Climate Change News & Discussions

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Weaker ocean cir­cu­la­tion led to more car­bon stor­age in the deep sea
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-weaker-oc ... orage.html
by MARUM

The movement of water masses in the ocean, its circulation, is an essential component of the global climate system. In a study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), researchers were able to show that circulation in the deep ocean was significantly slowed down during the last glacial period. Analyses of sediment samples show that the decomposition of organic carbon in the water masses of the deep sea consumed the oxygen available there. Scientists from Oklahoma State University (U.S.), GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen are involved in the publication.

As a natural sink for carbon, the ocean is a central element of the Earth's climate system. The amount of carbon removed from the system in the long run depends on how much particles containing carbon are stored in the seabed. Here, the availability of dissolved oxygen is of central importance, as it is consumed during the microbial decomposition of previously formed biomass. The distribution of oxygen in the water column is primarily determined by the vertical circulation. To answer the question of whether the corresponding conditions in the deep ocean were subject to changes in the recent history of the Earth, the authors of the new study examined sediment samples. Chemical elements that can be used as indicators for oxygen-free conditions and are preserved in the sediment over thousands to millions of years were analyzed.
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Study: Climate-only models likely underestimate species extinction
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-climate-o ... ction.html
by Mikayla MacE Kelley, University of Arizona
Ecologists estimate that 15 to 37 percent of plant and animal species will go extinct as a direct result of the rapidly changing climate. But new University of Arizona-led research published in the journal Ecology Letters shows that current models don't account for the complexities of ecosystems as they are impacted by climate change. As a result, these extinction rates are likely underestimated.

As the climate continues to rapidly change, the area in which a given species can live often shrinks. Researchers wondered what factors beyond climate must be considered when trying to determine species abundance, distribution and risk of extinction.

"This is a central question in ecology, and it has become even more important with climate change," said study co-author Margaret Evans, assistant professor of dendrochronology in the UArizona Laboratory of Tree Ring Research.

Evans and her collaborators used data from over 23,000 piñon pines in the southwestern United States to model how climate affects the pine species. While climate affects the trees directly via temperature and precipitation, it also impacts them indirectly through its influence on insects and fire, the researchers found. Those indirect effects can cause rapid shifts in the trees' population and distribution on the landscape. The researchers say this nuance cannot be captured using climate-only models, which base their estimates on direct climate impacts.
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wjfox wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:29 am
I wonder how much of this is attributed to the declining population of Japan. :geek:
To know is essentially the same as not knowing. The only thing that occurs is the rearrangement of atoms in your brain.
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Himalayan glaciers melting at 'exceptional rate'
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-himalayan ... ional.html
by University of Leeds
The accelerating melting of the Himalayan glaciers threatens the water supply of millions of people in Asia, new research warns.

The study, led by the University of Leeds, concludes that over recent decades the Himalayan glaciers have lost ice ten times more quickly over the last few decades than on average since the last major glacier expansion 400-700 years ago, a period known as the Little Ice Age.

The study also reveals that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking far more rapidly than glaciers in other parts of the world—a rate of loss the researchers describe as "exceptional".

The paper, which is published in Scientific Reports, made a reconstruction of the size and ice surfaces of 14,798 Himalayan glaciers during the Little Ice Age. The researchers calculate that the glaciers have lost around 40 percent of their area—shrinking from a peak of 28,000 km2 to around 19,600 km2 today.

During that period they have also lost between 390 km3 and 586 km3 of ice—the equivalent of all the ice contained today in the central European Alps, the Caucasus, and Scandinavia combined. The water released through that melting has raised sea levels across the world by between 0.92 mm and 1.38 mm, the team calculates.
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