Each spring, when the Northern Hemispheres vegetation awakens from the dormancy of winter and begins to grow again, it removes enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to reduce the airs CO2 content by several parts per million. Then, in the fall, when much of this vegetation dies and decays, it releases huge quantities of carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere, raising the airs CO2 content by a small amount. Together, these two phenomena produce a seasonal oscillation that is superimposed upon the yearly incremental rise in the airs mean CO2 concentration; and the greater the yearly growth of the planets vegetation, the greater are the yearly down- and up-swings in the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Consequently, the amplitude of the atmospheres seasonal CO2 oscillation serves as a good relative measure of the planets total vegetative productivity in any given year. Mauna Loa CO2 AmplitudeDetailed measurements of this phenomenon at Mauna Loa, Hawaii have revealed that the biospheres seasonal CO2 inhalations and exhalations are growing more and more pronounced each year, as the average CO2 content of the atmosphere rises with time. The increasing vigor of this phenomenon is revealed in the accompanying figure, where the yearly differences between the high and low points of the seasonal CO2 cycle are plotted as a function of time. co2science.org/subject/other/co2amp.php
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 22:32:32 +0000
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