"Carbon" is also colorful? Update your knowledge base on carbon neutrality
1. Black Carbon
Black carbon (also known as soot) certainly is one of the most famous carbon colors. It does not refer to the colorless and odorless carbon dioxide gas, which is a byproduct of incomplete combustion such as fossil fuels, which often exist in forest fires, smoke from brick kilns, and soot. Black carbon has many direct or indirect impacts on climate, for example, as a light absorber, black carbon can strongly absorb solar shortwave radiation, release infrared radiation, and heat the atmosphere. surrounding atmosphere and persists in the atmosphere for several days to weeks, thereby creating a regional warming effect; Additionally, when black carbon adheres to white surfaces such as icebergs and snow caps, it absorbs heat while blocking reflection, accelerating the melting of icebergs, ice caps, and Arctic ice sheets. Poles, and cause sea level rise.
A study published in 2013 by the journal JGR (Journal of Geophysical Research) has shown that the warming effect of carbon black is about two-thirds that of carbon dioxide, and in some regions, such as the northern United States, Canada, northern Europe, and northern Asia, the net impact may be more significant than methane. This, in turn, means that reducing black carbon emissions could be considered one of the most effective ways to mitigate climate change on a regional scale in the short term.
2. Brown Carbon
Show Currently, the Arctic region is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, and the melting of glaciers and reduction of sea ice has led to unusual global atmospheric circulation and loss of diversity. Local bioactivity, which in turn causes a series of environmental, ecological and economic problems, is also inseparable from the other color of carbon - brown carbon. Brown carbon is a light-absorbing organic aerosol released by fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, etc., which often coexists with black carbon, but has a more complex chemical composition and source black carbon. It has a strong absorption effect of solar radiation in the near-ultraviolet range, which can increase the net radiation flux received from the Earth, possibly leading to climate warming.
Due to its outstanding absorption capacity, the impact of brown carbon on the climate of highland and polar regions has gradually attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. A recent study published in the journal One Earth, co-authored by the School of Earth System Sciences at Tianjin University and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Research in Germany, shows that in the Arctic, the heating effect The warming of water-soluble brown carbon accounts for about 30% of that of black carbon, and biomass burning in the mid- and high-latitudes of the northern hemisphere contributes about 60% of the warming effect of brown carbon in the Arctic. If the frequency, intensity, and extent of mid- and high-latitude wildfires continue to increase in the future, more brown carbon aerosols may be released, further accelerating climate warming in these areas. This causes forest fires to become more frequent, creating a vicious cycle. Therefore, it is important to determine the warming impact of brown carbon and its main sources as soon as possible to mitigate climate change in the highlands, polar regions and even the world.
3. Red Carbon
Climate warming will lead to the melting of polar ice caps and increased deposition of airborne particles (e.g., nutrient-rich agricultural dust), which will creating a more favorable environment for red snow algae to grow, which in turn will lead to more glacier melting and continued sea level rise. Therefore, the red carbon concept is proposed to accelerate research on how microorganisms impact glaciers and find ways to avoid the vicious cycle as soon as possible.
4. Green Carbon
Green carbon is now widely known as "carbon absorbed by terrestrial ecology" and is called "green" because this carbon dioxide is absorbed by land plants through photosynthesis, which depends on the green chlorophyll in the leaves.
No There is no doubt that green carbon ecosystems play an important role in influencing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations as a potential buffer for greenhouse gas accumulation. Forests that cover one-third of the planet's land not only provide habitat for 80% of terrestrial species but also absorb nearly 30% of the planet's carbon emissions. However, today's forests are facing the impact of threats such as deforestation and wildfires. According to the World Bank, from 1990 to 2015, an average of 1,000 forest soccer fields were lost every hour globally. The loss of natural forests causes carbon dioxide from plants to be released back into the atmosphere, exacerbating the climate crisis. Therefore, maximizing the protection and expansion of forests worldwide is critical to slowing climate change.
5. Blue Carbon
Compared to the above green carbon land, the process of using ocean activities and marine life to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, fix it, and store it in the ocean is called “blue carbon.” Its definition originally focused on mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass beds, but now also includes a wider variety of seaweeds and sediments.
Blue carbon has condensing properties. Large carbon sequestration, high efficiency, long storage time, is the largest and most active carbon sink on earth, each unit of marine ecological area absorbs and stores dozens of times more carbon than others. with terrestrial forests, and oceans absorb and store dozens of times more carbon than terrestrial forests. The carbon storage cycle can last thousands of years. According to global average estimates, the annual carbon sink of the three major coastal blue carbon ecosystems in our country, which are mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coastal salt marshes, can amount to about 3.08 million tons. . Today, blue carbon development has become one of the most advanced fields to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality. First, the development of a blue carbon society is an important starting point for Vietnam to participate in global climate governance and actively respond to climate change.
6. Teal CarbonTurquoise carbon is also a relatively new concept related to "carbon stored in freshwater wetlands inland". Inland freshwater wetlands lie between land (green carbon) and tidal saltwater (blue carbonh) and is therefore called turquoise carbon. Estimates show that inland freshwater wetlands, which make up only 7% of the land surface, may account for 20%-30% of terrestrial soil carbon, and in some countries and regions with inland wetlands In the broader landscape, the importance of turquoise carbon in regional carbon storage and greenhouse gas regulation is no less important than that of blue carbon. For example, a 2016 study found that inland freshwater wetlands in the United States contained nearly 10 times more carbon than the tidal salinity sites the study evaluated.
However However, 87% of the world's wetlands have disappeared since the early eighteenth century and they are continuously threatened by human activities such as land use change, pollution, water exploitation and landscape transformation, potentially releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane back into the atmosphere. As a result, a growing number of researchers are attempting to quantify the contribution of inland wetland ecosystems to carbon storage and are calling for improved management and conservation strategies for these regions. inland freshwater wetlands to increase the total global carbon sink and help achieve carbon neutrality.