Related Research Articles
Carbon-14, C-14, 14
C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and colleagues (1949) to date archaeological, geological and hydrogeological samples. Carbon-14 was discovered on February 27, 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Its existence had been suggested by Franz Kurie in 1934.
The Keeling Curve is a graph of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the island of Hawaii from 1958 to the present day. The curve is named for the scientist Charles David Keeling, who started the monitoring program and supervised it until his death in 2005.
Trace gases are gases that are present in small amounts within an environment such as a planet's atmosphere. Trace gases in Earth's atmosphere are gases other than nitrogen (78.1%), oxygen (20.9%), and argon (0.934%) which, in combination, make up 99.934% of its atmosphere.
In Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of several greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of Earth. The current global average concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is 421 ppm as of May 2022 (0.04%). This is an increase of 50% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century. The increase is due to human activity. Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of these increased CO2 concentrations and also the main cause of climate change. Other large sources of CO2 from human activities include cement production, deforestation, and biomass burning.
Carbon monitoring as part of greenhouse gas monitoring refers to tracking how much carbon dioxide or methane is produced by a particular activity at a particular time. For example, it may refer to tracking methane emissions from agriculture, or carbon dioxide emissions from land use changes, such as deforestation, or from burning fossil fuels, whether in a power plant, automobile, or other device. Because carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas emitted in the largest quantities, and methane is an even more potent greenhouse gas, monitoring carbon emissions is widely seen as crucial to any effort to reduce emissions and thereby slow climate change.
Polar meteorology is the study of the atmosphere of Earth's polar regions. Surface temperature inversion is typical of polar environments and leads to the katabatic wind phenomenon. The vertical temperature structure of polar environments tends to be more complex than in mid-latitude or tropical climates.
The Suess effect, also referred to as the 13C Suess effect, is a change in the ratio of the atmospheric concentrations of heavy isotopes of carbon (13C and 14C) by the admixture of large amounts of fossil-fuel derived CO2, which is depleted in 13CO2 and contains no 14CO2. It is named for the Austrian chemist Hans Suess, who noted the influence of this effect on the accuracy of radiocarbon dating. More recently, the Suess effect has been used in studies of climate change. The term originally referred only to dilution of atmospheric 14CO2. The concept was later extended to dilution of 13CO2 and to other reservoirs of carbon such as the oceans and soils.
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. What distinguishes them from other gases is that they absorb the wavelengths of radiation that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat, which is then mostly absorbed by greenhouse gases. Without greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F), rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F).
Atmospheric methane is the methane present in Earth's atmosphere. The concentration of atmospheric methane is increasing due to methane emissions, and is causing climate change. Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases. Methane's radiative forcing (RF) of climate is direct, and it is the second largest contributor to human-caused climate forcing in the historical period. Methane is a major source of water vapour in the stratosphere through oxidation; and water vapour adds about 15% to methane's radiative forcing effect. The global warming potential (GWP) for methane is about 84 in terms of its impact over a 20-year timeframe, and 28 in terms of its impact over a 100-year timeframe.
Greenhouse gas monitoring is the direct measurement of greenhouse gas emissions and levels. There are several different methods of measuring carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, including infrared analyzing and manometry. Methane and nitrous oxide are measured by other instruments. Greenhouse gases are measured from space such as by the Orbiting Carbon Observatory and networks of ground stations such as the Integrated Carbon Observation System.
The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) is a global network of instruments that measure the amount of carbon dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and other trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere. The TCCON began in 2004 with the installation of the first instrument in Park Falls, Wisconsin, USA, and has since grown to 23 operational instruments worldwide, with 7 former sites.
The atmospheric carbon cycle accounts for the exchange of gaseous carbon compounds, primarily carbon dioxide, between Earth's atmosphere, the oceans, and the terrestrial biosphere. It is one of the faster components of the planet's overall carbon cycle, supporting the exchange of more than 200 billion tons of carbon in and out of the atmosphere throughout the course of each year. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 remain stable over longer timescales only when there exists a balance between these two flows. Methane, Carbon monoxide (CO), and other man-made compounds are present in smaller concentrations and are also part of the atmospheric carbon cycle.
Minze Stuiver was a Dutch geochemist who was at the forefront of geoscience research from the 1960s until his retirement in 1998. He helped transform radiocarbon dating from a simple tool for archaeology and geology to a precise technique with applications in solar physics, oceanography, geochemistry, and carbon dynamics. Minze Stuiver's research encompassed the use of radiocarbon (14C) to understand solar cycles and radiocarbon production, ocean circulation, lake carbon dynamics and archaeology as well as the use of stable isotopes to document past climate changes.
John Philip Burrows is professor of the Physics of the Ocean and Atmosphere and Director of the Institutes of Environmental Physics and Remote Sensing at the University of Bremen. He is also a Fellow of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Space-based measurements of carbon dioxide are used to help answer questions about Earth's carbon cycle. There are a variety of active and planned instruments for measuring carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere from space. The first satellite mission designed to measure CO2 was the Interferometric Monitor for Greenhouse Gases (IMG) on board the ADEOS I satellite in 1996. This mission lasted less than a year. Since then, additional space-based measurements have begun, including those from two high-precision satellites. Different instrument designs may reflect different primary missions.
Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb) was an intended NASA Venture-class Earth observation mission that was designed to measure the carbon cycle. Originally intended to be mounted on a commercial geostationary communication satellite operated by SES S.A., a lack of hosting opportunities drove NASA to seek a standalone spacecraft to carry GeoCarb. GeoCarb was to be stationed over the Americas and make observations between 50° North and South latitudes. Its primary mission was to conduct observations of vegetation health and stress, as well as observe the processes that govern the carbon exchange of carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide between the land, atmosphere, and ocean.
Philippe Ciais is a researcher of the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), the climate change research unit of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL). He is a physicist working on the global carbon cycle of planet Earth, climate change, ecology and geosciences.
Heather Dawn Graven is a lecturer in Atmospheric Physics at Imperial College London. She creates mathematical models to predict how climate change will impact the carbon cycle.
References
- 1 2 3 "Alfred Wegener Medal of EGU for Ingeborg Levin". Heidelberg University. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- 1 2 3 "Ingeborg Levin". European Geosciences Union (EGU).
- ↑ Frey, Andreas (10 February 2011). "Entscheidend ist, was rauskommt". Frankfurter Allgemeine.
- 1 2 3 Vogel, Felix; Hammer, Samuel (28 March 2024). "Ingeborg Levin (1953-2024)". Science. 383 (6690): 1417. doi:10.1126/science.ado8559.
- ↑ Ingeborg, Levin (1978). Regionale Modellierung des atmosphärischen CO2 aufgrund von C-13-und C-14-messungen (Thesis) (in German). Heidelberg University.
- ↑ "Alfred Wegener Medal & Honorary Membership". European Geosciences Union (EGU). Retrieved 26 January 2021.
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