New Research

[knocker]

The Asian Monsoon is Getting Predictable

 

Researchers find strong correlation between summer monsoon and the climate pattern that preceded it

For much of Asia, the pace of life is tuned to rhythms of monsoons.

 

The summer rainy season is especially important for securing the water and food supplies for more than a billion people. Its variations can mean the difference between drought and flood. Now a Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego-led study reports on a crucial connection that could drastically improve the ability of forecasters to reliably predict the monsoon a few months in advance.

 

Yu Kosaka and Shang-Ping Xie from Scripps and colleagues from NOAA found that a winter appearance of the climate phenomenon called El Niño in the Pacific Ocean can leave its mark on monsoon formation in the Indian Ocean a full six months later. In between is an atmospheric phenomenon called the Pacific-Japan pattern that provides the teleconnection between the two ocean basins and further poleward to East Asia.

 

 

http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/the_asian_monsoon_is_getting_predictable

Edited April 24, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Temperature variability over Africa during the last 2000 years

Abstract

A growing number of proxy, historical and instrumental data sets are now available from continental Africa through which past variations in temperature can be assessed. This paper, co-authored by members of the PAGES Africa2k Working Group, synthesises published material to produce a record of temperature variability for Africa as a whole spanning the last 2000 years. The paper focuses on temperature variability during the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’ (MCA), ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) and late 19th–early 21st centuries. Warmer conditions during the MCA are evident in records from Lake Tanganyika in central Africa, the Ethiopian Highlands in northeastern Africa, and Cango Cave, the Kuiseb River and Wonderkrater in southern Africa. Other records covering the MCA give ambiguous signals. Warming appears to have been greater during the early MCA (c. AD 1000) in parts of southern Africa and during the later MCA (from AD 1100) in Namibia, Ethiopia and at Lake Tanganyika. LIA cooling is evident in Ethiopian and southern African pollen records and in organic biomarker data from Lake Malawi in southeastern tropical Africa, while at Lake Tanganyika the temperature depression appears to have been less consistent. A warming trend in mean annual temperatures is clearly evident from historical and instrumental data covering the late 19th to early 21st centuries. General warming has occurred over Africa since the 1880s punctuated only by a period of cooling in the mid 20th century. The rate of temperature increase appears to have accelerated towards the end of the 20th century. The few long high-resolution proxy records that extend into the late 20th century indicate that average annual temperatures were 1–2°C higher in the last few decades than during the MCA.

 

http://hol.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/04/23/0959683613483618.abstract

Edited April 24, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Claim of solar influence is on thin ice: are 11-year cycle solar minima associated with severe winters in Europe?

A recent paper in Geophysical Research Letters, 'Solar influence on winter severity in central Europe', by Sirocko et al (2012 Geophys. Res. Lett. 39 L16704) claims that 'weak solar activity is empirically related to extremely cold winter conditions in Europe' based on analyses of documentary evidence of freezing of the River Rhine in Germany and of the Reanalysis of the Twentieth Century (20C). However, our attempt to reproduce these findings failed. The documentary data appear to be selected subjectively and agree neither with instrumental observations nor with two other reconstructions based on documentary data. None of these datasets show significant connection between solar activity and winter severity in Europe beyond a common trend. The analysis of Sirocko et al of the 20C circulation and temperature is inconsistent with their time series analysis. A physically-motivated consistent methodology again fails to support the reported conclusions. We conclude that multiple lines of evidence contradict the findings of Sirocko et al.

 

 

http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024014/pdf/1748-9326_8_2_024014.pdf

Edited April 26, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

To what extent do water isotope records from low accumulation Alpine ice cores reproduce instrumental temperature series?

Abstract

Among Alpine ice core drilling sites, the Colle Gnifetti glacier saddle situated in the Monte Rosa summit range is the only one whose net snow accumulation rate is low enough to offer climate records back to some 1000 yr. It is demonstrated that the strong snow erosion at this site particularly hampers the interpretation of stable water isotope records δ¹⁸O, δD in terms of atmospheric temperature changes. We evaluate the δ¹⁸O records from four Colle Gnifetti cores for their common variability to extract a composite isotope record that may be compared with the instrumental temperature evidence. Time series analyses over the last 120 yr reveal that the common δ¹⁸O signal is mainly reflected in the low frequency variability, starting at the decadal scale. Comparing the correspondingly smoothed composite record to the high-elevation temperature time series (specifically adjusted to the seasonality of the net snow accumulation) reveals the following findings: On the decadal scale, the isotope variability correlates with the temperature record at around R=0.65 but is interrupted by three, ca. 10-yr long mismatch periods. The multidecadal isotope signal closely reflects the strong overall 20th century temperature increase, thereby showing an up to three-fold higher isotope temperature sensitivity than commonly assumed. Over the entire instrumental period back to 1760, five more such mismatch periods are embedded in the generally coherent pattern of the δ¹⁸O and instrumental temperature records (including the strong overestimate of the temperature around 1850 by the isotope temperature proxy). For the early instrumental period (1890–1760) characterized by a comparably weak long-term temperature trend, the isotope signal generally suggests warmer conditions of about 0.4°C compared to instrumental data.

 

 

http://www.tellusb.net/index.php/tellusb/article/view/20148/html

[knocker]

Researchers pinpoint how trees play role in smog production Thursday, April 25, 2013

After years of scientific uncertainty and speculation, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill show exactly how trees help create one of society’s predominant environmental and health concerns: air pollution.

It has long been known that trees produce and emit isoprene, an abundant molecule in the air known to protect leaves from oxygen damage and temperature fluctuations. However, in 2004, researchers, contrary to popular assumptions, revealed that isoprene was likely involved in the production of particulate matter, tiny particles that can get lodged in lungs, lead to lung cancer and asthma, and damage other tissues, not to mention the environment.

 

http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5998/107/

[Gray-Wolf]

Well that's worryingly odd Knocker!

[pottyprof]

So planting more trees will kill us?

 

At least this is one part of climate change I fully accept.  The amount of totally unnecessary vehicle journeys each day has to be reduced and an agreement needs to be reached throughout the world with regards to public transport support from governments and restrictions need to be placed on private transport when the destination is supported by public transport.  People always use the "well public transport is always unreliable" excuse, not realising that they are becoming part of the problem for making it unreliable.

[knocker]

Evolution of Antarctic ozone in September–December predicted by CCMVal-2 model simulations for the 21st century

 

Abstract. Chemistry-Climate Model Validation phase 2 (CCMVal-2) model simulations are used to analyze Antarctic ozone increases in 2000–2100 during local spring and early summer, both vertically integrated and at several pressure levels in the lower stratosphere. Multi-model median trends of monthly zonal mean total ozone column (TOC), ozone volume mixing ratio (VMR), wind speed and temperature poleward of 60° S are investigated. Median values are used to account for large variability in models, and the associated uncertainty is calculated using a bootstrapping technique. According to the trend derived from the twelve CCMVal-2 models selected, Antarctic TOC will not return to a 1965 baseline, an average of 1960–1969 values, by the end of the 21st century in September–November, but will return in ~2080 in December. The speed of December ozone depletion before 2000 was slower compared to spring months, and thus the decadal rate of December TOC increase after 2000 is also slower. Projected trends in December ozone VMR at 20–100 hPa show a much slower rate of ozone recovery, particularly at 50–70 hPa, than for spring months. Trends in temperature and winds at 20–150 hPa are also analyzed in order to attribute the projected slow increase of December ozone and to investigate future changes in the Antarctic atmosphere in general, including some aspects of the polar vortex breakup.

 

 

http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/13/4413/2013/acp-13-4413-2013.pdf

[knocker]

Canada's distinctive tuya volcanoes reveal glacial, palaeo-climate secrets Detailed mapping and sampling of the partially eroded Kima' Kho tuya in northern British Columbia, Canada shows that the ancient regional ice sheet through which the volcano erupted was twice as thick as previously estimated

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/uobc-cdt042913.php

[knocker]

