Atmospheric CO2 and destructivity of the land biota: Seasonal variations

The seasonal variations of the carbon content in the ocean are shown to be small as compared to those taking place in the atmosphere. Atmospheric meridional mixing is not intense enough to compensate for the variations of the atmospheric CO2. If we assume meridional mixing to be zero, then the seasonal variations of carbon in the atmospheric column should be equal to those of carbon in the continental bionass but opposite to them in sign. This latter value is essentially the difference between productivity and destructivity of the land biomass Productivity of humid areas at any latitude is proportional to the diurnal mean solar radiation flux at that latitude. In the present study the temporal variations of this flux are harmonically approximated. Further, an harmonic approximation is found for expressing the temporal course of biomass destructivity at various latitudes. Productivity/destructivity oscillations appear to be almost in couterphase but amplitudinally close to each other.