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Science 28 March 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5615, pp. 1997 - 1998
DOI: 10.1126/science.1080681
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Perspectives

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE:
Pinatubo, Diffuse Light, and the Carbon Cycle

Graham D. Farquhar and Michael L. Roderick

Similar to clouds, volcanic eruptions increase the proportion of diffuse light reaching Earth's surface. As Farquhar and Roderick show in their Perspective, this change in the geometry (rather than intensity) of light can have a profound influence on photosynthesis and the carbon cycle. They highlight the research article by Gu et al., who have measured changes in net CO2 exchange following the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. Volcanoes, pollution, and greenhouse gases may all increase diffuse light, with important consequences for Earth's carbon cycle and climate.

The authors are at the Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, Research School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. E-mail: farquhar{at}rsbs.anu.edu.au; michael.roderick{at}anu.edu.au

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)