Deep ice tells long climate story
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By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News, Norwich
Carbon dioxide levels are substantially higher now than at anytime in the last 800,000 years, the latest study of ice drilled out of Antarctica confirms.
The in-depth analysis of air bubbles trapped in a 3.2km-long core of frozen snow shows current greenhouse gas concentrations are unprecedented.
The East Antarctic core is the longest, deepest ice column yet extracted.
Project scientists say its contents indicate humans could be bringing about dangerous climate changes.
"My point would be that there's nothing in the ice core that gives us any cause for comfort," said Dr Eric Wolff from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
"There's nothing that suggests that the Earth will take care of the increase in carbon dioxide. The ice core suggests that the increase in carbon dioxide will definitely give us a climate change that will be dangerous," he told BBC News.
The Antarctic researcher was speaking here at the British Association's (BA) Science Festival.
Slice of history
The ice core comes from a region of the White Continent known as Dome Concordia (Dome C). It has been drilled out by the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (Epica), a 10-country consortium.
The column's value to science is the tiny pockets of ancient air that werelocked into its millennia of accumulating snowflakes.
Each slice of this now compacted snow records a moment in Earth history, giving researchers a direct measure of past environmental conditions.
Not only can scientists see past concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane - the two principal human-produced gases now blamed for global warming - in the slices, they can also gauge past temperatures from the samples, too.
This is done by analysing the presence of different types, or isotopes, of hydrogen atom that are found preferentially in precipitating water (snow) when temperatures are relatively warm.
'Scary' rate
Initial results from the Epica core were published in 2004 and 2005, detailing the events back to 440,000 years and 650,000 years respectively. Scientists have now gone the full way through the column, back another 150,000 years.
The picture is the same: carbon dioxide and temperature rise and fall in step.
Like tiny time capsules, bubbles trap ancient samples of atmosphere
"Ice cores reveal the Earth's natural climate rhythm over the last 800,000 years. When carbon dioxide changed there was always an accompanying climate change. Over the last 200 years human activity has increased carbon dioxide to well outside the natural range," explained Dr Wolff.
The "scary thing", he added, was the rate of change now occurring in CO2 concentrations. In the core, the fastest increase seen was of the order of 30 parts per million (ppm) by volume over a period of roughly 1,000 years.
"The last 30 ppm of increase has occurred in just 17 years. We really are in the situation where we don't have an analogue in our records," he said.
Natural buffer
The plan now is to try to extend the ice-core record even further back in time. Scientists think another location, near to a place known as Dome A (Dome Argus), could allow them to sample atmospheric gases up to a million and a half years ago.
Some of the increases in carbon dioxide will be alleviated by natural "sinks" on the land and in the oceans, such as the countless planktonic organisms that effectively pull carbon out of the atmosphere as they build skeletons and shell coverings.
But Dr Corinne Le Quéré, of the University of East Anglia and BAS, warned the festival that these sinks may become less efficient over time.
We could not rely on them to keep on buffering our emissions, she said.
"For example, we don't know what the effect will be of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems. There is potential for deterioration," she explained.
More CO2 absorbed by the oceans will raise their pH, and a number of recent studies have concluded that this increase in acidity will eventually disrupt the ability of marine micro-organisms to use the calcium carbonate in the water to produce their hard parts.
Ice is never more than persistent...
The supposed 'remediations' based on 'greenhouse suppositions' can have NO beneficial effect, there NOT possible any 'CO2 based' warming effect to begin with, and can only then be seen as potentially DETRIMENTAL to the NATURAL course of Climate events and the persistence of those NATURAL alterations to Climate being observed in their irregular but otherwise reasonable GENTLE style. The 'arrangement' organised in Kyoto was not at all an 'environmental remediation', those materials constituting the actual environment with their actual behaviours going unregarded. There are NOT infact any 'greenhouse behaving' (as per the 'greenhouse theory' describes') gases within the Atmosphere & thus there CANNOT be a 'greenhouse effect' even existent. Attempts to present measure of CO2, or supposed 'greenhouse gases' generally, as a 'proxy' for Temperature ignores that fact that such measure do NOT indicate the actual induction of Kinetic Energy by those materials actually present. Attempts to fabricate 'authenticity' for such proxy generally rely upon use of other 'greenhouse calculations for otherwise 'unknown periods' which cannot be presented in FACT or accuracy. One guess does NOT validate another when there is NOT any reality in either.
