Dynamics of the Exchange of Carbon Dioxide in Arctic and Subarctic Regions

• Main Author: Kelley,John J
• Other Authors: ALASKA UNIV FAIRBANKS INST OF MARINE SCIENCE
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1973
• Subjects: Atmospheric Physics; Hydrology; Limnology and Potamology; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *CARBON DIOXIDE; *ARCTIC REGIONS; MEASUREMENT; SOILS; SURFACE WATERS; OCEANS; TROPOSPHERE; EXCHANGE; PARTIAL PRESSURE; TUNDRA; *Subarctic regions; WUNR307308; WUNR307252; Antarctic; Arctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Barrow; Ice; permafrost; Subarctic; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA082453; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA082453

The dynamics of atmospheric carbon dioxide interaction with the ocean and land masses is manifested in subtle fluctuations and long-term trends. Measurements over the past 100 years indicate that there has been an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide as a result of the industrial revolution. Theories have been formulated on how an increase in carbon dioxide might effect climatic change, but the validity of historical data collection remains uncertain. A study was initiated in 1961 to accurately document the concentration and variation of carbon dioxide in the arctic atmosphere near Barrow, Alaska. Carbon dioxide in air was measured continuously by infrared analysis and the use of reference gases calibrated with precision in a cooperative program of CO2 observations in Hawaii and the Antarctic. Carbon dioxide is increasing at a rate of approximately 0.8 parts per million by volume per year in the arctic atmosphere, as well as in the tropics and the Antarctic. The seasonal variation for CO2 in the air, greatest in the Arctic and very small in the Antarctic, is primarily a response to photosynthetic utilization of carbon dioxide by terrestrial plants in the northern hemisphere. Sponsored in part by Grants NSF-GB-8274, NSF-GA-33387 and NSF-GV-29343.