Amount of CO2 being sucked away by Earth 'has doubled in 50 years'
74 replies, posted
[URL]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/02/co2_absorption_doubled_since_1960/[/URL]
[QUOTE]US federal government boffins have announced a "surprising new study" which reveals that the amount of carbon dioxide being drawn out of the air and absorbed by the world's landmasses and oceans doubled from 1960 to 2010.
The new information is deemed sufficiently applecart-busting in climatology terms that it has been published in flagship boffinry journal [I]Nature[/I] today.
The "surprising" description comes from an accompanying announcement by Colorado uni, where some of the investigating scientists were based.
"Earth is taking up twice as much CO[SUB]2[/SUB] today as it was 50 years ago," says Colorado postdoc Ashley Ballantyne, lead author of the new paper, in tinned quotes issued by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - whose boffins were also involved in the research.
According to the NOAA:
This new global analysis makes it clear that scientists do not yet understand well enough the processes by which ecosystems of the world are
removing CO[SUB]2[/SUB] from the atmosphere, or the relative importance of possible sinks: regrowing forests on different continents, for example, or changing
absorption of carbon dioxide by various ocean regions.
"We don't know why or where this process is happening," commented NOAA boffin Pieter Tans. "We need to identify what's going on here, so that we
can improve our projections of future CO[SUB]2[/SUB] levels and how climate change will progress in the future."
According to the Colorado uni announcement:
Recent studies by others have suggested carbon sinks were declining in some areas of the globe, including parts of the Southern Hemisphere and
portions of the world's oceans. But the new [I]Nature[/I] study showed global CO[SUB]2[/SUB] uptake by Earth's sinks essentially doubled from 1960 to 2010.
Apparently the forces sucking carbon from the air have increased in power especially strongly in recent years:
According to the study, the scientists observed decreased CO[SUB]2[/SUB] uptake by Earth's land and oceans in the 1990s, followed by increased CO[SUB]2[/SUB]
sequestering by the planet from 2000 to 2010.
"Seeing such variation from decade to decade tells us that we need to observe Earth's carbon cycle for significantly longer periods in order to help us
understand what is occurring," says Ballantyne.
[/QUOTE]
I'm not surprized Earth has additional means of coping with carbon than what we previously understood.
Maybe Earth is trying to help us cover our asses long enough for us to get our heads out of there?
Can't quite remember. Is CO2 a contributor to the climate change phenomena or not? Because I'm wondering how this discovery can be affecting it or not.
this isn't actually a good thing guys
This is a very bad thing people. This means that the CO2 absorbed by the Earth will take in more heat and bring it closer to the surface instead of the atmosphere.
More CO2 in the atmosphere means plants (particularly sea plants) might grow faster, meaning there is more of them, so the absorb even more CO2...
Just a hypothesis
[QUOTE=Drewsko;37074969]Can't quite remember. Is CO2 a contributor to the climate change phenomena or not? Because I'm wondering how this discovery can be affecting it or not.[/QUOTE]
Let me answer that question with a question. Why is Venus the hottest planet in the solar system despite not being the closest planet to the Sun? You have your answer.
[QUOTE=ewitwins;37075128]This is a very bad thing people. This means that the CO2 absorbed by the Earth will take in more heat and bring it closer to the surface instead of the atmosphere.[/QUOTE]
What.
I'm pretty sure that's not how greenhouse gasses work.
I could be wrong.
And lets acidify our soil more!
Earth is becoming an oxygen tent
Uhh yeah the CO2 going into the oceans means the ocean life dies off
Why does it keep saying boffins? Argh I'm American and I din't unnerstand yor langwich
this is a good thing (i think), since c02 is higher than it naturally should be thanks to the industrial revolution... because co2 traps heat in our atmosphere and less co2 = less heat trapped in our atmosphere if im correct...
EDIT
ocean life isnt going to die by co2 being absorbed, co2 is what keeps most of it alive because all the sea plants absorb co2 thats why the ocean is the biggest co2 sink
[QUOTE=Madtoker;37075232]this is a good thing (i think), since c02 is higher than it naturally should be thanks to the industrial revolution... because co2 traps heat in our atmosphere and less co2 = less heat trapped in our atmosphere if im correct...[/QUOTE]
Pop quiz: Why is coral around the world dying?
[QUOTE=Greenen72;37075253]Pop quiz: Why is coral around the world dying?[/QUOTE]
Swamp gas.
[QUOTE=Lazor;37075095]this isn't actually a good thing guys[/QUOTE]
Maybe not, but it's another step in understanding our climate (which we know very, very little about), and perhaps another step towards adapting our society for the future.
