Climate Change and Biogeochemical Impacts

Scott C Doney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
David Schimel, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Published online: September 2007

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003242.pub2

Human activities are causing a significant build-up of greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) and aerosols in the atmosphere, which is modulated in part by the land biosphere and ocean. Model projections for the coming century suggest that these changes in atmospheric composition will result in substantial global warming and strengthening of the hydrological cycle. Climate change and other human-driven processes such as land-use changes and ocean acidification will have profound impacts on global biogeochemistry and terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

Keywords: climate change; carbon cycle; ecosystem dynamics; greenhouse gases

Figure 1. Time series of monthly atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (ppm) at Mauna Loa. Data courtesy of R. Keeling SIO and P. Tans NOAA/CMDL [http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov].
Figure 2. Schematic of global carbon cycle. Inventories are in Pg C and fluxes are in Pg C yr–1.
Figure 3. Observed (black) and model projected (orange) global mean annual surface temperature anomalies (K) for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Temperature anomalies are relative to the mean of the period 1870–1899. The model curve is an ensemble average of five simulations from the NCAR community climate system model (CCSM-3) using historical forcing and the IPCC SRES A1B scenario for the twenty-first century (Meehl et al., 2006); the shading represents the ensemble member spread.
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Related Sub-Topics:

Biogeography and Macroecology | Human Impacts | Ecological Effects of Climate Change
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Article Title: Climate Change and Biogeochemical Impacts
 
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Doney, Scott C, and Schimel, David(Sep 2007) Climate Change and Biogeochemical Impacts. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003242.pub2]