A new examination of the “biological carbon pump” finds it to be twice as strong as previously estimated (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution). The pump has the effect of sequestering a significant part of the excess CO2 emitted by human activity. We now realize its importance more than ever, and why it must be monitored continually to look out for future changes. The story includes a short video that shows exactly how the pump operates. It also highlights the importance of carbon sinks in general, which occur naturally and are outside of our control. They collectively absorb about half of our emissions, and all are needed, but we don’t know if they will all continue to function as before.
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The latest coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was the worst one of all (Phys.org). It was the third mass bleaching in just five years for this 1400-mile long reef. “The damage came as February brought the highest monthly sea temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef since Australia began keeping records in 1900…..For the first time, severe bleaching has struck all three regions of the Great Barrier Reef –- the northern, central and now large parts of the southern sectors.” A full assessment of the damage is yet to come.
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Ice core drillers in Antarctica now believe they can establish a history of hydroxyl ion abundance (ABC News). Certain kinds of greenhouse gas molecules, methane in particular, are in large part only removed from the atmosphere by having contact with naturally occurring molecules in the form of ions called hydroxyl radicals, or OH. Methane molecules are known to be steadily increasing while there are fears that OH, while still adequate, may be susceptible to decline. “What climate modellers need is information back to the beginning of the industrial period so we can work out what OH was up to before we started adding to its workload with ever-increasing emissions…..There would be profound implications if this extremely helpful molecule is found to have been losing its capacity to scrub the skies over time. Corrections would be needed for how long methane hangs around and how quickly it will continue to build up in the future. In short, things could get hotter, much faster than currently predicted.” The story has a fascinating account of the activities involved in the entire process.
–This link has methane concentration data for years 1984-2019:
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A report from the UN describes names several reasons for why scientists believe climate change is driving the proliferation of major pandemics (News4.JAX). “On average a new infectious disease emerges in humans every four months and 75% of these are coming from animals…..climate change is playing a role in driving new health dangers and proliferating these viruses…..biodiversity loss from a warming Earth is a key driver in new novel diseases…..Destruction of nature is hurting human survival because pathogens spread rapidly when the diversity of species is reduced…..Scientific evidence suggests that disease epidemics will become more frequent as the climate continues to change because microbes survive in the environment longer with higher temperatures and humidity.” In addition to coronavirus the list of diseases under review includes Ebola, bird flu, swine flu, MERS, Rift Valley fever, SARS, West Nile virus and the Zika virus.
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The chemical industry has a pathway to carbon neutrality, but it comes with a number of difficulties and disadvantages (ETH Zurich and Utrecht University). A new study covers all the basics, showing that the main problem has to do with the nature of the raw materials that are required. “Polymers, plastics, synthetic textile fibres and medicines all contain carbon. It has to come from somewhere…..As things stand, the vast majority of this carbon comes from oil and natural gas. During production, and when the chemical products are burned or decompose at the end of their life, they release CO2.”
Carl