UBC Study - Oceans Substantially Less Effective At CO2 Uptake Than In Last Interglacial

[hatrack]

EDIT

What the analysis determined is that the slow, sluggish movement of the deep ocean was even slower during the last ice age - meaning the CO2 stored within it was even more isolated from the Earth's atmosphere. Right now, said Galbraith, surface water sucked into the deep ocean typically doesn't return to the surface for 2,000 years. During the last ice age, he said, that round trip took closer to 3,000 years.

The study also found the deep ocean stored more CO2 during the ice age than it did once things warmed up. Galbraith stressed that his research is historical - he can only see what happened before, not what happens next. But he said it may mean that as the Earth becomes warmer, the ocean's CO2-disposal system could start breaking down.

"We've been benefitting from this pump that's in the ocean, pumping the CO2 into the deep sea," he said. "If the last ice age was a good analogy, this pump is not going to function as well in the future... That it won't take up as much CO2 as it has in the past." Any changes in ocean CO2 levels are likely to be gradual, said Galbraith, taking place over centuries, not decades.

But even a tiny change could have a big impact on earth, he said, because the ocean contains about 60 times more CO2 than the atmosphere. "The numbers we're talking about are so big they could have big impacts on the outcome of climate change," he said.

EDIT

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=16f6aafe-7eb8-4975-abe0-d6dc64e5d757&k=96762

[kestrel91316]

1. Oh, goody! More uplifting news......

[KansDem]

2. This scares me more than any other global climate change issue.

We can stop the cutting down of old-growth forests;
We can stop the construction of coal-fired power plants;
We can change over to renewable energies;
We can change over to electric cars and hybrids;
There are a multitude of actions we can take to thwart climate change...
It might take great political will and courage, but we can do it.

I've read that the oceans remove CO2 from the atmosphere. However, the oceans are saturated with CO2, and cannot remove any more. It's like when a body that is injured or sickened can no longer heal itself; it just "shuts down" in preparation to die. When I read reports like this one, I feel nature itself is in the process of "shutting down." It can no longer heal itself; the world is preparing to die.

Then I think we're are in deep trouble...

[tom_paine]

3. The world is preparing to reach a new state of equilibirum, it is only humanity that is going to die

and all the species we have or are goig to extinct before we go.

Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if we don't deal a major blow to the mamallian hold on the top niches of the ecoshpere when we go, the same way the dinsosaurs' extinction coincided with a massive retreat of the reptilians from the "top ecological niches" to be replaced by mammals.

I wouldn't worry about the Earth. The gal can take care of herself. In fact, she's getting ready to shake us off like a bad case of fleas.

[XemaSab]

4. Deep ocean circulation...

:happy sigh: