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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Carbon dioxide and climate: Summaries of research in FY 1988

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6704109
Detailed worldwide measurements indicate that the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere has increased about 25 percent during the past 188 years, primarily because of fossil-fuel combustion and deforestation. Carbon dioxide is one of several trace gases that can modify the earth's heat balance by absorbing outgoing radiation from the earth's surface, thereby increasing the amount of heat retained by the atmosphere--the so-called greenhouse effect. Scientific analyses suggest that this increase could substantially affect climate, agriculture, and other human endeavors. The Carbon Dioxide Research Program is aimed at improving the scientific knowledge base to enable researchers to project future atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, to estimate carbon dioxide-induced global and regional climate changes, and to assess the responses of vegetation to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and changing climate. The Department of Energy is the lead federal agency for research related to atmospheric carbon dioxide. Its responsibility is to sponsor a program of directed research and to coordinate this research with relevant activities of other federal agencies, private concerns, and international institutions. This Program Summary documents the activities and products of the Carbon Dioxide Research (CDR) Program in Fiscal Year 1988. The Summary provides descriptions of all projects funded during the year and a brief overview of the CDR Program's goals, objectives, and organization. 1 fig., 3 tabs.
Research Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC. Carbon Dioxide Research Div.
OSTI ID:
6704109
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER-0385; ON: DE89002966
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English