Variation in the Oxygen/Nitrogen (O2/N2) Ratio of Air: Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle

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Researchers from Princeton will extend an existing record of high precision measurements of O2/N2 and Ar/N2 ratios sampled from the remote global atmosphere. As pioneered by (R.) Keeling and also by Bender, O2/N2 time series records have proven to be invaluable tools for our understanding of several aspects of the global carbon cycle and a direct means of assessing the sequestration of the increasing anthropogenic CO2 transient. Knowledge of the differential uptake of increasing fossil fuel CO2 between the ocean and terrestrial carbon sinks, rates of organic carbon export from the surface to the deep ocean, net oceanic community primary production and the general role of air-sea exchange of gases, moisture and heat are a few of the topics illuminated by these long term measurement series. At the end of 2008, after some 15+ years, the sampling network will be decommissioned. This is a direct reflection of the numerous (globally ~ 10) international laboratories and agency sponsored monitoring programs now engaged in similar observations, obviating a continued need for the Princeton network.