The atmosphere is the synthesizer, transformer, and communicator of exchanges at its boundaries with the land and oceans. These exchanges depend on and, in turn, alter the states of the atmosphere, land, and oceans themselves. To a large extent, the interactions between the carbon cycle and climate have mapped, and will map, the trajectory of the Earth system. My quest to understand climate dynamics and the global carbon cycle has been propelled by new puzzles that emerge from each of the investigations and has led me to study subdisciplines of Earth science beyond my formal training. This article sketches my trek and the lessons I have learned. ▪  About half the CO2 emitted from combustion of fossil fuels and from cement production has remained airborne. Where are the contemporary carbon sinks? To what degree will these sinks evolve with, and in turn accelerate, climate change itself? ▪  The pursuit of these questions has been propelled by the integration of in situ and satellite observations of the atmosphere, land, and oceans, as well as by advances in theory and coupled climate–carbon cycle modeling. ▪  The urgency of climate change demands new approaches to cross-check national emission statistics.

中文翻译：

---

在追求

大气是与陆地和海洋交界处的合成器、转换器和交流器。这些交换依赖于并反过来改变大气、陆地和海洋本身的状态。在很大程度上，碳循环与气候之间的相互作用已经绘制并将绘制地球系统的轨迹。我对了解气候动力学和全球碳循环的探索受到了每次调查中出现的新谜题的推动，并促使我在接受正式培训后研究了地球科学的子学科。这篇文章概述了我的跋涉和我学到的教训。▪ 化石燃料燃烧和水泥生产所排放的二氧化碳中约有一半仍然在空气中。当代碳汇在哪里？这些汇会随着什么程度的演变，进而加速气候变化本身？▪ 对大气、陆地和海洋的现场观测和卫星观测的整合，以及理论和耦合气候-碳循环模型的进步，推动了对这些问题的研究。▪ 气候变化的紧迫性需要新的方法来交叉检查国家排放统计数据。