Recent changes in atmospheric carbon monoxide

Measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) in air samples collected from 27 locations between 71 degrees N and 41 degrees S show that atmospheric levels of this gas have decreased worldwide over the past 2 to 5 years. During this period, CO decreased at nearly a constant rate in the high northern latitudes. In contrast, in the tropics an abrupt decrease occurred beginning at the end of 1991. In the Northern Hemisphere, CO decreased at a spatially and temporally averaged rate of 7.3 (+/-0.9) parts per billion per year (6.1 percent per year) from June 1990 to June 1993, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, CO decreased 4.2 (+/-0.5) parts per billion per year (7.0 percent per year). This recent change is opposite a long-term trend of a 1 to 2 percent per year increase inferred from measurements made in the Northern Hemisphere during the past 30 years.     

Arctic lakes and streams as gas conduits to the atmosphere: implications for tundra carbon budgets

Arctic tundra has large amounts of stored carbon and is thought to be a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) (0.1 to 0.3 petagram of carbon per year) (1 petagram = 10(15) grams). But this estimate of carbon balance is only for terrestrial ecosystems. Measurements of the partial pressure of CO(2) in 29 aquatic ecosystems across arctic Alaska showed that in most cases (27 of 29) CO(2) was released to the atmosphere. This CO(2) probably originates in terrestrial environments; erosion of particulate carbon plus ground-water transport of dissolved carbon from tundra contribute to the CO(2) flux from surface waters to the atmosphere. If this mechanism is typical of that of other tundra areas, then current estimates of the arctic terrestrial sink for atmospheric CO(2) may be 20 percent too high.     

The hydroperoxyl radical in atmospheric chemical dynamics: reaction with carbon monoxide

From measurements of the photochemical rate of production of CO(2)(16,18) and CO(2)(16,16), produced from the low intensity photolysis of mixtures of CO, H(2)O, Ar, and O(2)(18,18), the rate constant for the reaction HO(2) + CO --> CO(2) + OH has been determined at 300 degrees K to be less than or equal to 10(-20) cubic centimeter per molecule per second. These measurements indicate that the reaction of thermalized HO(2) is of negligible importance as a sink mechanism for converting CO to CO(2) in either the troposphere or the stratosphere.     

Climatic warming and the decline of zooplankton in the california current

Since 1951, the biomass of macrozooplankton in waters off southern California has decreased by 80 percent. During the same period, the surface layer warmed-by more than 1.5 degrees C in some places-and the temperature difference across the thermocline increased. Increased stratification resulted in less lifting of the thermocline by wind-driven upwelling. A shallower source of upwelled waters provided less inorganic nutrient for new biological production and hence supported a smaller zooplankton population. Continued warming could lead to further decline of zooplankton.     

Water, hydrogen, deuterium, carbon, carbon-13, and oxygen-18 content of selected lunar material

The water content of the breccia is 150 to 455 ppm, with a deltaD from-580 to -870 per mil. Hydrogen gas content is 40 to 53 ppm with a deltaD of -830 to -970 per mil. The CO(2) is 290 to 418 ppm with delta (13)C = + 2.3 to + 5.1 per mil and delta(18)O = 14.2 to 19.1 per mil. Non-CO(2) carbon is 22 to 100 ppm, delta(13)C = -6.4 to -23.2 per mil. Lunar dust is 810 ppm H(2)O (D = 80 ppm) and 188 ppm total carbon(delta(13)C = -17.6 per mil). The (18)O analyses of whole rocks range from 5.8 to 6.2 per mil. The temperature of crystallization of type B rocks is 1100 degrees to 1300 degrees C, based on the oxygen isotope fractionation between coexisting plagioclase and ilmenite.     