Monitoring European average temperature based on the E-OBS gridded dataset^†

Abstract
[1] A European average temperature with monthly resolution is constructed based on the E-OBS daily dataset with near real-time updates for monitoring. Taken together, the European average temperature and the associated gridded daily maps of surface temperature from the E-OBS dataset provide a detailed record of European climate variability and change since 1950. Both are based on validated station data provided by the European National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. A quantitative analysis of the uncertainty sources to the European average temperature indicates that the uncertainties due to urbanization, statistical interpolation and the potential inhomogeneities in the input records to E-OBS dominate the total uncertainty estimate. In the aggregation of the interpolation uncertainty from the daily to the monthly level and then to a European averaged value, the effective sample size and the effective spatial degrees of freedom are estimated to account for spatial and temporal coherency in the uncertainty estimates. The European average temperature shows that seven years in the top-10 of warmest years are from the period starting as recent as the year 2000 and a clear upward trend in annual average temperatures over the last few decades is visible. The most recent year in the top-10 of coldest years is 1987. It also shows that warming in Europe is accelerating compared to the warming over the global land masses and to a lesser extent compared to the Northern Hemisphere land masses over the period 1980-2010

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jgrd.50444/abstract

Edited May 2, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Shipping contributes to ocean acidification^†

Abstract

[1] The potential effect on surface water pH of emissions of SO_X and NO_X from global ship routes is assessed. The results indicate that regional pH reductions of the same order of magnitude as the CO₂-driven acidification can occur in heavily trafficked waters. These findings have important consequences for ocean chemistry, since the sulfuric and nitric acids formed are strong acids in contrast to the weak carbonic acid formed by dissolution of CO₂. Our results also provide background for discussion of expanded controls to mitigate acidification due to these shipping emissions.

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50521/abstract

Edited May 2, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Not completely new but given the time scale new enough.

 

A Pacific Decadal Oscillation record since 1470 AD reconstructed from proxy data of summer rainfall over eastern China

] Recent studies indicated that the spatial pattern and temporal variability of summer rainfall over eastern China are well correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Here we used a data set of the drought/flood index (a proxy of summer rainfall) since 1470 AD to reconstruct the annual PDO index. The reconstruction indicates that the PDO is a robust feature of North Pacific climate variability throughout the study period, however, the major modes of oscillation providing the basic PDO regime timescale have not been persistent over the last 530 years. The quasi-centennial (75–115-yr) and pentadecadal (50–70-yr) oscillations dominated the periods before and after 1850, respectively. Our analysis suggest that solar forcing fluctuation on quasi-centennial time scale (Gleissberg cycle) could be the pace-maker of the PDO before 1850, and the PDO behavior after 1850 could be due, in part, to the global warming.

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%291944-8007/homepage/frontier_articles.htm

 

And I'm still having a problem with this regarding the PDO

 

 

Pacific Decadal Oscillation index (blue, University of Washington) versus Global Temperature Anomaly (Red - GISS Temp). Smoothed data (thicker blue and red lines) and trend lines (thick straight line) are added.

 

Natural oscillations like PDO simply move heat around from oceans to air and vice-versa.  They don't have the ability to either create or retain heat, therefore they're not capable of causing a long-term warming trend, just short-term temperature variations.  Basically they're an example of internal variability, not an external radiative forcing.  If PDO were responsible for warming the surface, the oceans would be cooling, which is not the case.

These results are expected.  The long term warming trend is a result of an energy imbalance caused primarily by an increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  In contrast, the PDO is an internal process and does not increase or decrease the total energy in the climate system.

 

http://www.skepticalscience.com/Pacific-Decadal-Oscillation.htm

Edited May 3, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Attribution of observed sea level pressure trends to greenhouse gas, aerosol and ozone changes^†

Abstract

[1] Human influence on atmospheric sea level pressure (SLP) has previously been detected globally, but the contributions of greenhouse gas, aerosol and ozone changes to the observed trends have not been separately identified. We use simulations from eight climate models to show that greenhouse gas, aerosol and ozone changes each drive distinct seasonal and geographical patterns of trends, which are separately detectable in observed seasonal SLP trends over the 1951–2011 period. This detection is driven by significant low-latitude SLP responses to greenhouse gas, aerosol and ozone changes, as well as the more frequently-studied high latitude responses. These results aid in understanding past atmospheric circulation changes, and have potential to improve projections of future circulation changes.

