The black carbon cycle and its role in the Earth system

Coppola, Alysha I.; Wagner, Sasha; Lennartz, Sinikka T.; Seidel, Michael; Ward, Nicholas D.; Dittmar, Thorsten; Santín, Cristina; Jones, Matthew W.

doi:10.1038/s43017-022-00316-6

Cited by 101 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 191 publications

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“…While dissolution and transport of BC and C from soil stores may be observed to follow similar drivers or patterns (Coppola et al, 2022), evidence from the plots in this study suggests their major sources are from the mineral and organic layers, respectively, implying a spatial decoupling of their removal mechanisms. It is therefore proposed that mineral soils in particular can act as an important buffer between short-(collecting and storing produced BC within 1 year after fire) and long-term (steady aqueous transport towards limnic and oceanic sedimentation) BC dynamics (Figure 4).…”

Section: Black Carbon Equilibrium Storage and Removal Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Although wildfires immediately release a substantial portion of C to the atmosphere, a fraction of heat‐altered C is left behind in the soil as pyrogenic carbon (PyC) (Coppola et al., 2022 ; Jones et al., 2019 ; Santín et al., 2015 ). In addition to being a substrate for respiration, PyC has many influences on the soil environment which affect overall C cycling and other ecosystem processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Differing parent material along with varied levels of heating and concurrent oxygen availability during a fire event result in the production of a broad spectrum of different PyC structures (McBeath et al., 2011 ; Preston & Schmidt, 2006 ; Schmidt & Noack, 2000 ; Wiedemeier et al., 2015 ). This great variety of PyC material, and the range of environmental conditions in which it is found, has resulted in mixed views on its overall susceptibility to remineralization, mobility within the soil profile and role in soil biogeochemical cycling (Bird et al., 2015 ; Bowring et al., 2022 ; Coppola et al., 2022 ; Santín et al., 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, boreal forests have relatively slow vertical mixing mechanisms and so within these ecosystems PyC production and storage is thought to be restricted to organic surface layers where it has increased vulnerability to remineralization (Czimczik & Masiello, 2007 ; Preston & Schmidt, 2006 ; Santín et al., 2015 ). Additionally, lateral displacement allows PyC to enter waterways where a portion can be deposited as sediment in lakes and rivers (Coppola et al., 2022 ; Jones et al., 2020 ). Since it is generally more resistant to degradation than non‐pyrogenic C, PyC has a greater chance of surviving further transport to ocean sediments, thereby drawing attention to the role of wildfire in connecting the fast (biosphere‐atmosphere) and slow (geological) C cycles (Coppola et al., 2022 ; Jones et al., 2020 ) which can account for missing sinks within the global C cycle (Coppola et al., 2022 ; Santín et al., 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mineral Soils Are an Important Intermediate Storage Pool of Black Carbon in Fennoscandian Boreal Forests

Eckdahl

Rodriguez

Kristensen

et al. 2022

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Approximately 40% of earth's carbon (C) stored in land vegetation and soil is within the boreal region. This large C pool is subjected to substantial removals and transformations during periodic wildfire. Fire‐altered C, commonly known as pyrogenic carbon (PyC), plays a significant role in forest ecosystem functioning and composes a considerable fraction of C transport to limnic and oceanic sediments. While PyC stores are beginning to be quantified globally, knowledge is lacking regarding the drivers of their production and transport across ecosystems. This study used the chemo‐thermal oxidation at 375°C (CTO‐375) method to isolate a particularly refractory subset of PyC compounds, here called black carbon (BC), finding an average increase of 11.6 g BC m−2 at 1 year postfire in 50 separate wildfires occurring in Sweden during 2018. These increases could not be linked to proposed drivers, however BC storage in 50 additional nearby unburnt soils related strongly to soil mass while its proportion of the larger C pool related negatively to soil C:N. Fire approximately doubled BC stocks in the mineral layer but had no significant effect on BC in the organic layer where it was likely produced. Suppressed decomposition rates and low heating during fire in mineral subsoil relative to upper layers suggests potential removals of the doubled mineral layer BC are more likely transported out of the soil system than degraded in situ. Therefore, mineral soils are suggested to be an important storage pool for BC that can buffer short‐term (production in fire) and long‐term (cross‐ecosystem transport) BC cycling.

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Section: Black Carbon Equilibrium Storage and Removal Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mineral Soils Are an Important Intermediate Storage Pool of Black Carbon in Fennoscandian Boreal Forests

Eckdahl

Rodriguez

Kristensen

et al. 2022

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…First, accurately characterizing the emission, transport, chemistry, and deposition of LAP under changing climate is challenging. The emission, cycling, and persistence of BC are still under-represented in ESMs 37 . Although reduced fossil fuel burning in developing countries can decrease future BC emissions, increased wildfire intensity and frequency due to climate change and land-use change may potentially increase the BC emissions 38,39 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cleaner snow future mitigates Northern Hemisphere snowpack loss from warming

Hao

Bisht

Wang

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Light-absorbing particles (LAP) such as black carbon and dust deposited on seasonal snowpack can result in snow darkening, earlier snowmelt, and regional climate change. However, the future deposition and surface radiative forcing of LAP in snow and their contributions to snowpack change remain unclear. Here, using Earth System Model simulations, we show significant reduction in black carbon deposition in the future. The reduced deposition decreases the December-May average LAP-induced radiative forcing in snow over the Northern Hemisphere from 1.3 W m-2 during 1995-2014 to 0.65 W m-2 and 0.49 W m-2 by 2081-2100 under the SSP126 and SSP585 scenarios, respectively. The reduced black carbon contamination in snow over the Tibetan Plateau will alleviate future snowpack loss due to climate change by 52.1±8.0% and 8.0±1.1% for the two scenarios. Our findings highlight a cleaner snow future and its benefits for future water availability from snowmelt.

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Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Dielectrics for Energy Conversion: Mechanism, Strategy, and Applications

Xie

Jiang

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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Dielectric materials with higher energy storage and electromagnetic (EM) energy conversion are in high demand to advance electronic devices, military stealth, and mitigate EM wave pollution. Existing dielectric materials for highenergy-storage electronics and dielectric loss electromagnetic wave absorbers are studied toward realizing these goals, each aligned with the current global grand challenges. Libraries of dielectric materials with desirable permittivity, dielectric loss, and/or dielectric breakdown strength potentially meeting the device requirements are reviewed here. Regardless, aimed at translating these into energy storage devices, the oft-encountered shortcomings can be caused by either of two confluences: a) low permittivity, high dielectric loss, and low breakdown strength; b) low permittivity, low dielectric loss, and process complexity. Contextualizing these aspects and the overarching objectives of enabling high-efficiency energy storage and EM energy conversion, recent advances in by-design inorganic-organic hybrid materials are reviewed here, with a focus on design approaches, preparation methods, and characterization techniques. In light of their strengths and weaknesses, potential strategies to foster their commercial adoption are critically interrogated.

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The black carbon cycle and its role in the Earth system

Abstract: LabileCompounds that experience rapid turnover within hours to days of release and do not accumulate. Environmentally persistentCompounds that resist rapid microbial degradation, accumulating on land and in the ocean for centuries to millennia.

Cited by 101 publications

References 191 publications

Mineral Soils Are an Important Intermediate Storage Pool of Black Carbon in Fennoscandian Boreal Forests

Mineral Soils Are an Important Intermediate Storage Pool of Black Carbon in Fennoscandian Boreal Forests

A cleaner snow future mitigates Northern Hemisphere snowpack loss from warming

Inorganic–Organic Hybrid Dielectrics for Energy Conversion: Mechanism, Strategy, and Applications

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