MODELLING GLOBAL CARBON AND RADIOCARBON CYCLES

Carbon cycle receives growing attention, in particular in connection with the climate change. Radiocarbon (C-14) serves not only as the well-known basis of a dating technique but also as a tracer of the global carbon cycle, enabling one to assess the sizes of diverse compartments, fluxes between them and the related characteristic times. Mathematical modelling of the carbon cycle helps integrate the measurements, estimate the roles of underpinning processes and provide predictions, for instance on future CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere for various emission scenarios. We present a model based on a single-box atmosphere, ocean surface layer, one-dimensional diffusive ocean and two-box biota. We discuss its validation against measured data, predictions on future CO2 levels and interpretation of past events on the radiocarbon calibration curve.