The Global Carbon Cycle

by David Archer

A must-have introduction to this fundamental driver of the climate system

The Global Carbon Cycle is a short introduction to this essential geochemical driver of the Earth's climate system, written by one of the world's leading climate-science experts. In this one-of-a-kind primer, David Archer engages readers in clear and simple terms about the many ways the global carbon cycle is woven into our climate system. He begins with a concise overview of the subject, and then looks at the carbon cycle on three different time scales, describing how the cycle interacts with climate in very distinct ways in each. On million-year time scales, feedbacks in the carbon cycle stabilize Earth's climate and oxygen concentrations. Archer explains how on hundred-thousand-year glacial/interglacial time scales, the carbon cycle in the ocean amplifies climate change, and how, on the human time scale of decades, the carbon cycle has been dampening climate change by absorbing fossil-fuel carbon dioxide into the oceans and land biosphere. A central question of the book is whether the carbon cycle could once again act to amplify climate change in centuries to come, for example through melting permafrost peatlands and methane hydrates.

The Global Carbon Cycle features a glossary of terms, suggestions for further reading, and explanations of equations, as well as a forward-looking discussion of open questions about the global carbon cycle.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Planetary Science, Climate Change

216 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

David Edward Archer is a computational ocean chemist, and has been a professor at the Geophysical Sciences department at the University of Chicago since 1993

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, readable summary of the carbon cycle on three time scales (geologic, ice-age, modern/future). There are a few gaffs (e.g., giant insects of the Cretaceous) and the book bogs down a bit in the long chapter on the ice-age carbon cycle, where there are lots of potential drivers but still no clear answer about which are really important. Still, the book covers a lot of intellectual turf in a very concise way at just about the right level of detail for upper-level undergraduates or intro graduate students, which is impressive.

[Alex]

Okay, for a science class read, this was actually a good book. Not saying I enjoyed spending time reading about the existential death of our planet and human society, BUT at least now I understand the carbon cycle and global warming? Looking on the bright side :)

[Alex O · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read from the Princeton Primers in Climate. Shout out to Collin for letting me borrow this. I thought it was great and rekindled some BGC memories. I wish that the author put his “boxes” at the end of the chapter like an appendix rather than within the text—this made it kind of choppy and confusing to read.

I’m sure there are updates to the content in this book regarding AMOC and permafrost melting. Overall, it was quick to get through and insightful.

[Julia Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was required reading for my class on the carbon cycle, and it was definitely informative, if not a bit repetitive and particularly dense when it came detailing the different chemical systems that make up the carbon cycle. (I struggle immensely with chemistry though, so maybe it's just me.)

Overall, this was still an informative read and a bit of a more in-depth introduction to how the carbon cycle functions on a global scale. I found the chapter on the glacial system the most interesting, along with the final chapter on methane. If looking for a truly scientific introduction to how the global carbon cycle functions, this would probably be a good introduction to it.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent treatment of the the long-term carbon cycle. Understandable to someone like me with great interest in climate but no formal training in earth sciences, geochemistry or atmospheric chemistry.
Ideal book for a basic college course in climate science, probably not deep enough for a graduate course. I got it at my local library. Took several pages of notes to which I frequently refer. Cited it twice in a blog I'm working on.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great overview of the carbon cycle, and it takes you through basic definitions, how the carbon cycle has changed through geologic time, and the different feedbacks that affect it on various time scales. It was quite detailed without being too complicated for a non-scientist to understand, and gives you a nice basis to start learning about this subject.