Re:Earth may temporarily pass dangerous 1.5 C warming limit ...
by GeoAtreides on Monday September 14, 2020 @02:50AM
(#24467506)
"half life of CO2 in the atmosphere" is a bit misleading, (most|some) people will think it means the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere halves every 30 years. That is false.
explains that while the individual molecule CO2 hangs around the atmosphere for 3-4 years, it's then merely exchanged with one in the oceans (or maybe one in a rotting tree).
on page 4 (shown 25 on the page), you can see the box model of the global carbon cycle. Halflife refers on how long the a CO2 molecule spends in a given box.
This NASA link says CO2 stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2915/the-atmosphere-getting-a-...
And this site: https://www.skepticalscience.com/co2-residence-time.htm
explains that while the individual molecule CO2 hangs around the atmosphere for 3-4 years, it's then merely exchanged with one in the oceans (or maybe one in a rotting tree).
On this study: https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https:/...
on page 4 (shown 25 on the page), you can see the box model of the global carbon cycle. Halflife refers on how long the a CO2 molecule spends in a given box.