As I mentioned in a previous post I am putting up some of my earlier work on feedback mechanisms by which the planet cools itself. This background will be useful in an upcoming post on planetary temperature regulation.
The potential role of peatland dynamics in ice-age initiation
by Lee F. Klinger, John A. Taylor, & Lars G. Franzen
Quaternary Research 45: 89-92 (1996)
Summary – Physical and chemical coupling of peatland vegetation, soils and landforms and atmosphere creates feedbacks which may be important in ice-age initiation. A box diffusion CO2 exchange model shows that a transient forcing of 500Gt C (the amount proposed to have accumulated in peatlands during the last interglacial-glacial transition) over 5000 yr results in a lowering of atmospheric CO2 by about 40 ppm. Proxy data indicate that a decrease in atmospheric CO2 may have occurred over the last 5000 years up to pre-industrial times, and the amount (~22 ppm lowering in 5000 yrs) is similar to that calculated from Holocene peatland expansion. These results suggest that models should consider the role of peatlands in ice-age initiation.
View the entire paper here.
In Fig. 2 (see below) we present evidence that prior to the industrial era atmospheric CO2 was undergoing a decline. We attribute the decline to large-scale landscape transformation involving the replacement of forests by peatlands. Peatlands store immense amounts of carbon and, as described in an earlier publication, are potentially powerful organs that help cool the planet.
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