A model of the Earth's Dole effect

International audience[1] The Earth's Dole effect describes the isotopic 18 O/ 16 O-enrichment of atmospheric oxygen with respect to ocean water, amounting under today's conditions to 23.5%. We have developed a model of the Earth's Dole effect by combining the results of three-dimensional models of the oceanic and terrestrial carbon and oxygen cycles with results of atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) with built-in water isotope diagnostics. We obtain a range from 22.4% to 23.3% for the isotopic enrichment of atmospheric oxygen. We estimate a stronger contribution to the global Dole effect by the terrestrial relative to the marine biosphere in contrast to previous studies. This is primarily caused by a modeled high leaf water enrichment of 5-6%. Leaf water enrichment rises by $1% to 6-7% when we use it to fit the observed 23.5% of the global Dole effect. The present model is designed to be utilized in forthcoming paleo studies allowing a quantitative analysis of long-term observations from polar ice cores