“The Ocean and Atmospheric CO2” with Jerry McManus
Originally presented on 14 Oct 2017
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/abrupt-climate-change/Glacial-Interglacial%20Cycles
The global ocean holds fifty times more CO2 than the atmosphere, and the two exchange carbon readily at the sea surface. Consequently, the ocean is largely responsible for natural variations in atmospheric CO2. The dramatic ice age cycles of the Pleistocene were associated with CO2 changes that were smaller than the increase observed in the last century. This workshop will focus on understanding how those past changes occurred, and also on the consequences of the ongoing oceanic uptake of the ongoing increase in atmospheric CO2 driven by human activity, including ocean acidification, along with partial amelioration of global warming.
Dr. McManus plans a two-part presentation. First, he will share research about “The Ocean and Atmospheric CO2: Natural Variability in the Past.” He will explore the strong connections between ocean and atmosphere, the fact that the ocean dominates the exchangeable CO2 budget, including the terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere, and describe how ocean biology and ocean physics have interacted to set the level of atmospheric CO2, best known across ice age cycles.
Then Dr. McManus will consider “The Ocean and Atmospheric CO2: Ongoing Changes.” Here, he will describe how the ocean is taking up CO2 (and heat) today, reducing the rate of increase in the atmosphere. This will include a discussion about the basic chemistry of the ocean, the consequences of the ongoing invasion of atmospheric CO2, particularly ocean acidification, and how and why that influences calcifying organisms in the sea.
Dr. Jerry McManus holds the title of Professor in Geochemistry in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Last year, together with Gisela Winckler and Allison Jacobel, he presented an E2C Workshop that explored “What Can Dust Reveal about Past Climates?” In addition to Dr. McManus’ research at Lamont that has led to many discoveries about paleoclimatology, he has also mentored many young scientists at the undergraduate and graduate level.
Here are links to a couple of videos describing his accomplishments:
“Ocean Circulation Implicated in Past Abrupt Climate Changes”
“With Climate, Fertilizing Oceans May Be a Zero-Sum Game”
INTRODUCTORY SLIDESHOW PDF FORMAT PPT FORMAT
Related Earth2Class Workshops
Taro Takahashi (Oct 2008) “Foundation of Carbon Cycle Science: What We Know and What We Don’t Know”
Taro Takahashi (Mar 2015) “Ocean Acidification and Its Effect on Marine Life”
https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Surface+CO2+Flux+maps
Selected research about this topic
Sigman & Boyle “Glacial/Interglacial variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide”
Sigman et al “The polar ocean and glacial cycles in atmospheric CO2 concentration”
Doney & Fabry “Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem”
Fabry & Doney “Ocean Acidification”
The Keeling Curve “How Do CO2 Levels Relate to Ice Ages and Sea Level?”
“Comparison of Atmospheric Temperature with CO2 Over The Last 400,000 Years”
NOAA NCEI “Glacial-Interglacial Cycles”
“State of Climate: Other Indicators”
Selected Learning Activities
“Ocean Acidification” (NOAA)
https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/Assets/Nemo/documents/lessons/Lesson_3/Lesson_3-Teacher%27s_Guide.pdf
“Ocean Acidification in a Cup” (Exploratorium)
https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/ocean-acidification-in-cup
“Hands-on Experiments about Ocean Acidification” (European Project OCean Acidification)
http://www.epoca-project.eu/index.php/what-do-we-do/education/educational-activities/hands-onexperiments.html
“Ocean Acidification Activities (Washington State Sea Grant)
https://wsg.washington.edu/students-teachers/k-12-activities/oa/
“How Has Carbon Dioxide Concentration Changes Since the Industrial Revolution?”
http://www.ces.fau.edu/nasa/module-4/investigation-2.php
EXAMINE THE ACCOMPANYING ACTIVITIES PROVIDED THROUGH ST THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE
GED 7201 “FACILITATING STATE STANDARDS”
