Abstract: Measurements of midday vertical atmospheric CO2 distributions reveal annual-mean vertical CO2 gradients that are inconsistent with atmospheric models that estimate a large transfer of terrestrial carbon from tropical to northern latitudes. The three models that most closely reproduce the observed annual-mean vertical CO2 gradients estimate weaker northern uptake of -1.5 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C year-1) and weaker tropical emission of +0.1 Pg C year-1 compared with previous consensus estimates of -2.4 and +1.8 Pg C year-1, respectively. This suggests that northern terrestrial uptake of industrial CO2 emissions plays a smaller role than previously thought and that, after subtracting land-use emissions, tropical ecosystems may currently be strong sinks for CO2.

Abstract: The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest, highest, coldest, driest, and windiest ice sheet on Earth. Understanding of the surface mass balance (SMB) of Antarctica is necessary to determine the present state of the ice sheet, to make predictions of its potential contribution to sea level rise, and to determine its past history for paleoclimatic reconstructions. However, SMB values are poorly known because of logistic constraints in extreme polar environments, and they represent one of the biggest challenges of Antarctic science. Snow accumulation is the most important parameter for the SMB of ice sheets. SMB varies on a number of scales, from small-scale features (sastrugi) to ice-sheet-scale SMB patterns determined mainly by temperature, elevation, distance from the coast, and wind-driven processes. In situ measurements of SMB are performed at single points by stakes, ultrasonic sounders, snow pits, and firn and ice cores and laterally by continuous measurements using ground-penetrating radar. SMB for large regions can only be achieved practically by using remote sensing and/or numerical climate modeling. However, these techniques rely on ground truthing to improve the resolution and accuracy. The separation of spatial and temporal variations of SMB in transient regimes is necessary for accurate interpretation of ice core records. In this review we provide an overview of the various measurement techniques, related difficulties, and limitations of data interpretation; describe spatial characteristics of East Antarctic SMB and issues related to the spatial and temporal representativity of measurements; and provide recommendations on how to perform in situ measurements.

Abstract: The mechanisms of magma crust accretion at large igneous provinces (LIPs) are questioned using arguments based on the north Atlantic case. Published and new data on the calculated flow vectors within dike swarms feeding the early traps and subsequent seaward-dipping reflector lavas suggest that most of the mafic magmas forming the north Atlantic LIP transited through a small number of igneous centers. The magma was injected centrifugally in dike swarms at some distance away from individual igneous centers along the trend of the maximum horizontal stress acting in the crust, feeding lava piles via dikes intersecting the ground surface. This mechanism is similar to that observed in present-day Iceland and, more generally, in mafic volcano-tectonic systems. The absence of generalized vertical magma transit in a LIP has major geodynamic consequences. We cannot link the surface extent of LIP magmas to the dimensions of the mantle melting zone as proposed in former plume head models. The distribution of LIP magmas at the surface is primarily controlled by the regional stress field acting within the upper crust, but is also affected by magma viscosity. The igneous centers feeding LIPs most likely represent the crustal expression of small-scale convective cells of the buoyant mantle naturally located beneath the mechanical lithosphere.