Atmospheric Lifetime of Fossil Fuel Carbon Dioxide
University of Chicago · University of Victoria · +5 more institutions
Abstract
CO 2 released from combustion of fossil fuels equilibrates among the various carbon reservoirs of the atmosphere, the ocean, and the terrestrial biosphere on timescales of a few centuries. However, a sizeable fraction of the CO 2 remains in the atmosphere, awaiting a return to the solid earth by much slower weathering processes and deposition of CaCO 3 . Common measures of the atmospheric lifetime of CO 2 , including the e-folding time scale, disregard the long tail. Its neglect in the calculation of global warming potentials leads many to underestimate the longevity of anthropogenic global warming. Here, we review the past literature on the atmospheric lifetime of fossil fuel CO 2 and its impact on climate,…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 32.44
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 81
Authors
11Topics & keywords
- Biosphere
- Atmosphere (unit)
- Environmental science
- Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere
- Fossil fuel
- Earth science
- Carbon dioxide
- Atmospheric sciences
- Life below water