It is NOT possible for the 'greenhouse theory' to produce in reality a 'warming effect' as it is supposed, with manipulation of Energy within the 'Infrared Region' with regard to the real materials present (including those materials involved/contained in 'life forms'. In case of ANY further 'confusion' as to which 'material' is the most involved in the ENERGY interaction concerns of the surface Bio-forms, it is their content of SALINE WATER which makes ANY fluctuation in Energy within the Infrared Region UNABLE to present any sufficiency of ENERGY to 'control' a 'warming process' as is made within the 'greenhouse theory'. That the HUMAN Bio-form is NOW 'traceable' to ~7 Millions years into the Past and is NOT in that time showing ANY consistent traits TO the persistent presence of a supposed 'greenhouse effect' within that 'period'.
If is noticed the reality of the warmer ocean surface (slides in link * below), you will see that this trend follows the present Land Surface rise in 'shape' even, lagging by 15 years due to the productions of Conduction and Convection transporting that Kinetic Energy TO the Ocean Surface whilst the muting of that displayed trend is due to internal production of Turbulence in the Ocean surface as reaction to those inputs of Kinetic Energy (this trend is seen in plots at the link * below). There is nothing UNNATURAL seen as yet in the production of the overall Climate Oscillation, and ONLY the cumulative effect from the production of Human Habitat Sprawl upon the land surface (related to Human Population growth in its rapid rise from 500 Million to over 6 Billion in ~400 years) can be seen (see slides at link *).
There is not any valid link either for CO2 (noticing its actual behaviours) to any possible warming process. So apart from pollution, there is not any reason to consider existent a 'greenhouse warming & climate altering' process. Isotopical analysis is not able to discern more that the spread of Isotopical forms, and these are well known to present identical Chemistry. This FACT is used widely in SCIENCE (Medicine especially) and cannot tell where the Carbon atom 'came' from with regard to 'fossil fuel combustion' in otherwise non-unique molecules (again CO2 is not unique). The 'Fossil Oil' combustion is only proffering a large sample of Carbon Atoms, but from a Natural source originally. 'Post Combustion' Products only contain only the same 'distribution' of Carbon Atoms in their molecular structures, but it is only those MOLECULES that are UNIQUELY produced that could then be linked to Combustion Processes. CO2 is NOT 'unique' in any manner in its potential production and even exists in the inflowing 'air' to the 'combustion process.
Next, the 'date' for the Ice Sheets is VERY interesting as the present Primary Trough is only ~3 Million 'years old' and so there was NOT any seeming 'permanent existence' of these sheets within the previous ~200 Million years of the Primary Crest. See link (*) below. Attempts to present measure of CO2, or supposed 'greenhouse gases' generally, as a 'proxy' for Temperature ignores that fact that such measure do NOT indicate the actual induction of Kinetic Energy by those materials actually present. Attempts to fabricate 'authenticity' for such proxy generally rely upon use of other 'greenhouse calculations for otherwise 'unknown periods' which cannot be presented in FACT or accuracy. One guess does NOT validate another when there is NOT any reality in either. Temperature measure is not either any valid manner of determining 'climate change' either, again see outlines in link (*) below.
It is that Climate Change is occurring always, the LIE is in the attempt to overlay supposition of a 'greenhouse effect' and 'unnatural alterations' form such by 'Humanity'. The sooner the PLATFORM of 'greenhouse fear' is removed, the sooner real SCIENCE can again 'get on' with determination of the most major mystery needing attention. The focus on 'politics' still avoids notice of the paucity of 'greenhouse issues' to address the REALITY that Humanity lives within, trying to focus instead on aspects of HOW humanity 'lives'. The irreverence of 'greenhouse warming opinion' FOR the NATURAL ENVIRONS (& the real materials composing such) that Humanity lives WITHIN highlights the disjunction of 'greenhouse science' (along with the "Kyoto Treaty and other 'related platforms') from the REAL world and presents ONLY a danger of 'blind tinkering' within ANY 'attitude & opinion' exceeding 'POLLUTION regulation' made regarding 'manmade' CO2/CH4, there NOT being any real 'greenhouse capable gases' otherwise present, or UNNATURAL 'climate change' being displayed.
Climate Change is natural, produced within a Natural & Irregularly Periodic Progression, the LIE is in the attempts to overlay 'greenhouse opinion' and label such as 'science'. The PUBLIC is not listening (hence the effort to continue with MORE 'Movie & Book' platforming) to the 'environmental lie' being platformed. It is very easy to understand if one steps away from the 'greenhouse wagon' and looks back at that 'vehicle', it remains a POLITICAL platform where 'advocates in white coats' are STILL advocates.
One wonders why still 'these greenhouse few' would be demanding attention?
Your's,
Peter K. Anderson a.k.a. Hartlod(tm)
E-Mail: Hartlod@bigpond.com
(*)- http://hartlod.blogspot.com/
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