5/20/2017 Carbondioxideconcentrationsurges:Recordgreenhousegaslevelsimpactatmosphereandoceans,WMOreportfindsScienceDaily

Yoursourceforthelatestresearchnews

ScienceNews fromresearchorganizations

Carbondioxideconcentrationsurges:Recordgreenhousegaslevelsimpactatmosphere
andoceans,WMOreportfinds
Date: September9,2014

Source: WorldMeteorologicalOrganization

Summary: Theamountofgreenhousegasesintheatmospherereachedanewrecordhighin2013,propelledbyasurgeinlevelsofcarbondioxide.
ThisisaccordingtotheWorldMeteorologicalOrganization'sannualGreenhouseGasBulletin,whichinjectedevengreaterurgencyinto
theneedforconcertedinternationalactionagainstacceleratingandpotentiallydevastatingclimatechange.

Share: abvegd
FULLSTORY

Earth(stockimage).

Credit:dell/Fotolia

Theamountofgreenhousegasesintheatmospherereachedanewrecordhighin2013,propelledbyasurgeinlevels
ofcarbondioxide.ThisisaccordingtotheWorldMeteorologicalOrganization'sannualGreenhouseGasBulletin,which
injectedevengreaterurgencyintotheneedforconcertedinternationalactionagainstacceleratingandpotentially
devastatingclimatechange.

TheGreenhouseGasBulletinshowedthatbetween1990and2013therewasa34%increaseinradiativeforcingthewarmingeffectonourclimate
becauseoflonglivedgreenhousegasessuchascarbondioxide(CO2),methaneandnitrousoxide.

In2013,concentrationofCO2intheatmospherewas142%ofthepreindustrialera(1750),andofmethaneandnitrousoxide253%and121%
respectively.

TheobservationsfromWMO'sGlobalAtmosphereWatch(GAW)networkshowedthatCO2levelsincreasedmorebetween2012and2013thanduring
anyotheryearsince1984.PreliminarydataindicatedthatthiswaspossiblyrelatedtoreducedCO2uptakebyEarth'sbiosphereinadditiontothe
steadilyincreasingCO2emissions.

TheWMOGreenhouseGasBulletinreportsonatmosphericconcentrationsandnotemissionsofgreenhousegases.Emissionsrepresentwhat
goesintotheatmosphere.Concentrationsrepresentwhatremainsintheatmosphereafterthecomplexsystemofinteractionsbetweentheatmosphere,
biosphereandtheoceans.Aboutaquarterofthetotalemissionsaretakenupbytheoceansandanotherquarterbythebiosphere,reducinginthisway
theamountofCO2intheatmosphere.

TheoceancushionstheincreaseinCO2thatwouldotherwiseoccurintheatmosphere,butwithfarreachingimpacts.Thecurrentrateofocean
acidificationappearsunprecedentedatleastoverthelast300millionyears,accordingtoananalysisinthereport.

"Weknowwithoutanydoubtthatourclimateischangingandourweatherisbecomingmoreextremeduetohumanactivitiessuchastheburningof
fossilfuels,"saidWMOSecretaryGeneralMichelJarraud.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140909121702.htm 1/4
5/20/2017 Carbondioxideconcentrationsurges:Recordgreenhousegaslevelsimpactatmosphereandoceans,WMOreportfindsScienceDaily
"TheGreenhouseGasBulletinshowsthat,farfromfalling,theconcentrationofcarbondioxideintheatmosphereactuallyincreasedlastyearatthe
fastestratefornearly30years.WemustreversethistrendbycuttingemissionsofCO2andothergreenhousegasesacrosstheboard,"hesaid."We
arerunningoutoftime."

"Carbondioxideremainsintheatmosphereformanyhundredsofyearsandintheoceanforevenlonger.Past,presentandfutureCO2emissionswill
haveacumulativeimpactonbothglobalwarmingandoceanacidification.Thelawsofphysicsarenonnegotiable,"saidMrJarraud.

"TheGreenhouseGasBulletinprovidesascientificbasefordecisionmaking.Wehavetheknowledgeandwehavethetoolsforactiontotrykeep
temperatureincreaseswithin2Ctogiveourplanetachanceandtogiveourchildrenandgrandchildrenafuture.Pleadingignorancecannolongerbe
anexcusefornotacting,"saidMrJarraud.

"TheinclusionofasectiononoceanacidificationinthisissueofWMO'sGreenhouseGasBulletinisappropriateandneeded.Itishightimetheocean,
astheprimarydriveroftheplanet'sclimateandattenuatorofclimatechange,becomesacentralpartofclimatechangediscussions,"saidWendy
WatsonWright,ExecutiveSecretaryoftheIntergovernmentalOceanographicCommissionofUNESCO.

"IfglobalwarmingisnotastrongenoughreasontocutCO2emissions,oceanacidificationshouldbe,sinceitseffectsarealreadybeingfeltandwill
increaseformanydecadestocome.IechoWMOSecretaryGeneralJarraud'sconcernweARErunningoutoftime,"shesaid.

AtmosphericConcentrations

Carbondioxideaccountedfor80%ofthe34%increaseinradiativeforcingbylonglivedgreenhousegasesfrom1990to2013,accordingtotheU.S.
NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA)AnnualGreenhouseGasIndex.

Ontheglobalscale,theamountofCO2intheatmospherereached396.0partspermillionin2013.TheatmosphericincreaseofCO2from2012to2013
was2.9partspermillion,whichisthelargestannualincreasefortheperiod19842013.ConcentrationsofCO2aresubjecttoseasonalandregional
fluctuations.Atthecurrentrateofincrease,theglobalannualaverageCO2concentrationissettocrossthesymbolic400partspermillionthresholdin
2015or2016.

