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Future of the North American Carbon CycleRising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, primarily due to fossil fuel emissions and land-use change, are expected to continue to drive changes in both climate and the terrestrial and ocean carbon cycles. Over the past two-to-three decades, there has been considerable effort to understand how terrestrial and oceanic systems behave (in response to rising atmospheric CO2 and changing climate conditions), quantify the dynamics of system responses to environmental change, and project how the ocean and terrestrial carbon cycle will interact with, and influence, future atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate. In this presentation, we will summarize key findings related to projected changes to the North American carbon cycle and drivers and associated consequences of these changes, as reported in Chapter 19 of the Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2). The findings not only capture projections of emissions from fossil fuel and changes in land cover and land use, but also highlight the decline in future carbon uptake capacity of North American carbon reservoirs and soil carbon losses from the Northern high-latitudes. Such a discussion of future carbon cycle changes is new in SOCCR-2, yet timely. It underlines the progress made since the release of the First State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-1) in 2007 in identifying the vulnerability of key carbon pools and their co-evolution with changing climatic conditions. We will also discuss key knowledge gaps and outline a set of future research priorities, including both monitoring and modeling activities, that are necessary to improve projections of future changes to the North American carbon cycle and associated adaptation and resource-management decisions.
Document ID
20180008785
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Chatterjee, A.
(Universities Space Research Association (USRA) Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Huntzinger, D. N.
(University of Northern Arizona Flagstaff, AZ, United States)
Date Acquired
December 27, 2018
Publication Date
December 11, 2018
Publication Information
Publication: State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2): A Sustained Assessment Report
Publisher: U.S. Global Change Research Program
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN64199
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (AGU 2018)
Location: Washington, D.C.
Country: United States
Start Date: December 10, 2018
End Date: December 14, 2018
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11HP16A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Use by or on behalf of the US Gov. Permitted.
Keywords
North America
Carbon Cycle
SOCCR-1
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