Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and Timescales
Abstract The ocean's organic carbon export is a key control on atmospheric pCO2 and stimulating this export could potentially mitigate climate change. We use a data‐constrained model to calculate the sensitivity of atmospheric pCO2 to local changes in export using an adjoint approach. A perpetu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108462 |
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| author | Mark Holzer Tim DeVries Benoît Pasquier |
| author_facet | Mark Holzer Tim DeVries Benoît Pasquier |
| author_sort | Mark Holzer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The ocean's organic carbon export is a key control on atmospheric pCO2 and stimulating this export could potentially mitigate climate change. We use a data‐constrained model to calculate the sensitivity of atmospheric pCO2 to local changes in export using an adjoint approach. A perpetual enhancement of the biological pump's export by 0.1 PgC/yr could achieve a roughly 1% reduction in pCO2 at average sensitivity. The sensitivity varies roughly 5‐fold across different ocean regions and is proportional to the difference between the mean sequestration time τseq of regenerated carbon and the response time τpre of performed carbon, which is the reduction in the preformed carbon inventory per unit increase in local export production. Air‐sea CO2 disequilibrium modulates the geographic pattern of τpre, causing particularly high sensitivities (2–3 times the global mean) in the Antarctic Divergence region of the Southern Ocean. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-87168d5d92f54ec0ade9f8619ebe976e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-87168d5d92f54ec0ade9f8619ebe976e2025-08-20T02:31:38ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-06-015112n/an/a10.1029/2024GL108462Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and TimescalesMark Holzer0Tim DeVries1Benoît Pasquier2Department of Applied Mathematics, School of Mathematics and Statistics University of New South Wales Sydney NSW AustraliaDepartment of Geography University of California Santa Barbara CA USADepartment of Applied Mathematics, School of Mathematics and Statistics University of New South Wales Sydney NSW AustraliaAbstract The ocean's organic carbon export is a key control on atmospheric pCO2 and stimulating this export could potentially mitigate climate change. We use a data‐constrained model to calculate the sensitivity of atmospheric pCO2 to local changes in export using an adjoint approach. A perpetual enhancement of the biological pump's export by 0.1 PgC/yr could achieve a roughly 1% reduction in pCO2 at average sensitivity. The sensitivity varies roughly 5‐fold across different ocean regions and is proportional to the difference between the mean sequestration time τseq of regenerated carbon and the response time τpre of performed carbon, which is the reduction in the preformed carbon inventory per unit increase in local export production. Air‐sea CO2 disequilibrium modulates the geographic pattern of τpre, causing particularly high sensitivities (2–3 times the global mean) in the Antarctic Divergence region of the Southern Ocean.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108462atmospheric CO2biological pumpcarbon dioxide removal (CDR)linear sensitivitystimulated carbon exportadjoint methods |
| spellingShingle | Mark Holzer Tim DeVries Benoît Pasquier Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and Timescales Geophysical Research Letters atmospheric CO2 biological pump carbon dioxide removal (CDR) linear sensitivity stimulated carbon export adjoint methods |
| title | Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and Timescales |
| title_full | Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and Timescales |
| title_fullStr | Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and Timescales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and Timescales |
| title_short | Atmospheric pCO2 Response to Stimulated Organic Carbon Export: Sensitivity Patterns and Timescales |
| title_sort | atmospheric pco2 response to stimulated organic carbon export sensitivity patterns and timescales |
| topic | atmospheric CO2 biological pump carbon dioxide removal (CDR) linear sensitivity stimulated carbon export adjoint methods |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL108462 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markholzer atmosphericpco2responsetostimulatedorganiccarbonexportsensitivitypatternsandtimescales AT timdevries atmosphericpco2responsetostimulatedorganiccarbonexportsensitivitypatternsandtimescales AT benoitpasquier atmosphericpco2responsetostimulatedorganiccarbonexportsensitivitypatternsandtimescales |