Environmental Engineering Reference
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the Stefan-Boltzmann relationship (which we investigated earlier).
Figure 10.3
shows the
atmospheric concentration of CO
2
since 1830.
Figure 10.3
Trends in atmospheric CO
2
since 1830 based on Law Dome ice core and Mauna Loa observational data
ThereisaveryimportantArcticconnectiontothecarboncycle.Theonlypartoftheworld's
oceans that can take up atmospheric CO
2
is the wind-mixed surface layer. The ocean is
highly stratified, meaning that changes in seawater density with depth caused by differen-
cesinwater salinity andtemperature act asbarriers tovertical water movement. Thewayto
force vertical movement is to create conditions that lead to large increases in water density
by elevating salinity and/or decreased temperature. Almost all the deep water in the world's
oceans is produced in only two regions of the world where these conditions exist. They
are the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean (Greenland-Norwegian Sea, Labrador Sea) and around
Antarctica (Weddell Sea, Ross Sea). A review by Stefan Rahmstorf in 2006 has calculated
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