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Science 28 March 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5615, pp. 2035 - 2038
DOI: 10.1126/science.1078366
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Research Articles

Response of a Deciduous Forest to the Mount Pinatubo Eruption: Enhanced Photosynthesis

Lianhong Gu,1* Dennis D. Baldocchi,2 Steve C. Wofsy,3 J. William Munger,3 Joseph J. Michalsky,4 Shawn P. Urbanski,3 Thomas A. Boden1

Volcanic aerosols from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption greatly increased diffuse radiation worldwide for the following 2 years. We estimated that this increase in diffuse radiation alone enhanced noontime photosynthesis of a deciduous forest by 23% in 1992 and 8% in 1993 under cloudless conditions. This finding indicates that the aerosol-induced increase in diffuse radiation by the volcano enhanced the terrestrial carbon sink and contributed to the temporary decline in the growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide after the eruption.

1 Environmental Sciences Division, Building 1509, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6335, USA.
2 Ecosystem Science Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
3 Division of Engineering and Applied Science and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
4 Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12203, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lianhong-gu{at}ornl.gov

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