Review of the Draft Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2) (2018) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Comments on the Executive Summary
Comments on the Executive Summary
Pages 15-24
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
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From page 15... ...
Does improved understanding mean improved accuracy, or new mechanisms, or something else? The Committee suggests providing quantitative information, including uncertainties, where possible.
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From page 16... ...
While of course hard choices must be made regarding what is and is not critical to include in key findings, the following topics are worth reconsidering to add somewhere in this list: • the point that terrestrial land sinks play a critical role in helping to offset anthropogenic emissions; • the issue of decreasing capacity for land and ocean carbon sinks (i.e., describe the current sink capacity, the possible degradation of these sinks by land use changes and disturbances, and the levers available to protect these sinks) ; • a statement reflecting the report's discussion of tribal lands; • a statement about the importance of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture; • a clear explanation of CO2 and CH4 contributions from the energy sector; • a statement to convey some sense of what carbon sources/sinks we can and cannot control (i.e., what are the levers in the carbon cycle that we have opportunities to better manage?
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From page 17... ...
FINDING 6. Urban areas in North America represent the primary source of anthropogenic carbon emissions, as well as an indirect source of carbon from the emissions associated with goods and services produced outside city boundaries for consumption by urban dwellers.
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From page 18... ...
Understanding these processes and their interactions aids in projecting future changes in the carbon cycle and developing adaptive capabilities. One projection is of significant concern the 5% to 15% of the carbon stored in soil pools in the circumpolar permafrost zone is considered to be vulnerable to release to the atmosphere by the year 2100, considering the current trajectory of global and Arctic warming.
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From page 19... ...
This figure pertains to the total fluxes into or out of the atmosphere, but one could easily mis-interpret this figure to say that the North American net CO2 flux is approximately equal to the emissions from fossil sources -- as the forest sink and coastal ocean sink are countered by outgassing from inland waters. This figure would appear to contradict the terrestrial sink (land and water components)
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From page 20... ...
These impacts are complex and multi-faceted, involving spatial, temporal, and place-resource dependent considerations. Factors such as species displacement and migration, alteration of phenological behavior, impacts of water timing and availability, extreme events, and impacts such as introduction of genetic strains are not addressed.
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From page 21... ...
P35, Line 11-14. This contradicts Key Finding 3 of Chapter 2 (between ¼ and ½ of fossil fuel emissions were offset by natural sinks on North American land and adjacent coastal ocean.
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From page 22... ...
P37, Line 21-22 The results and findings presented here are inconsistent with ones in Chapter 13: the stated net carbon sink from terrestrial wetlands of 64 TgC/yr (36 TgC/yr by nonforested wetlands, plus 28 TgC/yr by forested wetlands) is different from the value of 53 Tg/yr presented as Key Finding 2 in Chapter 13 -- despite the fact that the Executive Summary indicates Chapter 13 as source for that information.
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From page 23... ...
P43, Line 8 The 3rd option involves storage in geologic reservoirs as well. P43, Line 8 The reference to geoengineering needs to be more carefully worded to avoid giving a mis-impression that solar radiation management techniques could directly affect the level of carbon gases in the atmosphere (they cannot)
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From page 24... ...
24 Review of the Draft Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2) involving local communities, urban areas, regional, national and international carbon accounting and decision-support systems?
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Key Terms
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