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50500/abstract

Edited May 3, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Detection of human influence on sea-level pressure

Greenhouse gases and tropospheric sulphate aerosols—the main human influences on climate—have been shown to have had a detectable effect on surface air temperature^{1, 2, 3}, the temperature of the free troposphere and stratosphere^{2, 4} and ocean temperature^{5, 6}. Nevertheless, the question remains as to whether human influence is detectable in any variable other than temperature. Here we detect an influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols in observations of winter sea-level pressure (December to February), using combined simulations from four climate models. We find increases in sea-level pressure over the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, southern Europe and North Africa, and decreases in the polar regions and the North Pacific Ocean, in response to human influence. Our analysis also indicates that the climate models substantially underestimate the magnitude of the sea-level pressure response. This discrepancy suggests that the upward trend in the North Atlantic Oscillation index⁷ (corresponding to strengthened westerlies in the North Atlantic region), as simulated in a number of global warming scenarios^{8, 9, 10}, may be too small, leading to an underestimation of the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on European climate.

 

 

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v422/n6929/full/nature01487.html

[knocker]

Time-variable gravity observations of ice sheet mass balance: precision and limitations of the GRACE satellite data^†

Abstract

[1] Time-variable gravity data from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission have been available since 2002 to estimate the mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets. We analyze current progress and uncertainties in GRACE estimates of ice sheet mass balance. We discuss the impacts of errors associated with spherical harmonic truncation, spatial averaging, temporal sampling, and leakage from other time-dependent signals (e.g. Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA)). The largest sources of error for Antarctica are the GIA correction, the omission of l = 1 terms, non-tidal changes in ocean mass, and measurement errors. For Greenland, the errors come mostly from the uncertainty in the scaling factor. Using Release 5.0 (RL05) GRACE fields for Jan 2003 through Nov 2012, we find a mass change of −258 ± 41 Gt/yr for Greenland, with an acceleration of −31 ± 6 Gt/yr², and a loss that migrated clockwise around the ice sheet margin to progressively affect the entire periphery. For Antarctica, we report changes of −83 ± 49 and −147 ± 80 Gt/yr for two GIA models, with an acceleration of −12 ± 9 Gt/yr² and a dominance from the southeast pacific sector of West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula.

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50527/abstract

Edited May 5, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Comprehensive study of Arctic Ocean acidification

 

The Arctic Ocean is rapidly accumulating carbon dioxide leading to increased ocean acidification – a long-term decline in seawater pH. This ongoing change impacts Arctic marine ecosystems already affected by rising temperatures and melting sea ice.

 

http://www.cicero.uio.no/webnews/index_e.aspx?id=11909

Edited May 6, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Organic vapours affect clouds leading to previously unidentified climate cooling

06 May 2013

 

University of Manchester scientists, writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, have shown that natural emissions and manmade pollutants can both have an unexpected cooling effect on the world’s climate by making clouds brighter.

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=9975

Edited May 6, 2013 by knocker

[knocker]

Warming of Atlantic Water in two west Spitsbergen fjords over the last century (1912-2009)

Abstract

The recently observed warming of west Spitsbergen fjords has led to anomalous sea-ice conditions and has implications for the marine ecosystem. We investigated long-term trends of maximum temperature of AtlanticWater (AW) in two west Spitsbergen fjords. The data set is composed of more than 400 oceanographic stations for Isfjorden and Grønfjorden (78.1°N), spanning from 1876 to 2009. Trends throughout the last century (1912-2009) indicate an increase of 1.9°C and 2.1°C in the maximum temperature during autumn for Isfjorden and Grønfjorden, respectively. A recent warming event in the beginning of the 21st century is found to be more than 1°C higher than the second warmest period in the time series. Mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) data from ERA-40 and ERA-Interim data sets produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and mean temperature in the core of the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) at the Sørkapp Section along 76.3°N were used to explain the variability of the maximum temperature. A correlation analysis confirmed previous findings, showing that variability in the oceanography of the fjords can be explained mainly by two external factors: AW temperature variability in the WSC and regional patterns of the wind stress field. To take both processes into consideration, a multiple regression model accounting for temperature in the WSC core and MSLP over the area was developed. The predicted time series shows a reasonable agreement with observed maxima temperature in Isfjorden for the period 1977-2009 (N=24), with a statistically significant multiple correlation coefficient of 0.60 (R²=0.36) at P<0.05.

 

 

http://www.polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/11206

[knocker]

Streuth.

