Climate News from the science press

[Lennart Hyland]

I was chatting with a guy yesterday he was mainly upset about AGW for its lack of fair and balanced research, debate and transparency. And how its obviously is one sided he stated.

But I mean whats to debate? All the evidence point at the same direction huh? AGW is real and we have to do something about it.

 

[macdoc]

•••

PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 27 (UPI) -- New U.S. scientific findings suggest that climate change may be affecting aquatic environments faster and sooner than the atmosphere.

Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., came to conclusions after noticing that Lake Tahoe, Clear Lake and four other big lakes in Northern California and Nevada are heating up faster than the surrounding atmosphere, The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday.

The newspaper said the researchers tapped satellite sensor temperature data compiled over 18 years in what is believed to be the first time that long-range lake surface temperatures have been dissected. What the data reportedly showed is that the lakes' water temperature rose two times faster, on average, than the regional air temperatures.

"It was a big surprise to see that," Philipp Schneider, the study's lead author and a post-doctoral research scientist at the NASA lab, told the Bee. "If it turns out they're actually changing faster than the air temperature, then there's a whole new phenomenon going on here. The lake ecosystems are going to be very much affected, especially because the trend we observed seems to be quite rapid."

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/12/27/NASA-study-Lakes-warming-quickly/UPI-92241261944714/

 

[BenBurch]

... fair and balanced ...

That should tell you where he gets these ideas...

 

[Lennart Hyland]

That should tell you where he gets these ideas...

Sorry but what do you mean?

 

[BenBurch]

Sorry but what do you mean?

Oh! Sorry, that would be lost on somebody from Sweden. That is the slogan for "Fox News" a right-wing so-called "News" network owned by Rupert Murdoch.

 

[Lennart Hyland]

Oh! Sorry, that would be lost on somebody from Sweden. That is the slogan for "Fox News" a right-wing so-called "News" network owned by Rupert Murdoch.

You are forgiven

I borrow this thread for a moment, but I remember reading somewhere that we contribute to about 3% of all CO2 release. Now I stumbled upon people saying this, and that its to small for it to affect the climate.

Any thoughts?

 

[BenBurch]

You are forgiven

I borrow this thread for a moment, but I remember reading somewhere that we contribute to about 3% of all CO2 release. Now I stumbled upon people saying this, and that its to small for it to affect the climate.

Any thoughts?

The isotope numbers say that fossil fuels contribute 80% of the increase in CO2 since 1850, most of the rest comes from soil deterioration and deforestation due to agriculture, and production of cement. So, far more than the 3% claimed. Lets start a new thread if you want to discuss further.

 

[Lennart Hyland]

The isotope numbers say that fossil fuels contribute 80% of the increase in CO2 since 1850, most of the rest comes from soil deterioration and deforestation due to agriculture, and production of cement. So, far more than the 3% claimed. Lets start a new thread if you want to discuss further.

Thank you very much for you answer! Maybe you have a source to back it up too?

Its an very interesting topic but for me its most of the times also very hard to understand.... I have no educatio/experience in this field at all.

But I do my best to read and understand these threads

 

[INRM]

How the hell do we know if this is true or not? After climate-gate, how do you know if they're not just pulling another ruse?

 

[DogB]

Not sure if this one has been posted yet.

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2009&itemno=950

 

[macdoc]

Love the smell of melting mammoths in the morning
Good find.

 

[DogB]

Love the smell of melting mammoths in the morning

 

[a_unique_person]

That should tell you where he gets these ideas...

"We report, You believe".

 

[macdoc]

AGU 2009: Afghan glaciers recede, portending further strife

Harvey Leifert
Just when we thought you knew all of the dangers facing the people of Afghanistan, here comes one more: catastrophic flooding from high altitude glaciers. Afghanistan’s glaciers are located in the narrow eastern Wakhan Panhandle of the country, wedged between Pakistan, China, and several former Soviet republics. They drain southwestward via system of streams, providing surface water and recharging aquifers through most of the country.

http://blogs.nature.com/climatefeedback/2009/12/agu_2009_afghan_glaciers_reced.html

 

[macdoc]

Very vivid illustration of glacier loss around the planet....in keeping with the seasonal spirit.

