Lectures at Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing, Spring 2008
Carbon Cycle and Climate
MWF 9-11:30 Room: IAP Conference Room
101 Instructor: Prof. Ning Zeng Course
web: http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~zeng/IAP07
Outline
This course introduces the fundamentals of the Earth's carbon cycle, a
key biogeochemical cycle that controls Earth's climate and life.
The course will focus on the changing characteristics of the carbon
cycle on several timescales, ranging from geological,
glacial-interglacial, interannual-interdecadal, and the more recent
anthropogenic influence on carbon cycle and climate, as well as the
future carbon-climate interaction in global warming scenarios. The
carbon cycle in the atmosphere, land, ocean and the biosphere will be
addressed. The underlying human activities such as fossil fuel
burning and deforestation that are responsible for the increase
in the atmosphere CO2 and our future options in dealing with the carbon
problem such as alternative energy and carbon sequestration will also
be discussed.
Sample questions we will examine include:
How and why is CO2 variability related to El Nino?
The 'missing' carbon sink, i.e., where has all the fossil fuel carbon
gone?
How true is the CO2 theory of climate change?
How strong is carbon-climate feedback in a global warming world?
Syllabus
1. Climate change: the challenge to China and the world
2. Fundamentals
Overview
Historical background
The natural carbon cycle
The anthropogenically altered carbon cycle
3. Processes underlying the natural carbon cycle
Ocean
Land
Atmosphere
Seasonal cycles
4. Sources and sinks of anthropogenic carbon
Fossil fuel emission
Land Use: deforestation and regrowth
The 'missing' carbon sink on land
Sinks in the ocean and a lot more
5. Interannual variability of the carbon cycle
ENSO
Drought
Disturbances such as fire
6. Variability on decadal and multidecadal timescales
Related to modes of climate variability
Recent warming induced changes, espeicially in the
arctic region
7. Carbon variability on geological timescales
Holocene
Glacial-interglacial cycles
Last 500 M years and beyond
8. What's happening to the carbon cycle now and future projections
Recent changes
Projections
Integrated assessment
Carbon-climate feedbacks
9. Carbon management, energy use and options for the future
Rnewable energy resources
Carbon sequestration
Geoengineering
Grading
Method
Students will be evaluated based on attendence, in-class quiz, 1
reading/presentation
Reference books (no
required text book)
The Global Carbon Cycle: Integrating Humans, Climate, and
the Natural World
(Good summaries of current research)
C. B. Field and M. R. Raupach (editors); Island Press, 2004. ISBN
1559635274
Earth System Science: From Biogeochemical Cycles to Global Changes
(Concepts (chapter by Rodhe), and specific
topics)
by Michael Jacobson, Robert J. Charlson, Henning Rodhe, Gordon H. Orians
Academic Press; 1st edition (February 15, 2000) ISBN: 012379370X
Biogeochemistry
(Good as
basic reading for Chapter 2)
W.H. Schlesinger
Academic Press, ISBN 0-12-625155-X | 2/20/1997
Biogeochemistry
(Required
reading: summaries on geological (Sundquist) and modern (Houghton)
carbon cycle)
W.H. Schlesinger (Editor)
Academic Press,
ISBN 0-08-044642-6 | 6/8/2005
Earth's Climate: Past and Future
William Ruddiman
Instructor:
Prof. Ning Zeng
Email: zeng@atmos.umd.edu
http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~zeng/
Office Hour
After class or by appointment
Student projects from the class of spring
2006