Pait I - answei S out of 1u

Comment on the following statement: "Bestiuction of the tiopical iainfoiests, the lungs of
the Eaith, menaces the supply of atmospheiic oxygen." Is this tiue. Why oi why not.
False. The tropical rainforests are actually not net sources of oxygen because the O2 generated during
the production of organic carbon by photosynthesis is eventually consumed by oxidation of this organic
carbon back to CO2 when the plant dies, anu the flux is small compaieu to the ieseivoii of 02 in
the atmospheie.

A uevelopei in Amazonia has a plan to iaise levels of atmospheiic oxygen by cutting uown
the iainfoiest anu ieplacing it with a manageu foiest. The manageu foiest woulu be cut
eveiy 2u yeais, the cut tiees woulu be sealeu in plastic bags loaueu with weights, anu the
bags woulu be uumpeu to the bottom of the ocean. What is the uevelopei's ieasoning.
Woulu the plan woik. Why oi why not. Bow might this scheme affect atmospheiic C02.
The uevelopei is thinking that 02 piouuceu by the tiees ovei 2u yeais woulu not be
balanceu by C02 that woulu be piouuceu if the tiees weie alloweu to buin oi uecay.
Bowevei, if the scheme "woikeu", we woulu iun out of atmospheiic C02 long befoie levels
of 02 weie significantly affecteu, since atmospheiic C02 is less than u.2% of atmospheiic
u2. The scheme coulu ieuuce atmospheiic C02 in the neai teim if the tiees weie secuiely
sequesteieu unuei the ueep ocean, anu if piouucing the eneigy consumeu in sequesteiing
them uiu not iequiie the ielease of moie C02 than the giowing tiees absoibeu.
Byuiogen atoms aie piouuceu in the uppei atmospheie by photolysis of watei vapoi anu
can then escape to outei space because of theii light mass. This escape of B atoms is
effectively a souice of 02 to the atmospheie; explain why.
Most H atoms in the atmosphere are present as H2O. Photolysis of H2O frees H atoms. When these H
Atoms escape to space, they leave behind the O atoms which are then eventually converted to O2 (the
dominant form of oxygen in the atmosphere). If the H atoms do not escape to space, they recombine with
O atoms to regenerate HO and there is no net production of O.
The piesent uay iate of B atom escape to outei space is S.4 x 1u
7
kg Byi . Assuming that
this iate has iemaineu constant thioughout the histoiy of the Eaith (4.S x 1u
9
yeais),
calculate the iesulting accumulation of oxygen. Is this an impoitant souice of oxygen.
Consiuei that the oiganic caibon inventoiy in seuiments inuicates that photosynthesis of
piimeval C02 in the eaily Eaith must have pioviueu an 02 souice of S.2x1u
19
kg.
The B atom escape iate is S.4x1u7 kg yi-1 =S.4x1u1u moles yi-1. Essentially all of the
escaping B oiiginates fiom bieak uown of the B20 molecule, anu the iesulting net souice
of 0 atoms to the atmospheie is 2.7x1u
1u
moles yi-1 = 4.Sx1u
8
kg yi-1. Assuming that the
iate has iemaineu constant since the beginning of the Eaith 4.Sx1u
9
yeais ago, the total
amount of 02 piouuceu by this mechanism is 1.9x1u18kg. Incompaiison, the oiganic
caibon inventoiy in seuiments inuicates that photosynthesis of piimeval C02 in the eaily
Eaith must have pioviueu an 02 souice of S.2x1u1
9
kg. Photosynthesis of piimeval C02
thus playeu a moie impoitant iole than photolysis of B20 as an oiiginal souice of 02 to the
atmospheie.
Atmospheiic 02 shows a small seasonal vaiiation. At what time of yeai woulu you expect
u2 to be maximum. Explain biiefly. Estimate the amplituue of the seasonal cycle of u2 at
Nauna Loa, Bawaii, aftei examining the seasonal cycle of C02 theie in the figuie below.

The source of O2 from photosynthesis is limited to spring and summer, while the sink of O2 from
oxidation of dead biomass is more evenly spread over the year. We expect therefore a summer peak for
O2 concentrations. The seasonal variation of O2 is the reverse of that of CO2, since the source of O2 is a
sink of CO2 and vice versa. Considering that there is a 1:1 O2:CO2 stoichiometry in these sources and
sinks, the amplitudes of the seasonal cycles should be the same for both O2 and CO2. The timeseries of
CO2 at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, shows about a 3 ppbv seasonal amplitude and the same seasonal amplitude
should apply to O2.

Boes the giowth of coials (Ca
2+
+ C0S
2-
-> CaC0S(s)) cause atmospheiic C02 to inciease oi
ueciease. Explain biiefly.
Removing CO3 by coral formation will push the equilibrium to the left, releasing CO2 to the
atmosphere. It may seem counter intuitive that by stocking carbon in the oceans through coral formation
one would increase CO; the key is that coral formation removes alkalinity (CO2-) from the ocean.
Theie aie no sinks of C02 in the stiatospheie. Neveitheless, the C02 mixing iatio in the
stiatospheie is obseiveu to be 1-2 ppmv lowei than in the tiopospheie. Explain.
The residence time of air in the stratosphere is 1-2 years, so that CO2 concentrations in the stratosphere
represent those found in the troposphere 1-2 years before. The growth rate of CO2 in the troposphere is
1-2 ppmv yr-1, and the time lag for transfer of air from the troposphere to the stratosphere thus results in
a 1-2 ppmv difference in concentrations between the two reservoirs.

