The Contemporary and Historical Budget of Atmospheric \(CO_2\)

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Physics
• Main Authors: Huang, Junling, McElroy, Michael Brendon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: NRC Research Press 2012
• Subjects: Law Dome; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10981610; https://doi.org/10.1139/p2012-033

Observations of \(CO_2\) and \(O_2\) are interpreted to develop an understanding of the changes in the abundance of atmospheric \(CO_2\) that have arisen over the period 1995–2007. Fossil fuels accounted for an addition of 89.3 Gt of carbon to the atmosphere over this time period, 29% of which was transferred to the ocean, 15% to the global biosphere, with the balance (57%) retained by the atmosphere. Analysis of historical data for \(CO_2\) derived from studies of gases trapped in ice at Law Dome in Antarctica indicate that the biosphere represented a net source of atmospheric \(CO_2\) prior to 1940, switching subsequently to a net sink. Engineering and Applied Sciences Author's Original