Articles | Volume 15, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-875-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-875-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Jul 2024
Research article |
| 15 Jul 2024
| 15 Jul 2024
A missing link in the carbon cycle: phytoplankton light absorption under RCP emission scenarios
Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Fishery Science, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
now at: University of Brest, Ifremer, CNRS, IRD, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), 29280, Plouzané, France
Philip B. Holden
Environment, Earth and Ecosystems, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
Frank Lunkeit
Meteorological Institute, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Inga Hense
Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Fishery Science, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Biogeosciences, 19, 223–239, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-223-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-223-2022, 2022
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Previous studies show that phytoplankton light absorption can warm the atmosphere, but how this warming occurs is still unknown. We compare the importance of air–sea heat versus CO2 flux in the phytoplankton-induced atmospheric warming and determine the main driver. To shed light on this research question, we conduct simulations with a climate model of intermediate complexity. We show that phytoplankton mainly warms the atmosphere by increasing the air–sea CO2 flux.
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Phytoplankton absorbing light can influence the climate system but its future effect on the climate is still unclear. We use a climate model to investigate the role of phytoplankton light absorption under global warming. We find out that the effect of phytoplankton light absorption is smaller under a high greenhouse gas emissions compared to reduced and intermediate greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, we show that phytoplankton light absorption is an important mechanism for the carbon cycle.
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Jenny Hieronymus, Kari Eilola, Malin Olofsson, Inga Hense, H. E. Markus Meier, and Elin Almroth-Rosell
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Earth Syst. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-2021-91, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-2021-91, 2021
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Phytoplankton absorbing light can influence the climate system but its future effect on the climate is still unclear. We use a climate model to investigate the role of phytoplankton light absorption under global warming. We find out that the effect of phytoplankton light absorption is smaller under a high greenhouse gas emissions compared to reduced and intermediate greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, we show that phytoplankton light absorption is an important mechanism for the carbon cycle.
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Biogeosciences, 14, 403–413, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-403-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-403-2017, 2017
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Philip B. Holden, Neil R. Edwards, Klaus Fraedrich, Edilbert Kirk, Frank Lunkeit, and Xiuhua Zhu
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 3347–3361, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-3347-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-3347-2016, 2016
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Frazer Matthews-Bird, Stephen J. Brooks, Philip B. Holden, Encarni Montoya, and William D. Gosling
Clim. Past, 12, 1263–1280, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1263-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1263-2016, 2016
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Chironomidae are a family of two-winged aquatic fly of the order Diptera. The family is species rich (> 5000 described species) and extremely sensitive to environmental change, particualy temperature. Across the Northern Hemisphere, chironomids have been widely used as paleotemperature proxies as the chitinous remains of the insect are readily preserved in lake sediments. This is the first study using chironomids as paleotemperature proxies in tropical South America.
Giang T. Tran, Kevin I. C. Oliver, András Sóbester, David J. J. Toal, Philip B. Holden, Robert Marsh, Peter Challenor, and Neil R. Edwards
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A. M. Foley, P. B. Holden, N. R. Edwards, J.-F. Mercure, P. Salas, H. Pollitt, and U. Chewpreecha
Earth Syst. Dynam., 7, 119–132, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-7-119-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-7-119-2016, 2016
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We introduce GENIEem-PLASIM-ENTSem (GPem), a climate-carbon cycle emulator, showing how model emulation can be used in integrated assessment modelling to resolve regional climate impacts and systematically capture uncertainty. In a case study, we couple GPem to FTT:Power-E3MG, a non-equilibrium economic model with technology diffusion. We find that when the electricity sector is decarbonised by 90 %, further emissions reductions must be achieved in other sectors to avoid dangerous climate change.
M.-A. Knietzsch, A. Schröder, V. Lucarini, and F. Lunkeit
Earth Syst. Dynam., 6, 591–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-6-591-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-6-591-2015, 2015
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A general circulation model with an aquaplanet setup is used to study the impact of changes in the oceanic heat transport (OHT) on the atmospheric circulation. The atmosphere counterbalances the imposed changes in OHT. A stronger OHT leads to a decline in the intensity and a poleward shift of the maxima of both the Hadley and Ferrel cells. The efficiency of the climate machine, the intensity of the Lorenz energy cycle and the material entropy production of the system decline with increased OHT.
