Global warming feedbacks on terrestrial carbon uptake under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios

Joos, Fortunat; Prentice, I. Colin; Sitch, Stephen; Meyer, Robert; Hooss, Georg; Plattner, Gian-Kasper; Gerber, Stefan; Hasselmann, Klaus (2001). Global warming feedbacks on terrestrial carbon uptake under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios. Global biogeochemical cycles, 15(4), pp. 891-907. American Geophysical Union 10.1029/2000GB001375

[img]
Preview
Text
joos01gbc.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (802kB) | Preview

A coupled physical-biogeochemical climate model that includes a dynamic global vegetation model and a representation of a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model is driven by the nonintervention emission scenarios recently developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Atmospheric CO2, carbon sinks, radiative forcing by greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosols, changes in the fields of surface-air temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, ocean thermal expansion, and vegetation structure are projected. Up to 2100, atmospheric CO2 increases to 540 ppm for the lowest and to 960 ppm for the highest emission scenario analyzed. Sensitivity analyses suggest an uncertainty in these projections of −10 to +30% for a given emission scenario. Radiative forcing is estimated to increase between 3 and 8 W m−2 between now and 2100. Simulated warmer conditions in North America and Eurasia affect ecosystem structure: boreal trees expand poleward in high latitudes and are partly replaced by temperate trees and grasses at lower latitudes. The consequences for terrestrial carbon storage depend on the assumed sensitivity of climate to radiative forcing, the sensitivity of soil respiration to temperature, and the rate of increase in radiative forcing by both CO2 and other GHGs. In the most extreme cases, the terrestrial biosphere becomes a source of carbon during the second half of the century. High GHG emissions and high contributions of non-CO2 agents to radiative forcing favor a transient terrestrial carbon source by enhancing warming and the associated release of soil carbon.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Climate and Environmental Physics

UniBE Contributor:

Joos, Fortunat, Plattner, Gian-Kasper

Subjects:

500 Science > 530 Physics

ISSN:

0886-6236

Publisher:

American Geophysical Union

Language:

English

Submitter:

BORIS Import 2

Date Deposited:

13 Sep 2021 10:57

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:52

Publisher DOI:

10.1029/2000GB001375

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/158813

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/158813

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback