Climate Models Need an Upgrade

A new study has shown that plant life on Earth absorbs 37 billion more metric tons of carbon each year than was previously thought. This completely changes the calculations of those who say that man-made carbon is causing climate change. GPP is the measure of how much carbon is being absorbed by vegetated areas of our planet. Since the 1980s climate scientists have believed that GPP is around 120 billion metric tons per year. A team of researchers from Cornell University and the US Department of Energy upgraded two key elements of how GPP is estimated. The use of high-resolution data from environmental monitoring towers, and a better way of measuring photosynthesis in plants. 

These upgrades provide a much more accurate method of measuring carbon capture, and they show that the actual amount of carbon absorbed is 157 billion tons. “It’s important that we get an accurate measurement of global GPP since that affects all calculations of Earth’s carbon cycle,” said the author of the study. “This work represents a major step forward in providing a definitive number.” The study concluded that having accurate information about how much carbon can be stored on land will significantly change previous predictions about the human effects on climate change.