Polar Volatiles on Mars--Theory versus Observation: Excess solid carbon dioxide is probably present in the north residual cap

The residual frost caps of Mars are probably water-ice. They may be the source of the water vapor associated with seasonal polar hoods. A permanent reservoir of solid CO(2) is also probably present within the north residual cap and may comprise a mass of CO(2) some two to five times that of the present atmosphere of Mars. The martian atmospheric pressure is probably regulated by the temperature of the reservoir and not by the annual heat balance of exposed solid CO(2) (37). The present reservoir temperature presumably reflects a long-term average of the polar heat balance. The question of a large permanent north polar cap is reexamined in light of the Mariner 9 data. The lower general elevation of the north polar region compared to the south and the resulting occurrence in the north of a permanent CO(2) deposit are probably responsible for the differences in size and shape of the two residual caps. The details of the processes involved are less apparent, however. It might be argued that the stability of water-ice deposits depends on both insolation and altitude. The present north and south residual caps should be symmetrically located with respect to such a hypothetical stability field. However, the offset of the south cap from the geometrical pole, the non-symmetrical outline of the north cap, and the apparently uniform thickness of the thin, widespread water-ice all argue against control by simple solid-vapor equilibrium of water under present environmental conditions. We think that the present location of the water-ice may reflect, in part, the past location of the permanent CO(2) reservoir. The extreme stability of polar water-ice deposits increases the likelihood that past environmental conditions may be recorded there. Detailed information on elevations in the vicinity of the residual caps is needed before we can further elucidate the nature and history of the residual caps. This, along with measurements of polar infrared emission, should be given high priority in future missions to Mars. Two conclusions follow from the limitation of the mass of solid CO(2) on Mars at present to two to five times the mass of CO(2) in the atmosphere. If all of this CO(2) was entirely sublimated into the atmosphere as a result of hypothetical astronomical or geophysical effects, the average surface pressure would increase to 15 to 30 mbar. Although such a change would have considerable significance for eolian erosion and transportation, there seems to be little possibility that a sufficiently earthlike atmosphere could result for liquid water to become an active erosional agent, as postulated by Milton (38). The pressure broadening required for a green-house effect requires at least 10 to 20 times more pressure (39). If liquid water was ever active in modifying the martian surface, it must have been at an earlier epoch, before the present, very stable CO(2)/H(2)O system developed. There can be no intermittent earthlike episodes now. Furthermore, the present abundance of CO(2) on Mars may be an indicator of the cumulative evolution of volatiles to the surface of the planet (40). Thus, even the possibility of an earlier earth-like episode is dimmed. On Mars, the total CO(2) definitely outgassed has evidently been about 60 +/- 20 g/cm(2). On the earth, about 70 +/- 30 kg/cm(2) of CO(2) have been released to the surface (41). Hence, the total CO(2) devolved by Mars per unit area is about 0.1 percent of that evolved by the earth. Thus, the observational limits we place on solid CO(2) presently located under the north residual cap also may constitute considerable constraints on the total differentiation and devolatilization of the planet. If they are valid, it would seem unlikely that Mars has devolatilized at all like the earth, or ever experienced an earthlike environment on its surface.     

温度与微生物制剂对小麦秸秆腐解及土壤碳氮的影响

【目的】探讨不同温度和添加微生物制剂条件下,小麦秸秆腐解对土壤中不同形态碳、氮含量的影响,为评价秸秆还田措施补充土壤养分、改善土壤肥力的贡献提供理论依据。【方法】采用室内模拟恒温培养方法,于15和20 ℃条件下,在装有127.5 g风干土样的培养盆中,分别添加不同量秸秆（0.961,0 g/盆）和微生物制剂（2.88,0.961,0 mg/盆）,后培养75 d,测定秸秆腐解期间CO₂释放量及腐解后土壤中不同形态碳、氮的含量。【结果】温度对秸秆腐解和养分释放影响较大,而微生物制剂未表现出作用效果。经75 d腐解培养后,添加秸秆与对照相比,15 ℃下秸秆CO₂-C的净累积释放量较20 ℃下低37.1%,而土壤有机碳和微生物量碳净增量分别增加了260%和949%;同时,15 ℃下土壤全氮和铵态氮含量分别较20 ℃下降低了100%和18.4%,微生物量氮提高了262%。【结论】较低的温度有利于秸秆对土壤有机碳和微生物量碳、氮的截留和保蓄,而较高的温度会加速秸秆有机碳向无机碳转化,同时微生物制剂在本研究的水热条件下未能发挥作用。     

