The Global Carbon Cycle: Integrating Humans, Climate, and the Natural World (Volume 62) (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) Series)

This work is an assessment of the state of current knowledge of the carbon cycle by a group of leading experts. It gives an introductory overview of the carbon cycle and covers both biophysical and human aspects of the cycle. The Global Carbon Cycle : Integrating Humans, Climate, And The Natural World / Christopher B. Field, Michael R. Raupach And Reynaldo Victoria -- Current Status And Past Trends Of The Global Carbon Cycle / Christopher L. Sabine [and Others] -- The Vulnerability Of The Carbon Cycle In The 21st Century : An Assessment Of Carbon-climate-human Interactions / Nicolas Gruber [and Others] -- Scenarios, Targets, Gaps, And Costs / Jae Edmonds [and Others] -- A Portfolio Of Carbon Management Options / Ken Caldeira [and Others] -- Interactions Between Co2 Stabilization Pathways And Requirements For A Sustainable Earth System / Michael R. Raupach [and Others] -- A Paleo-perspective On Changes In Atmospheric Co2 And Climate / Fortunat Joos And I. Colin Prentice -- Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Sources And Sinks Of Carbon Dioxide / Martin Heimann, Christian Rödenbeck And Manuel Gloor -- Non-co2 Greenhouse Gases / Ronald G. Prinn -- Climate-carbon Cycle Interactions / Pierre Friedlingstein -- Socioeconomic Driving Forces Of Emissions Scenarios / Nebojsa Nakicenovic -- Natural Processes Regulating The Ocean Uptake Of Co2 / Corinne Le Quéré And Nicolas Metzl -- Variability And Climate Feedback Mechanisms In Ocean Uptake Of Co2 / Jeffery B. Greenblatt And Jorge L. Sarmiento -- A Primer On The Terrestrial Carbon Cycle : What We Don't Know But Should / Jonathan A. Foley And Navin Ramankutty -- Geographic And Temporal Variation Of Carbon Exchange By Ecosystems And Their Sensitivity To Environmental Perturbations / Dennis Baldocchi And Riccardo Valentini -- Current Consequences Of Past Actions : How To Separate Direct From Indirect / Gert-jan Nabuurs -- Pathways Of Atmospheric Co2 Through Fluvial Systems / Jeffrey E. Richey -- Exchanges Of Carbon In The Coastal Seas / Chen-tung Arthur Chen -- Pathways Of Regional Development And The Carbon Cycle / Patricia Romero Lankao -- Social Change And Co2 Stabilization : Moving Away From Carbon Cultures / Louis Lebel -- Carbon Transport Through International Commerce / Jeff Tschirley And Géraud Servin -- Near- And Long-term Climate Change Mitigation Potential / Jayant A. Sathaye -- Unanticipated Consequences : Thinking About Ancillary Benefits And Costs Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigation / Jae Edmonds -- International Policy Framework On Climate Change : Sinks In Recent International Agreements / Maria José Sanz, Ernst-detlef Schulze, And Riccardo Valentini -- A Multi-gas Approach To Climate Policy / Alan S. Manne And Richard G. Richels -- Storage Of Carbon Dioxide By Greening The Oceans? / Dorothee C.e. Bakker -- Direct Injection Of Co2 In The Ocean / Peter Smith -- Abatement Of Nitrous Oxide, Methane, And The Other Non-co2 Greenhouse Gases : The Need For A Systems Approach / G. Philip Robertson. Edited By Christopher B. Field And Michael R. Raupach. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. While a number of gases are implicated in global warming, carbon dioxide is the most important contributor, and in one sense the entire phenomena can be seen as a human-induced perturbation of the carbon cycle. The Global Carbon Cycle offers a scientific assessment of the state of current knowledge of the carbon cycle by the world's leading scientists sponsored by SCOPE and the Global Carbon Project, and other international partners. It gives an introductory over-view of the carbon cycle, with multidisciplinary contributions covering biological, physical, and social science aspects. Included are 29 chapters covering topics including: an assessment of carbon-climate-human interactions; a portfolio of carbon management options; spatial and temporal distribution of sources and sinks of carbon dioxide; socio-economic driving forces of emissions scenarios. Throughout, contributors emphasize that all parts of the carbon cycle are interrelated, and only by developing a framework that considers the full set of feedbacks will we be able to achieve a thorough understanding and develop effective management strategies. The Global Carbon Cycle edited by Christopher B. Field and Michael R. Raupach is part of the Rapid Assessment Publication series produced by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), in an effort to quickly disseminate the collective knowledge of the world's leading experts on topics of pressing environmental concern.

Field (director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, US) and Raupach (chief research scientist, CSIRO Land and Water Landscape Systems Research Directorate, Australia) present a multidisciplinary exploration of recent research into the global carbon cycle, hoping to advance understanding of its role in climate change. Part of an ongoing project of the Scientific committee on Problems of the Environment, the text is predicated on the notion that the carbon cycle, the climate, and humans work together as a single system. After first exploring cross- cutting overarching issues, the papers synthesize the research on the carbon cycles of the oceans, the land, and land-ocean margins. They also discuss the role of humans in the carbon cycle and examine issues of carbon management. Annotation © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

It has been more than a century since Arrhenius (1896) first concluded that continued emissions of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels could lead to a warmer climate.