Greenhouse gases and global change: international collaboration

Abstract

Much of the current concern about the fate of the global environment is related to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases and possible effects on the global climate. The chemical composition of the atmosphere, which is changing rapidly, is, to a large degree, determined by the release and uptake of a variety of trace gases by the biosphere. The biospheric production of relatively small amounts of trace gases such as carbon monoxide, methane, and nitrous oxide is of special interest, as they trap infrared radiation, thus warming the Earth's surface. These greenhouse gases and other biogenic trace gases, such as carbon monoxide, odd nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}), and a range of volatile organic compounds play a key role in atmospheric chemistry by affecting tropospheric concentration of ozone, the penetration of photochemically active solar ultra-violet radiation, the production of hydroxyl radicals, and, in the case of dimethyl sulfide, cloud formation. Within the decade of the 1990's, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program will launch a worldwide research effort, unprecedented in its scope, to address the functioning of the Earth system and to understand how this system is changing. The body of information generated by the IGBP will form the scientific underpinning for predictionsmore » relating to future causes and effects of global changes. Through its observational network and process studies, and the effective communication of the resulting data to scientists in all nations committed to this endeavor, the IGBP will help provide the world's decision makers with the input necessary to wisely manage the global environment.« less