Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean

Type Article
Date 2013-08
Language English
Author(s) Regnier Pierre1, Friedlingstein Pierre2, Ciais Philippe3, Mackenzie Fred T.4, Gruber Nicolas5, Janssens Ivan A.6, Laruelle Goulven G.1, Lauerwald Ronny1, 7, Luyssaert Sebastiaan3, Andersson Andreas J.8, Arndt Sandra9, Arnosti Carol10, Borges Alberto V.11, Dale Andrew W.12, Gallego-Sala Angela13, Godderis Yves14, Goossens Nicolas1, Hartmann Jens7, Heinze Christoph15, 16, 17, Ilyina Tatiana18, Joos Fortunat19, 20, Larowe Douglas E.21, Leifeld Jens22, Meysman Filip J. R.23, 24, Munhoven Guy25, Raymond Peter A.26, Spahni Renato19, 20, Suntharalingam Parvadha27, Thullner Martin28
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Libre Brussels, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
2 : Univ Exeter, Coll Engn Math & Phys Sci, Exeter EX4 4QF, Devon, England.
3 : Lab Sci Climat & Environnement, F-91190 Gif Sur Yvette, France.
4 : Univ Hawaii Manoa, Sch Ocean & Earth Sci & Technol, Dept Oceanog, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA.
5 : Swiss Fed Inst Technol, Dept Environm Sci, Inst Biogeochem & Pollutant Dynam, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
6 : Univ Antwerp, Dept Biol, B-2160 Antwerp, Belgium.
7 : Inst Biogeochem & Marine Chem, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany.
8 : Univ Calif San Diego, Scripps Inst Oceanog, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA.
9 : Univ Bristol, Sch Geog Sci, Bristol BS8 1SS, Avon, England.
10 : Univ N Carolina, Dept Marine Sci, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA.
11 : Univ Liege, Chem Oceanog Unit, Inst Phys B5, B-4000 Liege, Belgium.
12 : GEOMAR Helmholtz Zentrum Ozeanforsch Kiel, D-24148 Kiel, Germany.
13 : Univ Exeter, Dept Geog, Exeter EX4 4RJ, Devon, England.
14 : Univ Toulouse 3, Observ Midipyrenees, CNRS, Geosci Environm Toulouse, F-31400 Toulouse, France.
15 : Univ Bergen, Inst Geophys, N-5007 Bergen, Norway.
16 : Bjerknes Ctr Climate Res, N-5007 Bergen, Norway.
17 : Uni Res, Uni Bjerknes Ctr, N-5007 Bergen, Norway.
18 : Max Planck Inst Meteorol, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany.
19 : Univ Bern, Inst Phys, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
20 : Univ Bern, Oeschger Ctr Climate Change Res, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
21 : Univ So Calif, Dept Earth Sci, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA.
22 : Agroscope Res Stn ART, CH-8046 Zurich, Switzerland.
23 : Royal Netherlands Inst Sea Res, NL-4401 NT Yerseke, Netherlands.
24 : Vrije Univ Brussel, Dept Analyt & Environm Chem, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
25 : Univ Liege, Lab Phys Atmospher & Planetaire, B-4000 Liege, Belgium.
26 : Yale Sch Forestry & Environm Studies, New Haven, CT 06511 USA.
27 : Univ E Anglia, Sch Environm Sci, Norwich NR4 7TJ, Norfolk, England.
28 : Helmholtz Ctr Environm Res, Dept Environm Microbiol, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany.
Source Nature Geoscience (1752-0894) (Nature Publishing Group), 2013-08 , Vol. 6 , N. 8 , P. 597-607
DOI 10.1038/NGEO1830
WOS© Times Cited 842
Abstract A substantial amount of the atmospheric carbon taken up on land through photosynthesis and chemical weathering is transported laterally along the aquatic continuum from upland terrestrial ecosystems to the ocean. So far, global carbon budget estimates have implicitly assumed that the transformation and lateral transport of carbon along this aquatic continuum has remained unchanged since pre-industrial times. A synthesis of published work reveals the magnitude of present-day lateral carbon fluxes from land to ocean, and the extent to which human activities have altered these fluxes. We show that anthropogenic perturbation may have increased the flux of carbon to inland waters by as much as 1.0 Pg C yr(-1) since pre-industrial times, mainly owing to enhanced carbon export from soils. Most of this additional carbon input to upstream rivers is either emitted back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (similar to 0.4 Pg C yr(-1)) or sequestered in sediments (similar to 0.5 Pg C yr(-1)) along the continuum of freshwater bodies, estuaries and coastal waters, leaving only a perturbation carbon input of similar to 0.1 Pg C yr(-1) to the open ocean. According to our analysis, terrestrial ecosystems store similar to 0.9 Pg C yr(-1) at present, which is in agreement with results from forest inventories but significantly differs from the figure of 1.5 Pg C yr(-1) previously estimated when ignoring changes in lateral carbon fluxes. We suggest that carbon fluxes along the land-ocean aquatic continuum need to be included in global carbon dioxide budgets.
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Regnier Pierre, Friedlingstein Pierre, Ciais Philippe, Mackenzie Fred T., Gruber Nicolas, Janssens Ivan A., Laruelle Goulven G., Lauerwald Ronny, Luyssaert Sebastiaan, Andersson Andreas J., Arndt Sandra, Arnosti Carol, Borges Alberto V., Dale Andrew W., Gallego-Sala Angela, Godderis Yves, Goossens Nicolas, Hartmann Jens, Heinze Christoph, Ilyina Tatiana, Joos Fortunat, Larowe Douglas E., Leifeld Jens, Meysman Filip J. R., Munhoven Guy, Raymond Peter A., Spahni Renato, Suntharalingam Parvadha, Thullner Martin (2013). Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean. Nature Geoscience, 6(8), 597-607. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1830 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00264/37508/