Pedro MS Monteiro

CSIR, Rosebank

How the Planet Breathes

Domain 3: Southern Oceans

Tropical Eastern Atlantic

Domain 2b: Tropical

Western Indian

Advective and vertical feedbacks to global system

Southern African Regional Earth System

TWO ASSUMPTIONS

• Natural ocean fluxes of CO2 will remain

unchanged

• We can reduce atmospheric CO2 to

350ppm within a century

Fate of Global Emissions of CO2

GtC y-1

Global Carbon Project 2006

Global Carbon Budget (2000-2005) (PgC y-1)

Rintoul et al., 2009

Southern Ocean is the only connection between

38000 GtC Deep Ocean CO2 and atmosphere

Dan Costa, UCSC, USA

Are things changing?

100 years

1000 years

10,000 years

750 ppmCO2

275 ppmCO2

550 ppmCO2

350 ppmCO2

Atmospheric Lifetime of Fossil Fuel CO2

Land Biosphere

Ocean Biosphere

100 years

1000 years

10,000 years

750 ppmCO2

275 ppmCO2

550 ppmCO2

350 ppmCO2

Atmospheric Lifetime of Fossil Fuel CO2

Land Biosphere

Ocean Biosphere

CRISIS

OPPORTUNITY

CAPE TOWN:

COSMOPOLITAN SA CENTRE

KNOWLEDGE & INNOVATION

(CLIMATE – CARBON)

Centre for High Performance

Computing: Rosebank

Centre for Ocean Observations

Robotics and Sensor R&D: V&A

SA Agulhas II: in Cape Town April 2012

New Generation

Scientists and Engineers

Imaginative Innovation

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Cape Point CO2 - Cape Town Influence

SA - Integrated Carbon Observatory Network (SA-ICON)

Cape Town metro pilot

study

Southern Oceans

Tropical Eastern Atlantic

Tropical Western Indian

V urgent action

<450ppm

Innovative

Development

Opportunities

Cape Town