摘要
Atmospheric oxygen （02） is the most crucial element on earth for the aerobic organisms that depend on it to release energy from carbon-based macromolecules. This is the first study to systematically analyze the global O2 budget and its changes over the past 100 years. It is found that anthropogenic fossil fuel combustion is the largest contributor to the current O2 deficit, which consumed 2.0 Gt/a in 1900 and has increased to 38.2 Gt/a by 2015. Under the Representative Concentration Pathways （RCPs） RCP8,5 scenario, approximately 100Gt （gigatonnes） of O2 would be removed from the atmosphere per year until 2100, and the O2 concentration will decrease from its current level of 20.946% to 20.825%. Human activities have caused irreversible decline of atmospheric O2. It is time to take actions to promote O2 production and reduce O2 consumption.
Atmospheric oxygen (O_2 ) is the most crucial element on earth for the aerobic organisms that depend on it to release energy from carbon-based macromolecules. This is the first study to systematically analyze the global O_2 budget and its changes over the past 100 years. It is found that anthropogenic fossil fuel combustion is the largest contributor to the current O_2 deficit, which consumed 2.0 Gt/a in 1900 and has increased to 38.2 Gt/a by 2015. Under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) RCP8.5 scenario, approximately 100Gt (gigatonnes) of O_2 would be removed from the atmosphere per year until 2100,and the O_2 concentration will decrease from its current level of 20.946%to 20.825%. Human activities have caused irreversible decline of atmospheric O_2 . It is time to take actions to promote O_2 production and reduce O_2 consumption.
基金
supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41521004)
the China University Research Talents Recruitment Program (111 project, B13045)