7 glaciers melting

Category: climate science • environment
Posted on: December 31, 2009 11:30 AM, by Chris Rowan

A post by Chris Rowan
On the 7th day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 7 Glaciers melting...

All over the world, where there are glaciers, those glaciers are not as large as they once were a century, or even a few decades, ago:
....
Glaciers are dynamic systems, but although there are some complexities in interpreting the behaviour of any individual one, when you see the same rapid shrinking trend in all of these different parts of the world, you stop looking for local causes.

continues ....with comparative photos now and then

http://scienceblogs.com/highlyallochthonous/2009/12/7_glaciers_melting.php

 

[BenBurch]

Experts: Cold snap doesn't disprove global warming

http://pda.physorg.com/arcticair-air-coldsnap_news182026415.html

<SNIP>
Such weather doesn't seem to fit with warnings from scientists that the Earth is warming because of greenhouse gases. But experts say the cold snap doesn't disprove global warming at all - it's just a blip in the long-term heating trend.

"It's part of natural variability," said Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. With global warming, he said, "we'll still have record cold temperatures. We'll just have fewer of them."
<SNIP>

 

[BenBurch]

Northern forests do not benefit from lengthening growing season

http://www.physorg.com/news182516505.html

Forests in northern areas are stunted, verging on the edge of survival. It has been anticipated that climate change improves their growth conditions. A study published last week in Forest Ecology and Management journal shows that due to their genetic characteristics trees are unable to properly benefit from the lengthening growing season. Furthermore, the researchers were surprised to find that the mortality of established trees considerably promotes the adaptation of forests to the changing environment.

<SNIP>

 

[BenBurch]

Warmer Climate Could Stifle Carbon Uptake by Trees, Study Says

http://www.physorg.com/news182100315.html

Contrary to conventional belief, as the climate warms and growing seasons lengthen subalpine forests are likely to soak up less carbon dioxide, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

As a result, more of the greenhouse gas will be left to concentrate in the atmosphere.

"Our findings contradict studies of other ecosystems that conclude longer growing seasons actually increase plant carbon uptake," said Jia Hu, who conducted the research as a graduate student in CU-Boulder's ecology and evolutionary biology department in conjunction with the university's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES.

<SNIP>

 

[Mikemcc]

You are forgiven

I borrow this thread for a moment, but I remember reading somewhere that we contribute to about 3% of all CO2 release. Now I stumbled upon people saying this, and that its to small for it to affect the climate.

Any thoughts?

It was a mis-interpretation of the carbon cycle diagrams. Fossil fuels do only account for 3% of total emissions, but that ignores the amount that is absorbed into the sinks. Looking at the balance of flows man's contribution is significant. Looking at the figures, man's emissions since 1750 are more than capable of accounting for the excess CO₂ in the atmosphere.

 

[BenBurch]

Sulphur-eating bacteria limit acid run-off and CO2

http://pda.physorg.com/acid-bacteria-source_news182798965.html

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is caused when sulphur in mine tailings reacts with water and oxygen in the environment to produce sulphuric acid. It is a major environmental issue, with AMD a concern for lake acidification and water quality. AMD is also implicated as a climate change culprit - the sulphuric acid dissolves carbonate minerals in the underlying rock, liberating carbon dioxide in a process known as acid rock weathering.

<SNIP>

The discovery, made by Ph.D. student Kelsey Norlund and her advisor Lesley Warren with the help of veteran synchrotron researcher Adam Hitchcock, not only demonstrates how bacteria can modify their environment, but could also lead to a rethink of the amount of atmospheric carbon produced by acid weathering that is included in global models by as much as 26 million tonnes.

<SNIP>