Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change
The recent warming in the Arctic is affecting a broad spectrum of physical, ecological, and human/cultural systems that may be irreversible on century time scales and have the potential to cause rapid changes in the earth system. The response of the carbon cycle of the Arctic to changes in climate i...
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ftsouthmissispun:oai:aquila.usm.edu:fac_pubs-2125 2023-07-30T04:00:19+02:00 Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change McGuire, A. David Anderson, Leif G. Christensen, Torben R. Dallimore, Scott Guo, Laodong Hayes, Daniel J. Heimann, Martin MacDonald, Robie W. Roulet, Nigel 2009-11-01T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/1126 https://aquila.usm.edu/context/fac_pubs/article/2125/viewcontent/McGuire_et_al_2009_Ecological_Monographs.pdf unknown The Aquila Digital Community https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/1126 https://aquila.usm.edu/context/fac_pubs/article/2125/viewcontent/McGuire_et_al_2009_Ecological_Monographs.pdf Faculty Publications arctic arctic ocean boreal forest carbon cycle carbon dioxide climate change climate feedbacks hydrates methane permafrost review tundra Life Sciences Marine Biology text 2009 ftsouthmissispun 2023-07-15T18:42:19Z The recent warming in the Arctic is affecting a broad spectrum of physical, ecological, and human/cultural systems that may be irreversible on century time scales and have the potential to cause rapid changes in the earth system. The response of the carbon cycle of the Arctic to changes in climate is a major issue of global concern, yet there has not been a comprehensive review of the status of the contemporary carbon cycle of the Arctic and its response to climate change. This review is designed to clarify key uncertainties and vulnerabilities in the response of the carbon cycle of the Arctic to ongoing climatic change. While it is clear that there are substantial stocks of carbon in the Arctic, there are also significant uncertainties associated with the magnitude of organic matter stocks contained in permafrost and the storage of methane hydrates beneath both subterranean and submerged permafrost of the Arctic. In the context of the global carbon cycle, this review demonstrates that the Arctic plays an important role in the global dynamics of both CO2 and CH4. Studies suggest that the Arctic has been a sink for atmospheric CO2 of between 0 and 0.8 Pg C/yr in recent decades, which is between 0% and 25% of the global net land/ocean flux during the 1990s. The Arctic is a substantial source of CH4 to the atmosphere (between 32 and 112 Tg CH4/yr), primarily because of the large area of wetlands throughout the region. Analyses to date indicate that the sensitivity of the carbon cycle of the Arctic during the remainder of the 21st century is highly uncertain. To improve the capability to assess the sensitivity of the carbon cycle of the Arctic to projected climate change, we recommend that (1) integrated regional studies be conducted to link observations of carbon dynamics to the processes that are likely to influence those dynamics, and (2) the understanding gained from these integrated studies be incorporated into both uncoupled and fully coupled carbon-climate modeling efforts. Text Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change permafrost Tundra The University of Southern Mississippi: The Aquila Digital Community Arctic Arctic Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Southern Mississippi: The Aquila Digital Community |
op_collection_id |
ftsouthmissispun |
language |
unknown |
topic |
arctic arctic ocean boreal forest carbon cycle carbon dioxide climate change climate feedbacks hydrates methane permafrost review tundra Life Sciences Marine Biology |
spellingShingle |
arctic arctic ocean boreal forest carbon cycle carbon dioxide climate change climate feedbacks hydrates methane permafrost review tundra Life Sciences Marine Biology McGuire, A. David Anderson, Leif G. Christensen, Torben R. Dallimore, Scott Guo, Laodong Hayes, Daniel J. Heimann, Martin MacDonald, Robie W. Roulet, Nigel Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change |
topic_facet |
arctic arctic ocean boreal forest carbon cycle carbon dioxide climate change climate feedbacks hydrates methane permafrost review tundra Life Sciences Marine Biology |
description |
The recent warming in the Arctic is affecting a broad spectrum of physical, ecological, and human/cultural systems that may be irreversible on century time scales and have the potential to cause rapid changes in the earth system. The response of the carbon cycle of the Arctic to changes in climate is a major issue of global concern, yet there has not been a comprehensive review of the status of the contemporary carbon cycle of the Arctic and its response to climate change. This review is designed to clarify key uncertainties and vulnerabilities in the response of the carbon cycle of the Arctic to ongoing climatic change. While it is clear that there are substantial stocks of carbon in the Arctic, there are also significant uncertainties associated with the magnitude of organic matter stocks contained in permafrost and the storage of methane hydrates beneath both subterranean and submerged permafrost of the Arctic. In the context of the global carbon cycle, this review demonstrates that the Arctic plays an important role in the global dynamics of both CO2 and CH4. Studies suggest that the Arctic has been a sink for atmospheric CO2 of between 0 and 0.8 Pg C/yr in recent decades, which is between 0% and 25% of the global net land/ocean flux during the 1990s. The Arctic is a substantial source of CH4 to the atmosphere (between 32 and 112 Tg CH4/yr), primarily because of the large area of wetlands throughout the region. Analyses to date indicate that the sensitivity of the carbon cycle of the Arctic during the remainder of the 21st century is highly uncertain. To improve the capability to assess the sensitivity of the carbon cycle of the Arctic to projected climate change, we recommend that (1) integrated regional studies be conducted to link observations of carbon dynamics to the processes that are likely to influence those dynamics, and (2) the understanding gained from these integrated studies be incorporated into both uncoupled and fully coupled carbon-climate modeling efforts. |
format |
Text |
author |
McGuire, A. David Anderson, Leif G. Christensen, Torben R. Dallimore, Scott Guo, Laodong Hayes, Daniel J. Heimann, Martin MacDonald, Robie W. Roulet, Nigel |
author_facet |
McGuire, A. David Anderson, Leif G. Christensen, Torben R. Dallimore, Scott Guo, Laodong Hayes, Daniel J. Heimann, Martin MacDonald, Robie W. Roulet, Nigel |
author_sort |
McGuire, A. David |
title |
Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change |
title_short |
Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change |
title_full |
Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change |
title_fullStr |
Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sensitivity of the Carbon Cycle in the Arctic to Climate Change |
title_sort |
sensitivity of the carbon cycle in the arctic to climate change |
publisher |
The Aquila Digital Community |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/1126 https://aquila.usm.edu/context/fac_pubs/article/2125/viewcontent/McGuire_et_al_2009_Ecological_Monographs.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change permafrost Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Climate change permafrost Tundra |
op_source |
Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/1126 https://aquila.usm.edu/context/fac_pubs/article/2125/viewcontent/McGuire_et_al_2009_Ecological_Monographs.pdf |
_version_ |
1772810831185051648 |