Methaneisthesecondmostimportantlonglivedgreenhousegas.Approximately40%ofmethaneisemittedintotheatmospherebynaturalsources
(e.g.,wetlandsandtermites),andabout60%comesfromhumanactivitieslikecattlebreeding,riceagriculture,fossilfuelexploitation,landfillsand
biomassburning.Atmosphericmethanereachedanewhighofabout1824partsperbillion(ppb)in2013,duetoincreasedemissionsfrom
anthropogenicsources.Since2007,atmosphericmethanehasbeenincreasingagainafteratemporaryperiodoflevelingoff.

Nitrousoxide(N2O)

Nitrousoxideisemittedintotheatmospherefrombothnatural(about60%)andanthropogenicsources(approximately40%),includingoceans,soil,
biomassburning,fertilizeruse,andvariousindustrialprocesses.Itsatmosphericconcentrationin2013wasabout325.9partsperbillion.Itsimpacton
climate,overa100yearperiod,is298timesgreaterthanequalemissionsofcarbondioxide.Italsoplaysanimportantroleinthedestructionofthe
stratosphericozonelayerwhichprotectsusfromtheharmfulultravioletraysofthesun.

OceanAcidification

Forthefirsttime,thisBulletincontainsasectiononoceanacidificationpreparedincollaborationwiththeInternationalOceanCarbonCoordination
Project(IOCCP)oftheIntergovernmentalOceanographicCommissionofUNESCO(IOCUNESCO),theScientificCommitteeonOceanicResearch
(SCOR),andtheOceanAcidificationInternationalCoordinationCentre(OAICC)oftheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA).

TheoceancurrentlyabsorbsonefourthofanthropogenicCO2emissions,reducingtheincreaseinatmosphericCO2thatwouldotherwiseoccur
becauseoffossilfuelcombustion.EnhancedoceanCO2uptakealtersthemarinecarbonatesystemandleadtoincreasingacidity.Theocean'sacidity
increaseisalreadymeasurableasoceanstakeupabout4kilogrammesofCO2perdayperperson.

Thecurrentrateofoceanacidificationappearsunprecedentedatleastoverthelast300millionyears,basedonproxydatafrompaleoarchives.Inthe
future,acidificationwillcontinuetoaccelerateatleastuntilmidcentury,basedonprojectionsfromEarthsystemmodels.

Thepotentialconsequencesofoceanacidificationonmarineorganismsarecomplex.Amajorconcernistheresponseofcalcifyingorganisms,suchas
corals,algae,mollusksandsomeplankton,becausetheirabilitytobuildshellorskeletalmaterial(viacalcification)dependsontheabundanceof
carbonateion.Formanyorganisms,calcificationdeclineswithincreasedacidification.Otherimpactsofacidificationincludereducedsurvival,
development,andgrowthratesaswellaschangesinphysiologicalfunctionsandreducedbiodiversity.

TheWMOGlobalAtmosphereWatchProgramme(www.wmo.int/gaw)coordinatessystematicobservationsandanalysisofgreenhousegasesandother
tracespecies.FiftycountriescontributeddatafortheGreenhouseGasBulletin.Measurementdataarereportedbyparticipatingcountriesandarchived
anddistributedbytheWorldDataCentreforGreenhouseGases(WDCGG)attheJapanMeteorologicalAgency.(http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/gmd/wdcgg)

ThesummaryonoceanacidificationwasjointlyproducedbytheInternationalOceanCarbonCoordinationProject(IOCCP)oftheIntergovernmental
OceanographicCommissionofUNESCO(IOCUNESCO),theScientificCommitteeonOceanicResearch(SCOR),andtheOceanAcidification
InternationalCoordinationCentre(OAICC)oftheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA).

StorySource:

MaterialsprovidedbyWorldMeteorologicalOrganization.Note:Contentmaybeeditedforstyleandlength.

CiteThisPage:
MLA APA Chicago

WorldMeteorologicalOrganization."Carbondioxideconcentrationsurges:Recordgreenhousegaslevelsimpactatmosphereandoceans,WMOreport
finds."ScienceDaily.ScienceDaily,9September2014.<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140909121702.htm>.

FreeSubscriptions

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140909121702.htm 2/4
5/20/2017 Carbondioxideconcentrationsurges:Recordgreenhousegaslevelsimpactatmosphereandoceans,WMOreportfindsScienceDaily
GetthelatestsciencenewswithScienceDaily'sfreeemailnewsletters,updateddailyandweekly.OrviewhourlyupdatednewsfeedsinyourRSS
reader:

EmailNewsletters

RSSFeeds

FollowUs

KeepuptodatewiththelatestnewsfromScienceDailyviasocialnetworks:

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

LinkedIn

MobileApps

GetthelatestnewsfromScienceDailyviaourfreemobileapps,availablefordownloadonthefollowingplatforms:

iPhone/iPad

Android

HaveFeedback?

TelluswhatyouthinkofScienceDailywewelcomebothpositiveandnegativecomments.Haveanyproblemsusingthesite?Questions?

LeaveFeedback

ContactUs

AboutThisSite|EditorialStaff|Awards&Reviews|Contribute|Advertise|PrivacyPolicy|TermsofUse

Copyright2017ScienceDailyorbythirdparties,whereindicated.Allrightscontrolledbytheirrespectiveowners.
Contentonthiswebsiteisforinformationonly.Itisnotintendedtoprovidemedicalorotherprofessionaladvice.
ViewsexpressedheredonotnecessarilyreflectthoseofScienceDaily,itsstaff,itscontributors,oritspartners.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140909121702.htm 3/4
5/20/2017 Carbondioxideconcentrationsurges:Recordgreenhousegaslevelsimpactatmosphereandoceans,WMOreportfindsScienceDaily

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140909121702.htm 4/4