A model of the Earth's Dole effect

The Earth's Dole effect describes the isotopic [superscript 18]O/[superscript 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.