Rainfall variability,carbon cycling,and plant species diversity in a mesic grassland

Ecosystem responses to increased variability in rainfall, a prediction of general circulation models, were assessed in native grassland by reducing storm frequency and increasing rainfall quantity per storm during a 4-year experiment. More extreme rainfall patterns, without concurrent changes in total rainfall quantity, increased temporal variability in soil moisture and plant species diversity. However, carbon cycling processes such as soil CO2 flux, CO2 uptake by the dominant grasses, and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) were reduced, and ANPP was more responsive to soil moisture variability than to mean soil water content. Our results show that projected increases in rainfall variability can rapidly alter key carbon cycling processes and plant community composition, independent of changes in total precipitation.     

The greenhouse effect: science and policy

Global warming from the increase in greenhouse gases has become a major scientific and political issue during the past decade. That infrared radiation is trapped by greenhouse gases and particles in a planetary atmosphere and that the atmospheric CO(2) level has increased by some 25 percent since 1850 because of fossil fuel combustion and land use (largely deforestation) are not controversial; levels of other trace greenhouse gases such as methane and chlorofluorocarbons have increased by even larger factors. Estimates of present and future effects, however, have significant uncertainties. There have also recently been controversial claims that a global warming signal has been detected. Results from most recent climatic models suggest that global average surface temperatures will increase by some 2 degrees to 6 degrees C during the next century, but future changes in greenhouse gas concentrations and feedback processes not properly accounted for in the models could produce greater or smaller increases. Sea level rises of 0.5 to 1.5 meters are typically projected for the next century, but there is a small probability of greater or even negative change. Forecasts of the distribution of variables such as soil moisture or precipitation patterns have even greater uncertainties. Policy responses range from engineering countermeasures to passive adaptation to prevention and a "law of the atmosphere." One approach is to implement those policies now that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and have additional societal benefits. Whether the uncertainties are large enough to suggest delaying policy responses is not a scientific question per se, but a value judgment.     

20th-century industrial black carbon emissions altered Arctic climate forcing

Black carbon (BC) from biomass and fossil fuel combustion alters chemical and physical properties of the atmosphere and snow albedo, yet little is known about its emission or deposition histories. Measurements of BC, vanillic acid, and non-sea-salt sulfur in ice cores indicate that sources and concentrations of BC in Greenland precipitation varied greatly since 1788 as a result of boreal forest fires and industrial activities. Beginning about 1850, industrial emissions resulted in a sevenfold increase in ice-core BC concentrations, with most change occurring in winter. BC concentrations after about 1951 were lower but increasing. At its maximum from 1906 to 1910, estimated surface climate forcing in early summer from BC in Arctic snow was about 3 watts per square meter, which is eight times the typical preindustrial forcing value.     

杭州木荷次生林生物量的研究

杭州西湖山区北高峰南坡的木荷次生林的生物量、生长量及凋落量的调查结果表明:①林分总生物量为134.113t/hm~2,其中活植物体126.649t/hm~2;②总生物量各个层次分配比例为:乔木层80.16％,更新层5.67％,灌木层3.84％,草本层4.76％,枯落物层5.57％;③在乔木层中,干、枝和叶的生物量分别分53.591,16.996和4.835t/hm~2,占地上部分的70.95％,22.50％和6.40％,根生物量18.474t/hm~2,占该层生物量的29.76％;④全林年生长量18.474t/hm~2,乔木层12.598t/hm~2,占68.19％,更新层1.948t/hm~2,占10.54％;⑤年平均凋落量5.848t/hm~2,叶凋落量占79.49％。2～4月和8～9月分别是凋落的两个高峰季节。     

Venting of carbon dioxide-rich fluid and hydrate formation in mid-okinawa trough backarc basin

