Articles tagged with Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
Researchers reexamined ocean circulations and river carbon transport, finding the Southern Ocean is a smaller carbon sink than thought. Land in the northern hemisphere absorbs less carbon, but rivers send it to the ocean with increased strength, challenging current estimates.
A study published in PNAS found that powerful volcanoes depleted oceans of oxygen millions of years ago, driving mass extinctions. The researchers reconstructed Early Jurassic ocean oxygen levels and linked the event to massive volcanic activity and carbon dioxide increases.
Researchers modeled Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) eruptions and weathering to identify times when they controlled atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. LIPs can absorb and release CO2 through weathering, influencing Earth's temperature.
Researchers have discovered a way to harness bismuth's unique property, called catalytic plasticity, to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuels and industrial chemicals. This approach could potentially provide sustainable routes to making fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A new study analyzes ancient fish remains to reveal a 5°C rapid temperature increase following the Chicxulub asteroid impact. The findings suggest that temperatures did not cool for roughly 100,000 years after the event.
A new study found that streams and rivers could increase carbon dioxide emissions at higher temperatures, potentially compounding the effects of global warming. The research team analyzed data from six major climatic zones across the globe and found a 24% shift toward more respiration and CO2 emissions.
Researchers discovered that C4 plants first expanded across Australia around 3.5 million years ago, driven by a strong summer monsoon. This finding provides new insights into the impact of climate change on these critically important plants.
A UCI-led study finds that tropical forests respond to higher CO2 by reducing water vapor, leading to drought in the Amazon and increased rainfall in Indonesia. This process can have significant impacts on biodiversity, freshwater availability, and food supplies.
Research led by Dr. Soren Brothers found that Lake Superior absorbs atmospheric CO2 from May to October, but expels it during winter due to El Niño events and climate change. The study, published in Limnology and Oceanography, suggests a potential marine-atmospheric feedback loop with global warming.
Researchers at Stanford University have found cost-effective carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies commercially feasible with existing technology in the US. CCS can be profitable through tax credits and low-carbon fuel standards, incentivizing its deployment to meet climate goals.
A new integrated system, ABECCS, combines algae production with bio-energy and carbon capture to act as a carbon dioxide sink while generating food and electricity. This sustainable technology has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases and provide nutritionally valuable products.
A new study found that mountain erosion can also release CO2 into the atmosphere, far faster than it's absorbed by newly-exposed rock. Tiny microbes in mountain soils 'eat' ancient organic carbon, spewing out CO2.
Researchers estimate that 67% of organic carbon within bedrock is released during erosion, with certain microbe populations using the carbon for nourishment. The findings suggest that this process could negate geological carbon dioxide consumption and impact Earth's climate.
A new study reveals that tidal wetlands and estuaries bury the majority of carbon in coastal waters, with 80% of it being stored. This finding helps establish how coastal waters influence atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and climate.
Researchers studying the Black Sea's oxygen-deprived waters found that chemical and biological processes similar to those in the deep ocean occur. This provides new insights into the ocean's role as a storage reservoir for carbon, helping to dampen the effects of human-driven climate change.
Researchers found that daily variability in harmful CO2 indices is twice as fast as the average, impacting shell-building animals like oysters and mussels. The study provides an important framework for evaluating other seagrass and estuarine habitats.
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that vegetation plays a dominant role in Earth's water cycle, regulating future dryness and water resources. Plants' physiological responses to increasing CO2 levels have a major impact on evapotranspiration, long-term runoff, and soil moisture.
A team of Canadian and US scientists propose converting CO2 into small building block molecules that can be upgraded for commercial use. Potential applications include energy storage in hydrogen, methane, and ethane; production of consumer goods using ethylene and ethanol; and pharmaceuticals using CO2-derived formic acid.
The loss of seagrass meadows at Shark Bay has released up to nine million metric tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual CO2 output of 800,000 homes. Seagrass ecosystems are crucial for storing carbon, and climate change is compromising their permanence.
A new study finds that reforested areas in the US can absorb significant amounts of carbon, with existing forests capable of sequestering an additional 1-2 billion tons of carbon over 100 years. Researchers analyzed soil profile observations and remote sensing data to determine the rate at which soils absorb carbon.
The enhanced weathering process has the potential to remove up to 4.9 billion tons of CO2 per year from the atmosphere if basalt is used, but its costs and trade-offs are significant. The study suggests that basalt could be a more sustainable option than dunite, which contains harmful substances.
