions that remains in the atmosphere each year has likely increased, from about 40% to 45%, and models suggest that this trend was caused by a decrease in the uptake of CO2 by the carbon sinks in response to climate change and variability. Changes in the CO2 sinks are highly uncertain, but they could have a significant influence on future atmospheric CO2 levels. It is therefore crucial to reduce the uncertainties.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1038/ngeo689
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biogeochemistry > BGC Topic 1 - Monitoring and Interpretation of Biogeochemical and Climate Changes > BGC - 1.3 - Quantify & attribute changes in biogeochemiical cycles ... CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biogeochemistry > BGC Topic 2 - Biogeochemistry and Climate System Processes > BGC - 2.2 - Measure and model surface atmosphere exchanges of energy ... CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biogeochemistry > BGC Topic 3 - Managing Threats to Environment and Health > BGC - 3.3 - Deliver effective advice, models and applied science ...
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Billett (to November 2013) Harding (to July 2011)
ISSN:	1752-0894
NORA Subject Terms:	Meteorology and Climatology Ecology and Environment Atmospheric Sciences
Date made live:	03 Feb 2010 12:37 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/8576

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