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Ocean-atmosphere partitioning of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on centennial timescales

Ocean-atmosphere partitioning of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on centennial timescales
Ocean-atmosphere partitioning of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on centennial timescales
A theory for the ocean-atmosphere partitioning of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on centennial timescales is presented. The partial pressure of atmospheric CO2 (PCO2) is related to the external CO2 input (??C) at air-sea equilibrium by: PCO2 = 280 ppm exp(??C/[IA + IO/R]), where IA, IO, and R are the pre-industrial values of the atmospheric CO2 inventory, the oceanic dissolved inorganic carbon inventory, and the Revelle buffer factor of seawater, respectively. This analytical expression is tested with two- and three-box ocean models, as well as for a version of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MIT GCM) with a constant circulation field, and found to be valid by at least 10% accuracy for emissions lower than 4500 GtC. This relationship provides the stable level that PCO2 reaches for a given emission size, until atmospheric carbon is reduced on weathering timescales. On the basis of the MIT GCM, future carbon emissions must be restricted to a total of 700 GtC to achieve PCO2 stabilization at present-day transient levels.
carbon dioxide, anthropogenic
0886-6236
GB1014-[10pp]
Goodwin, Philip
87dbb154-5c39-473a-8121-c794487ee1fd
Williams, Richard G.
2155309e-1c07-4365-b46a-04baeb2fb63c
Follows, Michael J.
12c723bc-f2f8-43f4-a309-bff6885b9c7c
Dutkiewicz, Stephanie
a704ddd3-bd6c-4f4a-ba0c-f6420c9c3b3b
Goodwin, Philip
87dbb154-5c39-473a-8121-c794487ee1fd
Williams, Richard G.
2155309e-1c07-4365-b46a-04baeb2fb63c
Follows, Michael J.
12c723bc-f2f8-43f4-a309-bff6885b9c7c
Dutkiewicz, Stephanie
a704ddd3-bd6c-4f4a-ba0c-f6420c9c3b3b

Goodwin, Philip, Williams, Richard G., Follows, Michael J. and Dutkiewicz, Stephanie (2007) Ocean-atmosphere partitioning of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on centennial timescales. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 21 (1), GB1014-[10pp]. (doi:10.1029/2006GB002810).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A theory for the ocean-atmosphere partitioning of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on centennial timescales is presented. The partial pressure of atmospheric CO2 (PCO2) is related to the external CO2 input (??C) at air-sea equilibrium by: PCO2 = 280 ppm exp(??C/[IA + IO/R]), where IA, IO, and R are the pre-industrial values of the atmospheric CO2 inventory, the oceanic dissolved inorganic carbon inventory, and the Revelle buffer factor of seawater, respectively. This analytical expression is tested with two- and three-box ocean models, as well as for a version of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MIT GCM) with a constant circulation field, and found to be valid by at least 10% accuracy for emissions lower than 4500 GtC. This relationship provides the stable level that PCO2 reaches for a given emission size, until atmospheric carbon is reduced on weathering timescales. On the basis of the MIT GCM, future carbon emissions must be restricted to a total of 700 GtC to achieve PCO2 stabilization at present-day transient levels.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 6 March 2007
Published date: March 2007
Keywords: carbon dioxide, anthropogenic
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 350517
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/350517
ISSN: 0886-6236
PURE UUID: 33074845-6e51-4795-8f86-67f65231d61f
ORCID for Philip Goodwin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2575-8948

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 26 Mar 2013 10:28
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:47

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Contributors

Author: Philip Goodwin ORCID iD
Author: Richard G. Williams
Author: Michael J. Follows
Author: Stephanie Dutkiewicz

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