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The Potential Role of Peatland Dynamics in Ice-Age Initiation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lee F. Klinger ,
John A. Taylor  and
Lars G. Franzen
Lee F. Klinger
Affiliation:
The National Center for Atmospheric Research, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado, 80307
John A. Taylor
Affiliation:
Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Lars G. Franzen
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, Göteborg University, Reutersgatan 2C, S-413 20, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Abstract

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 500 Gt 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 yr up to preindustrial times, and the amount is similar to that calculated from Holocene peatland expansion (∼22 ppm). These results suggest that models should consider the role of peatlands in ice-age initiation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , January 1996 , pp. 89 - 92
Copyright
University of Washington

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