Climate Letter #582

A new discovery beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.  This finding takes in a remote part of East Antarctica, a region otherwise poorly explored.  The features discovered include a massive subglacial lake and a series of canyons, one of which may be larger than the Grand Canyon, with extensions below sea level.  By implication, Antarctic ice is likely to be even less stable and more prone to melting from below than commonly believed.

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A long-term perspective on oceanic dead zones.  This is a wonderfully written article authored by an Australian, with many historical references.  Dead zones, if left to expand, can be exceedingly dangerous.  Today’s dead zones are caused by poor land management and runoff from farm fertilizers.  The effects are then amplified by a combination of warmer temperatures and acidification.  Past records indicate such a circumstance can lead to a magnified threat of extinction.
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Two experts in paleoclimate studies look past the year 2100.  These scientists have unusual familiarity with the long-term processes that are at work when greenhouse gas is increasing, and which continue to work after the increases stop.  One of them believes that if we double CO2 (from 280 ppm) we will end up with a temperature increase greater than 4.5C.  Also, we have already locked in the much-hyped 1.5C target from where we are now.  Plans for sucking carbon from the air will need to be ramped up in their view.
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Trouble for creatures that live under the snow.  This article from Smithsonian magazine should appeal to nature lovers or to anyone generally worried about damage to ecosystems resulting from human activity.  Scientists are learning more about animals that have adapted to living conditions beneath the snow cover, which is now being lost, reduced or degraded.
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A new way to vastly improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries.  A technique being worked on at Stanford University with help from the DOE looks very promising.  The story mentions a prospect of raising energy density by ten times (!) with added benefits of low size, low weight and low cost.  If so, that would change the auto industry once and for all.
Carl

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