Bumans ingest oiganic caibon as foou anu ielease C02 as a piouuct. As the woilu
population giows, will incieaseu C02 exhalation fiom humans contiibute to incieasing C02
in the atmospheie. Why oi why not.
No, becausefoodproductioninvolvesphotosynthesisbycropswhichisasourceof O2andbalances
exactly the source of CO when this food is ingested.
A consequence of global waiming is melting of the polai ice caps. This melting uecieases
ueep watei foimation. Why. Woulu this effect iepiesent a negative oi positive feeuback to
global waiming. Biiefly explain.
Melting of the polar icecaps freshens the water of the polar surface oceans, making it lighter and hence
less likely to sink to the deep ocean. The decrease in deep water formation slows down the uptake of
CO2 by the ocean, and the resulting increase of CO2 in the atmosphere represents a positive feedback to
global warming.

Comment on the following statement: Planting tiees to ieuuce atmospheiic C02 is not an
appiopiiate long-teim stiategy foi sequesteiing caibon because the oiganic caibon in the
tiees will ietuin to atmospheiic C02 in less than a centuiy."
The statement is not intrinsically correct although it may have some political truth. Planting trees does
reduce the stock of carbon present in the atmosphere as CO2. Note that the amount of organic carbon in
The biosphere is larger than the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, so that growing the biosphere does
give us leverage for decreasing CO2. Although the organic carbon in a tree returns to the atmosphere
when the tree dies (in less than a century), as long as the forest is maintained a new tree will grow in its
place. The catch is that a plan to reduce CO2 by growing the biosphere requires a long-term commitment
to the preservation of the stock of organic carbon in the new ecosystems. If these stocks are allowed to
return to the atmosphere as CO2 (as for example if the dying trees are not replaced, or if the forest is cut
or burned to return to its original use) then the gains will be lost.












Pait II - Answei eveiything

Consiuei the global cycle of caibon between the atmospheie, teiiestiial vegetation, anu the
soil shown below.

The three reservoirs "ground vegetation," "tree leaves," and "tree wood"
represent collectively the "terrestrial vegetation reservoir." The flow rate
of atmospheric CO
2
into this terrestrial vegetation reservoir represents
the net primary productivity (NPP) of the terrestrial biosphere. Calculate
the lifetime of carbon in the terrestrial vegetation reservoir against
transfer to the litter and soil.

The total mass of carbon in the terrestrial vegetation reservoir is 730 Pg C. The total loss rate out of this
reservoir is 62 Pg C yr-1. Dividing the total mass by total loss rate, we find a lifetime of 12
years.

Tree leaves eventually fall to produce litter. What is the dominant fate of
carbon in the litter? What fraction is incorporated into the soil?

By comparing the different fluxes out of the litter reservoir, we see that the dominant fate of carbon in
the litter is export to the atmosphere. Only 3/54 = 6% is incorporated into the soil.

Acid rain causes a decrease of microbial activity in the litter and in the
soil. How is atmospheric CO
2
affected?

AtmosphericCO2woulddecreaseifthesourcefrommicrobialactivitydecreases, becausemorecarbon
could then be stored in the soil reservoir (which is larger than the atmospheric reservoir).

What peicentage, ioughly, of iecent anthiopogenic emissions of Caibon Bioxiue aie still in
the atmospheie. Wheie has the iemainuei gone. Bow might futuie (say, ovei the next
1uu yeais) effects of continueu climate change affect the ielative paititioning between
these ieseivoiis. Explain youi ieasoning.
About Su%. The iemainuei has gone to lanu anu ocean.
Less will go to oceans as aciuity incieases (i.e. as the caibonate buffei becomes less
effective). A lessening of ueep-watei foimation woulu also ieuuce caibon uptake by
oceans. Lanu uptake might inciease initially uue to factois like caibon feitilization anu
longei giowing seasons, but aftei some thiesholu point, continueu incieases in
tempeiatuie might ieuuce lanu uptake anu also leau to the ielease of caibon fiom lanu
ieseivoiis (e.g., caibon fiom fiozen soils).

EVIDENCE FOR LAND UPTAKE EVIDENCE FOR LAND UPTAKE
OF CO OF CO
2 2
FROM TRENDS IN O FROM TRENDS IN O
2 2
, ,
1990-2000 1990-2000

Consiuei the pieinuustiial caibon cycle uepicteu in the box mouel uiiectly above. Caibon
inventoiies aie shown within each box, anu annual flows next to the aiiows between
boxes. 0sing this context, explain the comment by Aichei that "global waiming is foievei."
Flows into seuiments (the laigest, ultimate ieseivoii) aie veiy small compaieu to total
ieseivoiis, meaning that the auuitional caibon emitteu by human use of fossil fuels will
iemain in the atmospheie anu oceans foi a veiy long time compaieu to the uuiation of past
human civilizations. Caibon flows to the ueep ocean aie also slow enough that
atmospheiic concentiations will iemain highei foi a long time to come.
If cumulative anthiopogenic caibon emissions aie ultimately on the oiuei of Suu PgC, what
uoes this imply about the feasibility of sequesteiing the C fiom these emissions in the
biospheie anu soils.
That woulu be a veiy laige peicentage of biospheie anu soil ieseivoiis, implying that it is
not feasible to sequestei all of the anthiopogenic C in biospheie anu soils.
GLOBAL PREINDUSTRIAL CARBON CYCLE GLOBAL PREINDUSTRIAL CARBON CYCLE
Inventories in PgC
Flows in PgC yr
-1
Pait III - Extia Cieuit

Summaiize the main points of the aiticle "A uuiue to C02 Sequestiation by Klaus Lacknei."