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Title: Deconvolution of the tree ring based delta/sup 13/C record

Journal Article · · J. Geophys. Res.; (United States)

We assumed that the tree-ring based /sup 13/C//sup 12/C record constructed by Freyer and Belacy (1983) to be representative of the fossil fuel and forest-soil induced /sup 13/C//sup 12/C change for atmospheric CO/sub 2/. Through the use of a modification of the Oeschger et al. ocean model, we have computed the contribution of the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas to this observed /sup 13/C//sup 12/C change. A large residual remains when the tree-ring-based record is corrected for the contribution of fossil fuel CO/sub 2/. A deconvolution was performed on this residual to determine the time history and magnitude of the forest-soil reservoir changes over the past 150 years. Several important conclusions were reached. (1) The magnitude of the integrated CO/sub 2/ input from these sources was about 1.6 times that from fossil fuels. (2) The forest-soil contribution reached a broad maximum centered at about 1900. (3) Over the 2 decade period covered by the Mauna Loa atmospheric CO/sub 2/ content record, the input from forests and soils was about 30% that from fossil fuels. (4) The /sup 13/C//sup 12/C trend over the last 20 years was dominated by the input of fossil fuel CO/sub 2/. (5) The forest-soil release did not contribute significantly to the secular increase in atmospheric CO/sub 2/ observed over the last 20 years. (6) The pre-1850 atmospheric p2 values must have been in the range 245 to 270 x 10/sup -6/ atmospheres.

OSTI ID:
5765728
Journal Information:
J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Vol. 88:C6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English