Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Visualizing Oceanographic Data to Depict Long-term Changes in Phytoplankton
Published on: July 28, 2023
Large variations in Southern Hemisphere biomass burning during the last 650 years
1Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres/School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, USA.
Abstract:
We present a 650-year Antarctic ice core record of concentration and isotopic ratios (δ(13)C and δ(18)O) of atmospheric carbon monoxide. Concentrations decreased by ~25% (14 parts per billion by volume) from the mid-1300s to the 1600s then recovered completely by the late 1800s. δ(13)C and δ(18)O decreased by about 2 and 4 per mil (‰), respectively, from the mid-1300s to the 1600s then increased by about 2.5 and 4‰ by the late 1800s. These observations and isotope mass balance model results imply that large variations in the degree of biomass burning in the Southern Hemisphere occurred during the last 650 years, with a decrease by about 50% in the 1600s, an increase of about 100% by the late 1800s, and another decrease by about 70% from the late 1800s to present day.
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Threats to Biodiversity
What is Climate?
Origin of Photosynthesis
The Carbon Cycle
Variation of Atmospheric Pressure
Assuming the air temperature is constant at a given altitude and that the ideal gas law of thermodynamics describes the atmosphere to a good approximation, one can find the variation of atmospheric pressure with height.
Let p(y) be the atmospheric pressure at...