Amplifying effects of land-use change on future atmospheric CO2 levels

We constructed a model to analyze the interactions between land-use change and atmospheric CO2 during the recent past and for the future. The primary impact of the conversion of forested lands to cultivated lands is to increase atmospheric CO2, via losses of biomass and soil carbon to the atmosphere. This increase is likely to continue in the next decades, but its magnitude can vary according to each land-use scenario. We show that this first-order effect is further amplified by the correlated diminution of terrestrial sinks, because when croplands replace forests, the turnover time of excess carbon in the biosphere decreases, and hence the sink capacity of terrestrial ecosystems decreases. This effect acts to further increase by up to 100 ppm the CO2 level reached by 2100, and it is ofthe same order of magnitude, although smaller, than climate-carbon feedbacks. Uncertainties on the magnitude of this land-use induced effect are large, because of uncertainties in the sink role of terrestrial ecosystems in the future and because of uncertainties inherent to the modeling of land-use induced carbon emissions. Such an extra rise in atmospheric CO2 is however partially offset by the ocean reservoir and by sinks operating over undisturbed, pristine ecosystems, suggesting that conserving pristine forests with long turnover times might be efficient in mitigating the greenhouse effectland-use change; carbon cycle; future scenarios

A Study of Musical and Extra-Musical Imagery in Rachmaninoff\u27s Etudes-Tableaux , Opus 39.

The nine Etudes-Tableaux, op. 39 (1916-17) for piano solo are the last important works written by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) before his exile from Russia in 1917. The use of the word Tableaux in the title suggests an association with pictures, paintings, or scenes. Although the composer often wrote under the external influence of extra-musical sources, he rarely revealed them. This study examines the musical and extra-musical imagery which influenced Rachmaninoff\u27s compositional style as observed in op. 39, the most important elements being the Dies irae from the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead, Russian chant, bell sonorities, and paintings by the Swiss artist Arnold Bocklin (1827-1901). In addition, Rachmaninoff\u27s love of nature and of his homeland is reflected throughout the study, and an explanation is given for the dark, somber sentiment that permeates many of the etudes

Dear old pal of mine

https://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/sheetmusic/1168/thumbnail.jp