Airborne fraction

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The airborne fraction is a scaling factor defined as the ratio of the annual increase in atmospheric CO2 to the CO2 emissions from anthropogenic sources [1]. The fraction averages about 50-60%, meaning that approximately half the human-emitted CO2 is rapidly absorbed by ocean and land surfaces. There is some evidence for a recent increase in airborne fraction [2], which would imply a faster increase in atmospheric CO2 for a given rate of human fossil-fuel burning.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Forster, P, V Ramaswamy, P Artaxo, et al. (2007) Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S. et al. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK & New York, USA.[1]
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