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Cited by 784Atmospheric and Environmental Gas DynamicsClimate variability and modelsMarine Plankton and Biogeochemistry

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Increase in observed net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans during the past 50 years

Ballantyne, A. P., Alden, C. B., Miller, J. B., Tans, P. P., White, J. W. C.·2012·Nature
DOI 10.1038/nature11299
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Abstract

One of the greatest sources of uncertainty for future climate predictions is the response of the global carbon cycle to climate change. Although approximately one-half of total CO(2) emissions is at present taken up by combined land and ocean carbon reservoirs, models predict a decline in future carbon uptake by these reservoirs, resulting in a positive carbon-climate feedback. Several recent studies suggest that rates of carbon uptake by the land and ocean have remained constant or declined in recent decades. Other work, however, has called into question the reported decline. Here we use global-scale atmospheric CO(2) measurements, CO(2) emission inventories and their full range of uncertainties to calculate changes in global CO(2) sources and sinks during the past 50 years. Our mass balance analysis shows that net global carbon uptake has increased significantly by about 0.05 billion tonnes of carbon per year and that global carbon uptake doubled, from 2.4 ± 0.8 to 5.0 ± 0.9 billion tonnes per year, between 1960 and 2010. Therefore, it is very unlikely that both land and ocean carbon sinks have decreased on a global scale. Since 1959, approximately 350 billion tonnes of carbon have been emitted by humans to the atmosphere, of which about 55 per cent has moved into the land and oceans. Thus, identifying the mechanisms and locations responsible for increasing global carbon uptake remains a critical challenge in constraining the modern global carbon budget and predicting future carbon-climate interactions.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nature11299

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  1. BP. Statistical Review of World Energy http://www.bp.com/sectionbodycopy.do? categoryId = 7500&contentId = 7068481 (2011)

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Metadata

Authors
Ballantyne, A. P., Alden, C. B., Miller, J. B., Tans, P. P., & White, J. W. C.
Affiliations
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
  • Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (US)
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
Corresponding author
Ballantyne, A. P.
ORCID
Venue
Nature
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2012-08
Volume
488
Issue
7409
Pages
70-72
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
DOI
10.1038/nature11299
OpenAlex
W2001507362
Cited by
784
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 28 · 2025: 53 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 89 · 2022: 78 · 2021: 93 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 42 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 53 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 5
FWCI
39.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Plankton and Biogeochemistry
Keywords
terrestrial carbon sink, ocean carbon sink, carbon cycle, anthropogenic CO2 emissions, carbon-climate feedback, ocean carbon uptake, land carbon uptake, atmospheric CO2 observations, emission inventory, ocean acidification, ocean deoxygenation, ocean warming, ocean heat content
MeSH terms
Atmosphere, Carbon, Carbon Dioxide, Human Activities, Models, Theoretical, Oceans and Seas, Seawater, Time Factors, Uncertainty, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century, Climate Change, Carbon Sequestration

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