Carbon dioxide-rich fluid bubbles, containing approximately 86 percent CO(2), 3 percent H(2)S, and 11 percent residual gas (CH(4) + H(2)), were observed to emerge from the sea floor at 1335- to 1550-m depth in the JADE hydrothermal field, mid-Okinawa Trough. Upon contact with seawater at 3.8 degrees C, gas hydrate immediately formed on the surface of the bubbles and these hydrates coalesced to form pipes standing on the sediments. Chemical composition and carbon, sulfur, and helium isotopic ratios indicate that the CO(2)-rich fluid was derived from the same magmatic source as dissolved gases in 320 degrees C hydrothermal solution emitted from a nearby black smoker chimney. The CO(2)-rich fluid phase may be separated by subsurface boiling of hydrothermal solutions or by leaching of CO(2)-rich fluid inclusion during posteruption interaction between pore water and volcanogenic sediments.     

Effects of Elevated CO2 Concentration on the Biomasses and Nitrogen Concentrations in the Organs of Sainfoin （Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.）

In forage grasses, the nitrogen concentration is directly related to the nutritional value. The studies examined the hypothesis that global elevation of CO2 concentration probably affects the biomass, nitrogen （N） concentration, and allocation and distribution patterns in the organs of forage grasses. While sainfoin （Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.） seedlings grew on a low nutrient soil in closed chambers for 90 days, they were exposed to two CO2 concentrations （ambient or ambient＋350 μmol mol^-1 CO2） without adding nutrients to them. After 90 days exposure to CO2, the biomasses of leaves, stems, and roots, and N concentrations and contents of different parts were measured. Compared with the ambient CO2 concentration, the elevated CO2 concentration increased the total dry matter by 25.07%, mainly due to the root and leaf having positive response to the elevated CO2 concentration. However, the elevated CO2 concentration did not change the proportions of the dry matters in different parts and the total plants compared with the ambient CO2 concentration. The elevated CO2 concentration lowered the N concentrations of the plant parts. Because the dry matter was higher, the elevated CO2 concentration had no effect on the N content in the plants compared to the ambient CO2 concentration. The elevated CO2 concentration promoted N allocations of the different parts significantly and increased N allocation of the underground part. The results have confirmed the previous suggestions that the elevated CO2 concentration stimulates plant biomass production and decreases the N concentrations of the plant parts.     

Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt

Increasing energy use, climate change, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels make switching to low-carbon fuels a high priority. Biofuels are a potential low-carbon energy source, but whether biofuels offer carbon savings depends on how they are produced. Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands to produce food crop-based biofuels in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and the United States creates a "biofuel carbon debt" by releasing 17 to 420 times more CO2 than the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions that these biofuels would provide by displacing fossil fuels. In contrast, biofuels made from waste biomass or from biomass grown on degraded and abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials incur little or no carbon debt and can offer immediate and sustained GHG advantages.     

Dispersion polymerizations in supercritical carbon dioxide

Conventional heterogeneous dispersion polymerizations of unsaturated monomers are performed in either aqueous or organic dispersing media with the addition of interfacially active agents to stabilize the colloidal dispersion that forms. Successful stabilization of the polymer colloid during polymerization results in the formation of high molar mass polymers with high rates of polymerization. An environmentally responsible alternative to aqueous and organic dispersing media for heterogeneous dispersion polymerizations is described in which supercritical carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is used in conjunction with molecularly engineered free radical initiators and amphipathic molecules that are specifically designed to be interfacially active in CO(2). Conventional lipophilic monomers, exemplified by methyl methacrylate, can be quantitatively (>90 percent) polymerized heterogeneously to very high degrees of polymerization (>3000) in supercritical CO(2) in the presence of an added stabilizer to form kinetically stable dispersions that result in micrometer-sized particles with a narrow size distribution.     

