8
Fundamentals of Global Carbon
Budgets and Climate Change
Abstract
Global climate grid.9983.b change and GHG emissions are essential topics for
understanding physical processes ongoing in the atmospheric boundary layer,
within a control volume extending from the top ground to the troposphere. This
chapter aimed therefore to deliver a qualitative and quantitative approach to climate
change processes and carbon balance components. This approach is facilitated by
the grounding on fundamentals of atmosphere and microclimate dynamics, such as
the radiation windowing, spectral turbulence, and heat transfer processes,
previously discussed. The first question addressed was the quantification over
the last decades of the main components of the global carbon budgets including
fossil fuel emissions, land-use change, carbon uptake by land, and oceans or CO 2
atmospheric concentration. The climate change predictive scenarios of IPCC are
described, mainly focusing on the interactions among atmospheric carbon, carbon
sequestration, environmental temperature, and precipitation. Also discussed is the
occurrence of extreme events, such as heatwaves and precipitation episodes. This
discussion reports modeling results in the literature characterizing essential
parameters of extreme events such as duration, peaking, and returning periods in
the context of natural and/or anthropogenic driving. Finally, some elaboration is
given to biochar as a promising technology for carbon sequestration and mitigation
of carbon emissions.
8.1 Introduction
Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), steadily increasing since the Industrial
Revolution, have been the main driver of global atmospheric warming and climate
change. Climate change is a global reality, and environmental heating is
unequivocal since the 1950s and many of the observed changes are unprecedented
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Rodrigues et al., Fundamental Principles of Environmental Physics,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69025-0_8
267
Fundamentals of Global Carbon
Budgets and Climate Change
Abstract
Global climate grid.9983.b change and GHG emissions are essential topics for
understanding physical processes ongoing in the atmospheric boundary layer,
within a control volume extending from the top ground to the troposphere. This
chapter aimed therefore to deliver a qualitative and quantitative approach to climate
change processes and carbon balance components. This approach is facilitated by
the grounding on fundamentals of atmosphere and microclimate dynamics, such as
the radiation windowing, spectral turbulence, and heat transfer processes,
previously discussed. The first question addressed was the quantification over
the last decades of the main components of the global carbon budgets including
fossil fuel emissions, land-use change, carbon uptake by land, and oceans or CO 2
atmospheric concentration. The climate change predictive scenarios of IPCC are
described, mainly focusing on the interactions among atmospheric carbon, carbon
sequestration, environmental temperature, and precipitation. Also discussed is the
occurrence of extreme events, such as heatwaves and precipitation episodes. This
discussion reports modeling results in the literature characterizing essential
parameters of extreme events such as duration, peaking, and returning periods in
the context of natural and/or anthropogenic driving. Finally, some elaboration is
given to biochar as a promising technology for carbon sequestration and mitigation
of carbon emissions.
8.1 Introduction
Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), steadily increasing since the Industrial
Revolution, have been the main driver of global atmospheric warming and climate
change. Climate change is a global reality, and environmental heating is
unequivocal since the 1950s and many of the observed changes are unprecedented
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
A. Rodrigues et al., Fundamental Principles of Environmental Physics,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69025-0_8
267