How does rising atmospheric CO2 affect marine organisms?

Click to locate material archived on our website by topic


Volume 1 Number 7:  15 December 1998

Editorial
CO2 and the Fountain of Youth: Similar Findings in Diverse Fields of Study Suggest We Begin a Serious Search for Linkages: Current research on animal aging as influenced by genetic makeup and plant growth as influenced by atmospheric CO2 concentration reveal some striking similarities.  Long life in genetically-fashioned animals and high productivity in CO2-enriched plants appear to be the result of reductions in a number of shared environmental stresses.

Journal Reviews
World Sea Trade Creates More and Brighter Clouds: Chemical and physical analyses of cloud ship tracks demonstrate that ship effluents tend to enhance the brightness and persistence of marine stratus clouds.

Climate Forcing vs. Climate Sensitivity: Is it a Valid Issue?: A quantitative analysis of a number of climate forcing factors suggests thay are riddled with so many uncertainties that we cannot accurately predict earth's future climate; but this conclusion -- though true -- does not support what the authors claim next.

Climate and Drought in the Canadian Prairie Provinces: A comprehensive study of many climatic data sets from the Prairie provinces of Canada reveals that there is no substantive basis for believing that any future global warming will exacerbate the periodic droughts that are a normal feature of this region of North America.

Simple Evidence that the World is Getting Wetter: An analysis of pan evaporation records from around the world suggests that the earth's hydrologic cycle is intensifying, reducing the likelihood of agricultural drought.

Elevated CO2 Aids Recovery of Soybean: Soybeans grown in elevated CO2 under conditions of water deficit, high temperature or water deficit with high temperature stress treatments exhibited less of a percentage reduction in photosynthesis than plants grown in ambient CO2.  Whereas recovery from water stress was rapidly achieved with in CO2, plants grown in ambient CO2 never fully recovered.

Desiccation-Tolerant Plants and Elevated CO2: Three different desiccation-tolerant plants (a woody shrub, lichen and moss) all responded positively to a 700 ppm increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration during an extensive desiccation treatment by prolonging the period of time they were able to maintain positive rates of carbon uptake via photosynthesis.

Responses of Shade-Tolerant Trees to Elevated CO2: In an analysis of 15 previously published studies, it was determined that shade-tolerant species generally display greater relative CO2-induced growth increases than do shade intolerant species.

Interactive Effects of CO2 and Ozone on C3 and C4 Plants: In a study of C3 and C4 grasses and C3 trees, it was found that elevated CO2 concentrations reduced or eliminated the adverse effects of elevated O3 concentrations on photosynthesis and growth.

Effects of Elevated CO2 and Nitrogen Supply on Antioxidative Enzymes in Beech Seedlings: Beech seedlings grown for two years in open-top chambers at an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 700 ppm exhibited significant decreases in the activities of antioxidizing enzymes relative to plants grown at ambient CO2, indicating that atmospheric CO2 enrichment reduces the severity of oxidative stress and, thus, the need for enzymes that detoxify molecules that are reactive oxidizing agents.