Stratospheric response to trace gas perturbations: changes in ozone and temperature distributions

The stratospheric concentration of trace gases released in the atmosphere as a result of human activities is increasing at a rate of 5 to 8 percent per year in the case of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), 1 percent per year in the case of methane (CH(4)), and 0.25 percent per year in the case of nitrous oxide (N(2)O). The amount of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is expected to double before the end of the 21st century. Even if the production of the CFCs remains limited according to the protocol for the protection of the ozone layer signed in September 1987 in Montreal, the abundance of active chlorine (2 parts per billion by volume in the early 1980s) is expected to reach 6 to7 parts per billion by volume by 2050. The impact of these increases on stratospheric temperature and ozone was investigated with a two-dimensional numerical model. The model includes interactive radiation, wave and mean flow dynamics, and 40 trace species. An increase in CFCs caused ozone depletion in the model, with the largest losses near the stratopause and, in the vertical mean, at high latitudes. Increased CO(2) caused ozone amounts to increase through cooling, with the largest increases again near 45 kilometers and at high latitudes. This CO(2)-induced poleward increase reduced the CFC-induced poleward decrease. Poleward and downward ozone transport played a major role in determining the latitudinal variation in column ozone changes.     

高CO2浓度对植物的影响研究进展

气候变暖,伴随的CO2浓度升高,对植物等产生一系列的影响,文章综述了高CO2浓度对植物光合作用、生物量、土壤微生物生物量、土壤微生物多样性、土壤呼吸影响的研究进展,为相关的研究提供参考,并对今后的研究方向进行了展望。     

Carbon dioxide supersaturation in the surface waters of lakes

Data on the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) in the surface waters from a large number of lakes (1835) with a worldwide distribution show that only a small proportion of the 4665 samples analyzed (less than 10 percent) were within +/-20 percent of equilibrium with the atmosphere and that most samples (87 percent) were supersaturated. The mean partial pressure of CO(2) averaged 1036 microatmospheres, about three times the value in the overlying atmosphere, indicating that lakes are sources rather than sinks of atmospheric CO(2). On a global scale, the potential efflux of CO(2) from lakes (about 0.14 x 10(15) grams of carbon per year) is about half as large as riverine transport of organic plus inorganic carbon to the ocean. Lakes are a small but potentially important conduit for carbon from terrestrial sources to the atmospheric sink.     

不同施肥雷竹林土壤微生物量碳的动态变化

雷竹Phyllostachys praecox是笋用竹种。近十几年来,雷竹的早产高效栽培技术在生产上实施后,使竹笋产量大幅度上升,从而产生了可观的经济效益,但早产高效栽培技术的连年实施,暴露出了竹林退化、土壤质量下降的现象。为研究不同施肥对雷竹土壤微生物量碳的影响,在雷竹主产区布置了肥料试验,设了6个处理,即猪栏肥 化肥(处理1),菜籽饼 化肥(处理2),1/2猪栏肥 1/2化肥(处理3),纯化肥(处理4),2/3纯化肥(处理5),1/2化肥(处理6)。各处理肥料用量按氮素总投入量设定,6个处理氮素总投入量比例为2.0∶2.0∶1.0∶2.0∶1.5∶1.0。试验从2002年5月开始至2003年4月结束,全过程中共采集了5次土样,分析了土壤的微生物量碳、总有机碳及其他养分指标。结果表明,6个处理土壤微生物量碳质量分数均表现为2002年10月和12月份最高,2002年8月和2003年2月次之,2003年4月最低。从不同处理间比较来看,3个有机肥化肥混合处理(处理1,2,3)土壤微生物量碳动态全过程中始终高于对照和2个纯化肥处理(处理5,6),有机肥用量较多的处理1和处理2,土壤微生物量碳也高于用量较少的处理3。比较覆盖与不覆盖区发现,土壤微生物量碳质量分数覆盖区明显高于不覆盖区,2003年2月土壤微生物量碳覆盖区是不覆盖区的1.60倍,4月则是1.52倍。相关分析表明,土壤总有机碳与微生物量碳之间存在着显著相关;微生物量碳与土壤全氮和水解氮质量分数的相关性也达显著水平。表4参20     

Couplet periodic breathing response to high carbon dioxide and low oxygen

A breathing pattern is described which is characterized by a grouping of two breaths followed by a prolonged apnea and which may involve a mechanism different from at least one type of Cheyne-Stokes breathing. The pattern can be eliminated by breathing 9 percent O(2) or 10 percent CO(2). However, the pattern frequently persists during breathing of high oxygen.