China News Agency, Xining, July 13 (Reporter Sun Rui) "Research shows that fossil fuel combustion is the main reason for the decline in global oxygen concentration. Under the background of global warming, photosynthesis does not increase significantly. The increase in photosynthesis oxygen production is not significant; the global oxygen budget gap will further expand, and the oxygen concentration drop will accelerate and decline." Huang Jianping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at the 4th High-level Forum on Plateau Science and Sustainable Development.
From July 12th to 22nd, the 4th High-level Forum on Plateau Science and Sustainable Development, hosted by Qinghai Provincial People's Government-Beijing Normal University Institute of Plateau Science and Sustainable Development (hereinafter referred to as "High-Tech Institute"), was held at Qinghai Normal University. hold.
According to Huang Jianping, oxygen is the material basis for human survival, and the oxygen cycle is an important factor affecting the habitability of the earth. The research on the oxygen cycle is not only a frontier in the field of earth sciences, but also related to the destiny of mankind.
The scientific community pays close attention to changes in carbon dioxide concentration caused by human activities and the impact of carbon cycle processes on climate and ecology; however, changes in the oxygen cycle in the Earth system have received less attention.
At the same time that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising rapidly, the oxygen concentration is decreasing at twice the rate of rising carbon dioxide. The oxygen concentration is closely related to the survival and development of human beings.
Scientific research shows that the contribution of altitude, temperature, and vegetation cover to the oxygen content of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is 46.89%, 31.57%, and 3.2%, respectively.
Therefore, the warming of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is positively correlated with the local average life expectancy. Since the oxygen concentration is positively correlated with temperature, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will be more livable under future warming scenarios.
According to the model results, even if carbon dioxide emissions were stopped for now and global warming was thus substantially prevented, the deep ocean would therefore lose more than 10 percent of its oxygen content, Huang said.
Therefore, due to the influence of human activities, the problem of ocean "oxygen deficiency" has appeared, and it has become more and more serious with the passage of time.
The "escape" of oxygen from the ocean to the atmosphere is the direct cause of the decline in dissolved oxygen, and the underlying mechanism is the changes in solubility and circulation caused by warming.
Stopping the decline of ocean oxygen is urgent and requires human action.
At the same time, the terrestrial ecosystem is an important part of the biogeochemical cycle and the most important source of atmospheric oxygen, accounting for more than 90% of the oxygen production. Therefore, the response of terrestrial oxygen production to climate change and the increase of greenhouse gases needs to be paid attention to.
"The layers of the earth system are interconnected and interpenetrated. Carbon and oxygen play an important role in maintaining the long-term stability of the earth system." Huang Jianping said, "Although the current drop in oxygen concentration has not caused a significant threat to human health, we rely on it. The living environment and the air we breathe are quietly undergoing tremendous changes. Human beings are ruthlessly consuming the oxygen accumulated in the evolution of the earth for billions of years. These changes will eventually threaten the survival of human beings and should be highly valued by the scientific community. And formulate a response plan as soon as possible." (End)