Mapping the IPCC Report onto the Curriculum: Land-Carbon

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Land - Carbon

Soil & biosphere remove some excess carbon from the atmosphere, but not all of it.


IPCC Summary for Policymakers (SPM) content

  • B.4 Under scenarios with increasing CO2 emissions, the ocean and land carbon sinks are projected to be less effective at slowing the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere.

  • B.4.1 While natural land and ocean carbon sinks are projected to take up, in absolute terms, a progressively larger amount of CO2 under higher compared to lower CO2 emissions scenarios, they become less effective, that is, the proportion of emissions taken up by land and ocean decrease with increasing cumulative CO2 emissions. This is projected to result in a higher proportion of emitted CO2 remaining in the atmosphere

  • Figure SPM.7: Cumulative anthropogenic CO2 emissions taken up by land and ocean sinks by 2100 under the five illustrative scenarios.

 

Science Standards: NGSS SEP, DCI, CC

SEP: Analyzing & interpreting data

SEP: Using math & computational thinking

LS2.B Cycles of matter & energy transfer

ESS2.E Biogeology

ESS3.B Human impacts on Earth systems

ESS3.D Global climate change

CC: Systems & systems models

CC: Scale, proportion & quantity

 

PRI Climate Resources

Greenhouse Video #9 Trees from Thin Air

Greenhouse Video #10 Photosynthesis: Plants’ Superpower

Exhibit: Changing Climate: Our Future, Our Choice