 

Agnotology: learning from mistakes

 

Abstract.

Replication is an important part of science, and by repeating past analyses, we show that a number of papers in the scientific literature contain severe methodological flaws which can easily be identified through simple tests and demonstrations. In many cases, shortcomings are related to a lack of robustness, leading to results that are not universally valid but rather an artifact of a particular experimental set-up. Some examples presented here have ignored data that do not fit the conclusions, and in several other cases, inappropriate statistical methods have been adopted or conclusions have been based on misconceived physics. These papers may serve as educational case studies for why certain analytical approaches sometimes are unsuitable in providing reliable answers. They also highlight the merit of replication. A lack of common replication has repercussions for the quality of the scientific literature, and may be a reason why some controversial questions remain unanswered even when ignorance could be reduced. Agnotology is the study of such ignorance. A free and open-source software is provided for demonstration purposes.

 

 

http://www.earth-syst-dynam-discuss.net/4/451/2013/esdd-4-451-2013.pdf

[Polar Maritime]

[knocker]

Decadal Variations in the Global Atmospheric Land Temperatures^†

Abstract

[1] Interannual to decadal variations in Earth global temperature estimates have often been identified with El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. However, we show that variability on timescales of 2–15 years in mean annual global land surface temperature anomalies T_avg are more closely correlated with variability in sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic. In particular, the cross-correlation of annually-averaged values of T_avg with annual values of the AMO, the Atlantic Mutidecadal Oscillation index, is much stronger than the cross-correlation of T_avg with ENSO. The pattern of fluctuations in T_avg from 1950 to 2010 reflects true climate variability, and is not an artifact of station sampling. A world map of temperature correlations shows that the association with AMO is broadly distributed and unidirectional. The effect of El Nino on temperature is locally stronger, but can be of either sign, leading to less impact on the global average. We identify one strong narrow spectral peak in the AMO at period 9.1 ± 0.4 years and p-value 1.7% (CL 98.3%). Variations in the flow of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may be responsible for some of the 2–15 year variability observed in global land temperatures.

 

 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jgrd.50458/abstract

Edited May 7, 2013 by knocker

[Coast]

Not sure if this is the right area for a bit of news about the Arctic marine ecosystem?

 

Decline of super-cute Arctic fox may be linked to increased mercury levels

 

Dangerous levels of mercury in Arctic ecosystems could be having a harmful effect on Arctic fox populations, according to research published in PLOS One on 6 May.

 

Mercury exposure could have contributed to a catastrophic drop in Arctic fox populations on one Russian island, say the researchers. The findings suggest that increasing levels of mercury in marine ecosystems could have a significant impact on land animals with a marine-based diet.

 

The team of Russian, German, and Icelandic scientists examined hair samples from inland and coastal populations of Arctic foxes, comparing data from populations in Russia and Iceland. In particular they compared samples from Medny Island, part of the Commander Islands in the North Pacific, where the foxes eat a primarily marine-based diet of sea birds, to samples from the neighbouring Bering Island, where the foxes have a more diverse diet. 

 

Between 1970 and 1980, the Arctic fox population on Medny Island collapsed mysteriously, declining from around 1000 foxes to approximately 100 today. "We started to look for different pathogens that might underline the cause of the poor condition and high mortality but we couldn't find anything," lead author Dr Gabor Czirjak from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, told the BBC. Instead, the authors say, they found high levels of mercury that matched the symptoms found in the Medny Island fox population.

 

Conservations efforts targeting inland populations of Arctic fox, and other animals, could therefore be more effective as coastal populations will have a greater exposure to mercury. Mercury exposure is a particular problem in the Arctic region, with Nasa research suggesting that reductions in the amount of sea ice are contributing to the increase in mercury levels. Despite a recent UN agreement to control the use of mercury and prevent its release into the environment, some models suggest that there will be a 25 percent increase in human emission by 2020 as compared with 2005.

 

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-05/7/arctic-foxes-mercury

Edited May 8, 2013 by Coast

[knocker]

How do weather characteristics change in a warming climate?

