DIYbanter - View Single Post - Global Warming

D Smith

(Doug Miller) writes:

In article , D Smith wrote:

2) the rate of atmospheric CO2 increase is about half the rate of
release from fossil fuels. Thus, increased uptake from the biosphere or
oceans is NOT succeeding in removing all the extra CO2.

It would be more accurate to say that it has not succeeded in doing so to
date.

What happens if the ratio gets smaller with time? So that a larger
proportion stays in the atmosphere? Uncertainty cuts both ways.

Clearly, any increase in plant growth in response to increased
atmospheric CO2 would not be an instantaneous response; IOW, plant growth, and
the attendant removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, should be expected to lag
the increase in CO2 levels -- probably by many years:

Why? Chamber experiments with increased CO2 levels don't seem to need
to be run for years before showing results - the plants show increased
growth rates quite quickly. Where do you get the "many years" number from?

it takes a while to grow
a tree, you know.

...only when you are looking at the time it takes to reach full
growth. It's growing ALL of that time, and it's during the growth stages
that it acts as a carbon sink, not when it reaches maturity and growth
stagnates.

I'm not concerned that it hasn't happened yet; I would not
have expected it to.

How long do you think it will take? The biologists and foresters that
look at the details of plant and tree growth don't seem to share your
optimism. They worry that current sinks might reach a limit on how much
additional CO2 plants can take in. After all, there are other limiting
factors on plant growth - moisture, nutrients, etc.