Researchers can now study pollutants and emissions more comprehensively by tracking the changing chemistry of carbon molecules in the air. A new method established by Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz allows for accurate depiction of a compound's behavior over time.
A team of researchers discovered that changes in the Antarctic Ocean facilitated long-term storage of carbon dioxide during the last ice age. The study suggests that as the climate warmed, this stored carbon was released, contributing to global warming.
A new study suggests that adding fast-reacting silicate rocks to croplands can capture CO2, reduce pests and diseases, and restore soil fertility. This approach doesn't compete for land or increase freshwater demand, offering benefits such as reduced fertilizers and pesticides use.
Researchers discover a previously unknown connection between seafloor weathering and the slow carbon cycle. The study reveals that fluctuations in seafloor spreading rates drive changes in ocean crust capacity to store carbon dioxide.
Researchers found evidence of extensive biomass burning at the Younger Dryas Boundary, coinciding with a cometary cloud impact that triggered an 'impact winter', causing widespread extinctions. The study suggests that this event may have contributed to the collapse of the Clovis people and the extinction of megafauna.
Research by University of Delaware oceanographer Wei-Jun Cai and colleagues reveals that coastal water is taking up a larger portion of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The study's findings, published in Nature Communications, may have important implications for understanding the global carbon budget and predicting greenhouse gas emissions.
A recent study by FSU researchers found that high carbon dioxide levels stimulate flower production in tropical forests. The findings suggest that these forests may be more sensitive to climate change than expected.
Research reveals that increasing CO2 levels are causing widespread effects on freshwater ecosystems, leading to a decrease in pH and negatively affecting keystone species like Daphnia. The study found that rising pCO2 can impair the water fleas' ability to detect predators and produce defensive features.
Scientists at the University of Dundee developed a process that enables E. coli bacterium to act as an efficient carbon capture device, converting CO2 into formic acid with high efficiency and speed. This breakthrough could lead to a new way to store or recycle carbon dioxide, a key solution to global warming.
Researchers directly observed microbial activity in Antarctic and Arctic snow, revealing metabolically active bacteria that remain active in compressed ice. This discovery could lower estimated CO2 levels before human impact, expanding the search for habitable planets.
A new study suggests that climate change could lead to increased body sizes in certain herbivores as plants become more nutritious. This is because larger herbivores can convert the foliage to energy more efficiently than smaller competitors.
University of Leeds scientists find fungi essential for establishing breathable atmosphere by transferring phosphorus to plants. The amount of phosphorus transferred could have dramatically altered the ancient atmosphere, influencing the timing of oxygen generation.
The oversized planet WASP-18b is wrapped in a smothering stratosphere loaded with carbon monoxide and devoid of water. The formation of this atmosphere is attributed to 'sunscreen'-like molecules absorbing UV radiation and releasing heat, which is unusual compared to other gas giants.
Researchers have discovered that a high concentration of coccolithophores and diatoms thrive in the Great Calcite Belt, driven by nutrient levels, sea surface temperature, and carbon dioxide concentration. The bloom plays a crucial role in global carbon cycle models and highlights the complexity of phytoplankton ecology.
Researchers traced ancient zircon minerals' chemical signatures to understand the recycling of carbon from the mantle to the surface. The study suggests a series of fortunate events led to optimal conditions for releasing anomalous amounts of carbon, which in turn shaped the modern carbon cycle.
A study by UMass Amherst researchers reveals that anaerobic microsites play a significant role in stabilizing soil carbon, contrary to previous assumptions. The team's findings suggest that these oxygen-free zones can protect up to 10 times more carbon from decomposition, posing a previously unrecognized threat to the global carbon cycle.
A decline in atmospheric CO2 levels triggered the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, a 400,000-year period with long-lasting effects on ice age cycles. The study suggests that changes in dust flux and ice sheet sensitivity contributed to the transition.
A study by researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that Amazon forest areas have limited ability to recover due to recent climate changes. The findings suggest that replanted and recovering forests can only lock away about two-thirds of the carbon they have lost over the past 20 years.
A new study resolves a prehistoric climate puzzle by confirming the link between high carbon dioxide levels and global warming for a time interval about 22 million years ago. The research, led by Southern Methodist University, analyzed fossil leaves from Africa and found that carbon dioxide behaved in the same manner millions of years ...