Abstract

The possible change in the characteristics of weather in the future should be considered as important as the mean climate change because the increasing risk of extremes is related to the variability on daily time scales. The weather characteristics can be represented by the climatological mean interdiurnal (day-to-day) variability (MIDV). This paper first assessed the phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project coupled climate models’ capability to represent MIDV for the surface maximum and minimum temperature, surface wind speed and precipitation under the present climate condition. Based on the assessment, we selected three best models for projecting future change. We found that the future changes in MIDV are characterized by: (a) a marked reduction in surface maximum and minimum temperature over high latitudes during the cold season; (b) a stronger reduction in the surface minimum temperature than in the maximum temperature; © a reduction in surface wind speed over large parts of lands in Northern Hemisphere (NH) during NH spring; (d) a noticeable increase in precipitation in NH mid-high latitudes in NH spring and winter, and in particular over East Asia throughout most of the year.

 

 

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00382-013-1795-8

[Coast]

and in the same day:

 

The Acid Ocean: Arctic’s soaring CO2 leaves fish and hunters gasping for life

 

Greenhouse gases are making seawater toxic for many species of marine life, warn experts

 

The Arctic Ocean is absorbing carbon dioxide at a far greater rate than was previously thought, threatening fish stocks and the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, a report suggests. The surface, or top 100 metres, of the ocean is now about 35 per cent more acidic than it was at the start of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, with potentially huge implications for Arctic ecosystems.

 

The changing chemical make-up of the seawater threatens to wipe out large numbers of herring, cod and capelin – a small fish largely used as animal feed – as well as plankton and crabs. This could affect the livelihoods of indigenous populations that rely on fishing and hunting, for example, the Canadian Inuit, as well as reducing food for birds and larger marine mammals such as walruses.

 

The acidification could also put further pressure on the rapidly diminishing global supply of fish for human consumption. The report’s lead author, Richard Bellerby, of the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, told The Independent: “Sea urchins, in particular, are very sensitive to acidification and are a major food source for marine mammals like walruses, as are some of the plankton, which are important food for fish. “This could have significant implications for large economically important regions like the Canadian archipelago, the waters north of Alaska and the Barents Sea.â€

 

Parnuna Egede, an adviser to the Greenland branch of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents the 160,000 Inuit people living in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Chukotka in Russia, said: “The Arctic communities are extremely worried about the effects on our ecosystem because we so deeply rely on the Arctic Ocean and its animals.†The Arctic Ocean takes in the coastlines of the US, Canada, Russia, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

 

Among the world’s seas it is particularly vulnerable to acidification because of a “triple whammy†of conditions, said the report, to which 60 experts contributed. Recent trends that have resulted from global warming have served to accelerate the process of acidification. The rapid shrinking of Arctic sea ice to a record low last year left a greater surface area of sea through which to absorb the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).

 

Additionally, the increasing flows from rivers and melting land ice have delivered another blow since freshwater is less effective at chemically neutralising the impact of the CO2. Meanwhile, cold water absorbs more CO2 than warmer water, while ever-increasing carbon emissions mean there is even more to absorb, the report said.

 

“Ocean acidification is likely to affect the abundance, productivity and distribution of marine species, but the magnitude and direction of change are uncertain …. Experiments show that a wide variety of animals grow more slowly under the acidification levels projected for coming centuries,†the report said. But carbon absorption is “not all doom and gloomâ€, it added. The more carbon dioxide the sea absorbs, the less is left in the atmosphere, thereby reducing the impact of global warming. Also, some life forms, such as sea grasses “appear to thrive under such conditionsâ€.

 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/the-acid-ocean-arctics-soaring-co2-leaves-fish-and-hunters-gasping-for-life-8606805.html?google_editors_picks=true

[4wd]

What are the actual figures for this acidification which is making the Ocean 'toxic'.It seems a mischievously worded piece making sweeping statements such as that but read it properly and it's the usual 'threatens' and 'coulds'The play on 'acid' alone is pure hyperbole since they mean slightly less alkaline in factAlso what is this 'soaring Arctic CO2' in the title about.Has it soared significantly more than the same gradual climb observed elsewhere?In short it sounds like another soundbite propaganda piece to be spread around the net by the converted, purpose being what exactly?To frighten schoolchildren to the cause presumably, because anyone with any maturity can see it for what it is.It's just more of the endless negativity and carping that the alarmists are so fond of.