[QUOTE=Greenen72;37075253]Pop quiz: Why is coral around the world dying?[/QUOTE]
Because the new Spongebob episodes aren't funny?
[QUOTE=download;37075147]More CO2 in the atmosphere means plants (particularly sea plants) might grow faster, meaning there is more of them, so the absorb even more CO2...
Just a hypothesis[/QUOTE]
You are correct in saying that plants grow much better in higher CO2 environments, but this doesn't necessarily mean that their CO2 absorption is directly proportional that.
[QUOTE=Madtoker;37075232]this is a good thing (i think), since c02 is higher than it naturally should be thanks to the industrial revolution... because co2 traps heat in our atmosphere and less co2 = less heat trapped in our atmosphere if im correct...
EDIT
ocean life isnt going to die by co2 being absorbed, co2 is what keeps most of it alive because all the sea plants absorb co2 thats why the ocean is the biggest co2 sink[/QUOTE]
When CO2 is absorbed into the sea it turns into carbonic acid and causes the acidity of the ocean to intensify. Much ocean life relies on calcium carbonate for survival, whether it's a snail shell, a crabs exoskeleton, or the foundation of a reef. Any increase in the oceans acidity causes calcium carbonate to dissolve, resulting in weaker shells, and thus, a weaker ocean. If the acidity get's too high, calcium carbonate shells won't be able to form, and much of the ocean will die off. Too much of a good thing is almost always a bad thing.
[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;37075385]You are correct in saying that plants grow much better in higher CO2 environments, but this doesn't necessarily mean that their CO2 absorption is directly proportional that.[/QUOTE]
That is why it's a [i]hypothesis[/i]
How many times is this kind of thing going to happen before people realize that earth naturally goes through periods of climate change? The only reason people are so oversensitive about it is because of 'an inconvenient truth.' It's sort of like every other headline being related to earthquakes after a particularly big one, except a hundred times worse.
[QUOTE=Strongbad;37075577]How many times is this kind of thing going to happen before people realize that earth naturally goes through periods of climate change? The only reason people are so oversensitive about it is because of 'an inconvenient truth.' It's sort of like every other headline being related to earthquakes after a particularly big one, except a hundred times worse.[/QUOTE]
No, people are sensitive to it because we know that, regardless of our involvement in it, we're going to see tangible, real effects as the result of a warmer, higher-CO2 climate. We KNOW that as temperatures increase, we will see higher levels of precipitation. We KNOW that we will see sea levels gradually rise. We KNOW that some life will invariably die off because it will be unable to adapt.
Whether or not we have anything to do with it is not the problem, in my opinion. The problem is that, even though we KNOW that we're heading into a warmer climate, we're not doing a goddamn thing to adapt to it. Everyone is so hung up on stopping it (which, I am always eager to remind, is a literal impossibility), that nobody wants to even consider altering their lifestyle to accommodate what is going to come. We need to start getting ready, now.
It's about time to leave the planet.
Who wants to try and jump to Mars from Mount Everest?
[QUOTE=Strongbad;37075577]How many times is this kind of thing going to happen before people realize that earth naturally goes through periods of climate change? The only reason people are so oversensitive about it is because of 'an inconvenient truth.' It's sort of like every other headline being related to earthquakes after a particularly big one, except a hundred times worse.[/QUOTE]
yeah, well
it's only you vs thousands of experts with university degrees on the topic
[QUOTE=Naaz;37075223]Why does it keep saying boffins? Argh I'm American and I din't unnerstand yor langwich[/QUOTE]
The Register has some of the best reporting I've seen (not necessarily factually/accuracy wise) - every article manages to be perfectly tongue-in-cheek. 'Boffins' is just one of their things.
[QUOTE=tdnoob;37075148]Let me answer that question with a question. Why is Venus the hottest planet in the solar system despite not being the closest planet to the Sun? You have your answer.[/QUOTE]
Venus doesnt have plants though.
[QUOTE=Strongbad;37075577]How many times is this kind of thing going to happen before people realize that earth naturally goes through periods of climate change? The only reason people are so oversensitive about it is because of 'an inconvenient truth.' It's sort of like every other headline being related to earthquakes after a particularly big one, except a hundred times worse.[/QUOTE]
[img]http://climate.nasa.gov/images/evidence_CO2.jpg[/img]
This thread is depressing :smith:
[QUOTE=Drewsko;37074969]Can't quite remember. Is CO2 a contributor to the climate change phenomena or not? Because I'm wondering how this discovery can be affecting it or not.[/QUOTE]
That's a pretty easy question to answer with a Google search, to be honest.
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