Observational constraints on the global atmospheric CO sub 2 budget

Journal Article · Fri Mar 23 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.247.4949.1431· OSTI ID:6513597

Tans, P P ^[1]; Fung, I Y ^[2]; Takahashi, Taro ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder (USA)
2. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, New York, NY (USA)
3. Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (USA)

Observed atmospheric concentrations of CO{sub 2} and data on the partial pressures of CO{sub 2} in surface ocean waters are combined to identify globally significant sources and sinks of CO{sub 2}. The atmospheric data are compared with boundary layer concentrations calculated with the transport fields generated by a general circulation model (GCM) for specified source-sink distributions. In the model the observed north-south atmospheric concentration gradient can be maintained only if sinks for CO{sub 2} are greater in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere. The observed differences between the partial pressure of CO{sub 2} in the surface waters of the Northern Hemisphere and the atmosphere are too small for the oceans to be the major sink of fossil fuel CO{sub 2}. Therefore, a large amount of the CO{sub 2} is apparently absorbed on the continents by terrestrial ecosystems. 39 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs.

• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6513597
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA), Vol. 247:4949; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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