P. B. Holden, N. R. Edwards, P. H. Garthwaite, K. Fraedrich, F. Lunkeit, E. Kirk, M. Labriet, A. Kanudia, and F. Babonneau
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 433–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-433-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-433-2014, 2014
M. Eby, A. J. Weaver, K. Alexander, K. Zickfeld, A. Abe-Ouchi, A. A. Cimatoribus, E. Crespin, S. S. Drijfhout, N. R. Edwards, A. V. Eliseev, G. Feulner, T. Fichefet, C. E. Forest, H. Goosse, P. B. Holden, F. Joos, M. Kawamiya, D. Kicklighter, H. Kienert, K. Matsumoto, I. I. Mokhov, E. Monier, S. M. Olsen, J. O. P. Pedersen, M. Perrette, G. Philippon-Berthier, A. Ridgwell, A. Schlosser, T. Schneider von Deimling, G. Shaffer, R. S. Smith, R. Spahni, A. P. Sokolov, M. Steinacher, K. Tachiiri, K. Tokos, M. Yoshimori, N. Zeng, and F. Zhao
Clim. Past, 9, 1111–1140, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1111-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1111-2013, 2013
P. B. Holden, N. R. Edwards, S. A. Müller, K. I. C. Oliver, R. M. Death, and A. Ridgwell
Biogeosciences, 10, 1815–1833, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1815-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1815-2013, 2013
F. Joos, R. Roth, J. S. Fuglestvedt, G. P. Peters, I. G. Enting, W. von Bloh, V. Brovkin, E. J. Burke, M. Eby, N. R. Edwards, T. Friedrich, T. L. Frölicher, P. R. Halloran, P. B. Holden, C. Jones, T. Kleinen, F. T. Mackenzie, K. Matsumoto, M. Meinshausen, G.-K. Plattner, A. Reisinger, J. Segschneider, G. Shaffer, M. Steinacher, K. Strassmann, K. Tanaka, A. Timmermann, and A. J. Weaver
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2793–2825, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2793-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-2793-2013, 2013
P. B. Holden, N. R. Edwards, D. Gerten, and S. Schaphoff
Biogeosciences, 10, 339–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-339-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-339-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Topics: Biogeochemical processes | Interactions: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions | Methods: Earth system and climate modeling
Carbon-climate feedback higher when assuming Michaelis-Menten kinetics of respiration
Combining local model calibration with the emergent constraint approach to reduce uncertainty in the tropical land carbon cycle feedback
Christian Beer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1504, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1504, 2024
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Fauna and flora respires carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a major carbon flux into the atmosphere. The underlying biochemical processes are complex, and we generalize them either assuming a first order chemical reaction of carbon and oxygen to carbon dioxide, or assuming enzymatic reactions. Here, we show that these assumptions lead to large differences in estimating the carbon-climate feedback until 2100 and the remaining carbon budget to keep warming below 2 degrees C.
Nina Raoult, Tim Jupp, Ben Booth, and Peter Cox
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 723–731, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-723-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-723-2023, 2023
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Climate models are used to predict the impact of climate change. However, poorly constrained parameters used in the physics of the models mean that we simulate a large spread of possible future outcomes. We can use real-world observations to reduce the uncertainty of parameter values, but we do not have observations to reduce the spread of possible future outcomes directly. We present a method for translating the reduction in parameter uncertainty into a reduction in possible model projections.
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Short summary
Phytoplankton are tiny oceanic algae able to absorb the light penetrating the ocean. The light absorbed by these organisms is re-emitted as heat in the surrounding environment, a process commonly called phytoplankton light absorption (PLA). As a consequence, PLA increases the oceanic temperature. We studied this mechanism with a climate model under different climate scenarios. We show that phytoplankton light absorption is reduced under strong warming scenarios, limiting oceanic warming.
Phytoplankton are tiny oceanic algae able to absorb the light penetrating the ocean. The light...
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