The Carbon Cycle of the Earth - A Material Balance Approach

Avenhaus, R. & Hartmann, G. (1975). The Carbon Cycle of the Earth - A Material Balance Approach. IIASA Research Report. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: RR-75-045

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Abstract

In this paper an idealized model of the carbon cycle of the earth has been analyzed. The model consists of four boxes (atmosphere, biosphere, surface layer of the oceans, and deep sea) and the carbon cycle is described as a flow of the carbon through the four boxes. The mathematical analysis, using a discrete time formalism, is easily generalized to models with more boxes.

The results of the analysis are applied to several practical problems. Consistency checks of data on inventories and transition coefficients reported in the literature are made, and the influence of disturbances of the cycle (especially the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels) with respect to their sizes and time scales is discussed.

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