Atmospheric gas concentrations over the past century measured in air from firn at the South Pole

The extraction and analysis of air from the snowpack (firn) at the South Pole provides atmospheric concentration histories of biogenic greenhouse gases since the beginning of the present century which confirm and expand on those derived from studies of air trapped in ice cores. Furthermore, calculat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1996-09, Vol.383 (6597), p.231-235
Main Authors: Battle, M., Bender, M., Sowers, T., Tans, P. P., Butler, J. H., Elkins, J. W., Ellis, J. T., Conway, T., Zhang, N., Lang, P., Clarket, A. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Geochronology
Humanities and Social Sciences
Isotope geochemistry. Geochronology
Marine and continental quaternary
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Surficial geology
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Summary:The extraction and analysis of air from the snowpack (firn) at the South Pole provides atmospheric concentration histories of biogenic greenhouse gases since the beginning of the present century which confirm and expand on those derived from studies of air trapped in ice cores. Furthermore, calculations based on the inferred atmospheric concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide indicate that–in contrast to the past few years—the terrestrial biosphere was neither a source nor sink of C0 2 between ˜1977 and 1985.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/383231a0