A recent study reveals that continental rift zones release large amounts of CO2 from depth, influencing global climate change. The East African Rift and Eger Rift are examples of such systems, which contribute a significant fraction of the anthropogenic carbon release today.
Researchers discover that non-thermal plasma can efficiently produce oxygen on Mars through decomposition of CO2. The process could provide a stable and reliable source of oxygen for manned missions, reducing costs and risks.
Scientists have made a major step forward in quantifying photosynthesis by mapping solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence with high spatial resolution from the NASA satellite OCO-2. This enables them to scale SIF to gross primary production across different vegetation types.
A new study from Dartmouth College suggests that carbon dioxide levels during the early Eocene period, a so-called 'super greenhouse' era, were lower than previously thought, around 1000 ppm. This finding challenges current climate models and provides important information about the planet's past climate history.
Researchers detect localized carbon dioxide sources from Mount Yasur and Los Angeles basin, providing insights into volcanic and anthropogenic emissions. The study supports the potential for space-based monitoring to prevent humanitarian disasters and reduce greenhouse gas-induced warming.
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered that brown carbon aerosol from wildfires loses its ability to absorb sunlight the longer it remains in the atmosphere, leading to a significant reduction in warming effects. This finding challenges current climate models and could impact air quality management districts.
A study reveals that massive coal formation 300 million years ago nearly led to global glaciation due to low CO2 concentrations. The research indicates that current levels of CO2 in the atmosphere pose a significant threat to climate stability.
A new study reveals that tropical forests act as a net source of carbon dioxide, with most releases caused by deforestation and degradation. The majority of land areas in the tropics showed no significant change in carbon over the 12-year period, but those that did experienced losses mainly due to deforestation.
Scientists at NIST have developed a laboratory instrument that can measure the source of carbon in materials, enabling new applications in biofuels and bioplastics industries. The instrument uses cavity ringdown spectroscopy to detect subtle differences in CO2 wavelengths, allowing for accurate measurement of heavy CO2 concentrations.
A modeling study reveals a shift in plant leaf traits, leading to more efficient water use by plants. The carbon isotopic ratio of atmospheric CO2 decreases slower than predicted, indicating this adaptation.
Researchers found that plants have adapted to rising CO2 levels by becoming more efficient at using water, which could help offset human-induced climate change. The study provides new insights into the impact of CO2 on plant behavior and photosynthesis.
Researchers from MIT and global partners conducted a comprehensive survey of atmospheric chemistry in a Colorado forest, identifying previously unmeasured semi-volatile and intermediate-volatility organic compounds. The findings provide new insights into air quality, ecosystem health, and climate change.
A new study suggests that the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was caused by volcanic carbon emissions, resulting in a rapid doubling of atmospheric CO2. The event, which lasted around 150 thousand years, saw global temperatures increase by at least 5oC.
A natural global warming event occurred 56 million years ago, caused almost entirely by volcanic eruptions during Greenland's separation from Europe. The Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) led to a significant increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperatures.
A study predicts that changes in precipitation and air temperature will lead to increased plant mortality risk in 13 temperate and tropical forests worldwide. However, higher atmospheric humidity and CO2 concentrations partially offset this rising mortality risk.
A new study by James Hansen's team estimates that to limit global warming, we need negative emissions through technologies like carbon capture. If emissions continue high, young people may have to spend up to 500 trillion euros on CO2 extraction, but rapid phase-down of fossil fuels can achieve this at relatively low cost.
Researchers at Caltech and USC identified how to accelerate calcite dissolution in seawater, enabling the ocean to safely lock away carbon dioxide. By adding a common enzyme, they increased the reaction rate by 500 times, opening up new possibilities for mimicking natural processes.
An international team of scientists discovered a possible cause for irregularities in climate evolution: enhanced volcanic activity induced by falling sea levels. This study found that reduced pressure on the seafloor led to increased lava and carbon dioxide emissions, stabilizing atmospheric CO2 concentrations during glacial periods.
Researchers developed a mathematical model to reconcile temperature estimates from global climate models and paleoclimate records. They found that higher temperature ranges, up to 6 degrees Celsius, may be possible when long-term warming patterns are considered.
The AAS Special Issue on the Chinese Carbon Budget Program presents research on accurate estimation of national GHG emissions, terrestrial carbon budget, and potential for increasing carbon sinks. Eight papers cover various topics, including aerosols, airborne observations, and CO2 monitoring from space.