Dust in Wind Could be Key to Predicting Climate Change
According to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, dust that blew into the North Pacific Ocean could help illuminate why the Earth’s climate cooled 2.7 million years ago.
more…
Tau.Neutrino said:
Dust in Wind Could be Key to Predicting Climate ChangeAccording to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, dust that blew into the North Pacific Ocean could help illuminate why the Earth’s climate cooled 2.7 million years ago.
more…
Oops, I haven’t replied to this one yet.
Tau.Neutrino said:
Dust in Wind Could be Key to Predicting Climate ChangeAccording to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, dust that blew into the North Pacific Ocean could help illuminate why the Earth’s climate cooled 2.7 million years ago.
more…
> Researchers were fascinated by dust because when it blows off the land and into the ocean, the iron in it fertilizes the water in the same manner as farmers do their fields. Through photosynthesis, minute organisms that inhabit the ocean surface waters pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which typically means cooler temperatures.
That actually makes sense, and it acts to counter climate change.
Global warming -> more thermal convection -> more wind-blown dust -> iron fertiliser in ocean makes more phytoplankton which mops up carbon dioxide which cools the planet.
mollwollfumble said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
Dust in Wind Could be Key to Predicting Climate ChangeAccording to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, dust that blew into the North Pacific Ocean could help illuminate why the Earth’s climate cooled 2.7 million years ago.
more…
> Researchers were fascinated by dust because when it blows off the land and into the ocean, the iron in it fertilizes the water in the same manner as farmers do their fields. Through photosynthesis, minute organisms that inhabit the ocean surface waters pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which typically means cooler temperatures.
That actually makes sense, and it acts to counter climate change.
Global warming -> more thermal convection -> more wind-blown dust -> iron fertiliser in ocean makes more phytoplankton which mops up carbon dioxide which cools the planet.
So the Climate-Change Potato and his ilk were right all along!
It’s always been a self-correcting system
…left to it’s own devices and given time.
Problem is, it sometimes takes more time
to come back into balance than organisms
have the ability to wait for favourable change.
Thank God for Evolution & Mutation! ;-)
(yes, that’s my feeble attempt at humor)
captain_spalding said:
mollwollfumble said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
Dust in Wind Could be Key to Predicting Climate ChangeAccording to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, dust that blew into the North Pacific Ocean could help illuminate why the Earth’s climate cooled 2.7 million years ago.
more…
> Researchers were fascinated by dust because when it blows off the land and into the ocean, the iron in it fertilizes the water in the same manner as farmers do their fields. Through photosynthesis, minute organisms that inhabit the ocean surface waters pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which typically means cooler temperatures.
That actually makes sense, and it acts to counter climate change.
Global warming -> more thermal convection -> more wind-blown dust -> iron fertiliser in ocean makes more phytoplankton which mops up carbon dioxide which cools the planet.
So the Climate-Change Potato and his ilk were right all along!
Only problem it is currently going the wrong way. So if this system is still active, we had better hope that it continues otherwise things will go downhill very quickly.
There are many significant positive and negative feedback mechanisms associated with global warming.
Negative feedback.
Positive feedback.
Wildcard
To keep in mind
You’ll find plenty of other feedback mechanisms in the press, such as permafrost melting, but the above ones are the major ones.
mollwollfumble said:
There are many significant positive and negative feedback mechanisms associated with global warming.Negative feedback.
- Increased CO2 leads to more plant growth which lowers CO2.
- Increased temperatures leads to more evaporation leads to more clouds which cools the Earth.
- Sea level rise speeds coral growth which lowers CO2.
- Increased temperature gives more wind which blows dust which fertilises the oceans which lowers CO2.
- Increased atmospheric CO2 is absorbed by the ocean.
Positive feedback.
- Increased temperatures mean more bushfires which increases CO2.
Wildcard
- Volcanic eruptions cause an initial cooling followed by heating. Depending on the type of eruption, it could swing either way.
To keep in mind
- Individual carbon dioxide molecules have a short lifetime of around 5 years in the atmosphere.
- Methane molecules have a lifetime of only 8 years in the atmosphere.
You’ll find plenty of other feedback mechanisms in the press, such as permafrost melting, but the above ones are the major ones.
>>In a hundred year period, the GWP of CO2 is measured by the EPA as one, while all other gases are measured relative to this. According to the World Preservation Foundation, the problem with focusing climate change mitigation strategies on carbon dioxide is that it has such a long lifespan in the atmosphere, taking many decades and even centuries to leave. This means that any reduction today may lower future heating, but it will not result in the rapid cooling that is needed in the present.<<
>>Here’s the kicker: methane, the gas produced extensively by the livestock industry worldwide, traps up to 100 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide within a 5 year period, and 72 times more within a 20 year period. The good news is that methane also leaves the atmosphere within a decade. This makes for a short-lived, but intense climate changer.<<
————————————————————————————-
The thawing of perma-frost is adding huge amounts of co2 and methane into the atmosphere and currently adding to global warming, which will increase as temperature continue to rise.
———————————————————————————————
Natural systems do absorb co2, but these are becoming less effective and other large producers (especially ourselves) of co2 and methane continue to produce greenhouse gasses that exceeds the capacity of these systems to absorb them. No matter how you look at it global temperatures are increasing due to excessive co2 emissions largely produced by humans, although other systems like the melting of perma-frost currently contribute and will continue to do so at an increasing rate.
yup
and don’t forget the Methane Hydrate
sequestered off-shore along every continental shelf worldwide
Ogmog said:
yup
and don’t forget the Methane Hydrate
sequestered off-shore along every continental shelf worldwide
Ogmog, if you want to read quite a decent sci-fi novel on just that theme then try John Barnes’ “Mother of Storms” .
Ogmog said:
yup
and don’t forget the Methane Hydrate
sequestered off-shore along every continental shelf worldwide
Sea level rise increases the pressure on that, making methane release even less possible. Given that recent sea levels were 120 metres lower, you’d need a sea level drop of at least 120 metres to release any methane older than 125,000 years old, a blink of an eye in geological terms.
Also, the residence time of methane in the atmosphere is only 8 years.
I don’t know who started the lie, but it was probably meant as a joke so ridiculous that no-one could take it seriously.