CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
Methane 'escaping' from Arctic sea bed
September 23, 2008.
As reported on ITN - U.K.
Scientists fear the rate of global warming could accelerate due to the escape of methane from
beneath the Arctic seabed.
Huge methane deposits are rising to the surface as the Arctic region heats up, according to
preliminary findings.
Researchers found massive stores of sub-sea methane in several areas across thousands of
square miles of the Siberian continental shelf and observed the gas bubbling up from the sea
floor through "chimneys", according to reports.
One of the expedition leaders, Orjan Gustafsson, of Stockholm University in Sweden, said
researchers had found "an extensive area of intense methane release".
Mr Gustafsson said: "At earlier sites we had found elevated levels of dissolved methane.
Yesterday, for the first time, we documented a field where the release was so intense that the
methane did not have time to dissolve into the seawater but was rising as methane bubbles to
the sea surface. These 'methane chimneys' were documented on echo sounder and with
seismic [instruments]."
The researchers believe escaping sub-sea methane - which is around 20 times more damaging
than carbon dioxide - is connected to the recent rises in temperatures in the Arctic region.
He added: "The conventional thought has been that the permafrost 'lid' on the sub-sea
sediments on the Siberian shelf should cap and hold the massive reservoirs of shallow methane
deposits in place.
"The growing evidence for release of methane in this inaccessible region may suggest that the
permafrost lid is starting to get perforated and thus leak methane. The permafrost now has
small holes.
"We have found elevated levels of methane above the water surface and even more in the
water just below. It is obvious that the source is the seabed."
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20080923/tuk-methane-escaping-from-arctic-sea-bed-dba1618.ht
ml
September 23, 2008.
As reported on ITN - U.K.
Scientists fear the rate of global warming could accelerate due to the escape of methane from
beneath the Arctic seabed.
Huge methane deposits are rising to the surface as the Arctic region heats up, according to
preliminary findings.
Researchers found massive stores of sub-sea methane in several areas across thousands of
square miles of the Siberian continental shelf and observed the gas bubbling up from the sea
floor through "chimneys", according to reports.
One of the expedition leaders, Orjan Gustafsson, of Stockholm University in Sweden, said
researchers had found "an extensive area of intense methane release".
Mr Gustafsson said: "At earlier sites we had found elevated levels of dissolved methane.
Yesterday, for the first time, we documented a field where the release was so intense that the
methane did not have time to dissolve into the seawater but was rising as methane bubbles to
the sea surface. These 'methane chimneys' were documented on echo sounder and with
seismic [instruments]."
The researchers believe escaping sub-sea methane - which is around 20 times more damaging
than carbon dioxide - is connected to the recent rises in temperatures in the Arctic region.
He added: "The conventional thought has been that the permafrost 'lid' on the sub-sea
sediments on the Siberian shelf should cap and hold the massive reservoirs of shallow methane
deposits in place.
"The growing evidence for release of methane in this inaccessible region may suggest that the
permafrost lid is starting to get perforated and thus leak methane. The permafrost now has
small holes.
"We have found elevated levels of methane above the water surface and even more in the
water just below. It is obvious that the source is the seabed."
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20080923/tuk-methane-escaping-from-arctic-sea-bed-dba1618.ht
ml
The Complete Idiots Guide to 2012
From Penguin Books official web site:
Book: Paperback | 8.26 x 5.23in | 352 pages | ISBN 9781592578030 | 07 Oct 2008 | Alpha | 18 -
AND UP
The final countdown?
On December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar will complete its thirteenth cycle. According to the
Mayan belief system, the world will end. And if you don’t believe the Mayans, you can check in
with The Bible Code, The Nostradamus Code, or The Orion Prophecy, all of which predict planet-
wide doom. Then again, maybe the year 2012 is just a new opportunity. Could 2012 bring us good
things instead of bad? This book gives readers a look at what the Mayan prophecy is all about,
what it means to them, and much more.
•Addresses Mayan predictions about global warming and climate change
•Includes a glossary of terms and symbols, resources for a changing world, and exercises to
assist the reader in their journey
•The existence of almost 600,000 websites on 2012 indicates a huge fascination with this subject
From Penguin Books official web site:
Book: Paperback | 8.26 x 5.23in | 352 pages | ISBN 9781592578030 | 07 Oct 2008 | Alpha | 18 -
AND UP
The final countdown?
On December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar will complete its thirteenth cycle. According to the
Mayan belief system, the world will end. And if you don’t believe the Mayans, you can check in
with The Bible Code, The Nostradamus Code, or The Orion Prophecy, all of which predict planet-
wide doom. Then again, maybe the year 2012 is just a new opportunity. Could 2012 bring us good
things instead of bad? This book gives readers a look at what the Mayan prophecy is all about,
what it means to them, and much more.
•Addresses Mayan predictions about global warming and climate change
•Includes a glossary of terms and symbols, resources for a changing world, and exercises to
assist the reader in their journey
•The existence of almost 600,000 websites on 2012 indicates a huge fascination with this subject
| THIS IS WHY 2012 IS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PROPHECIES |
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climate: Usually defined as the ‘average weather’ or more rigorously as the statistical
description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time
ranging from months to thousands or millions of years. The classical period is 30 years as
defined by the WMO. These relevant quantities are most often surface variables such as
temperature, precipitation and wind.
climate change: Refers to a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the
climate or in it’s variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer).
Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent
anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere. The UNFCC defines climate
change as ‘a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that
alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate
variability observed over comparable time periods’. See also climate variability.
climate variability: Variations in the mean state and other statistics (e.g. standard deviations,
the occurrence of extreme events etc) of the climate on all temporal and spatial scales beyond
that of individual weather events. Variability may be due to natural internal processes within the
climate system or to variations in natural or anthropogenic external forcing.
description in terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over a period of time
ranging from months to thousands or millions of years. The classical period is 30 years as
defined by the WMO. These relevant quantities are most often surface variables such as
temperature, precipitation and wind.
climate change: Refers to a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the
climate or in it’s variability, persisting for an extended period (typically decades or longer).
Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent
anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere. The UNFCC defines climate
change as ‘a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that
alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate
variability observed over comparable time periods’. See also climate variability.
climate variability: Variations in the mean state and other statistics (e.g. standard deviations,
the occurrence of extreme events etc) of the climate on all temporal and spatial scales beyond
that of individual weather events. Variability may be due to natural internal processes within the
climate system or to variations in natural or anthropogenic external forcing.
Latest NASA figures show 2 trillion tons of Ice melted since 2003.
December 16, 2008
December 16, 2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency in California -
Drought.
February 27, 2009.
Friday afternoon after three years of below-average rain and snowfall in California, a step that
urges urban water agencies to reduce water use by 20 percent. Mandatory rationing is an
option if that and other measures prove insufficient.
"This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with
the same urgency by upgrading California's water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable
water supply for our growing state," he said.
Drought.
February 27, 2009.
Friday afternoon after three years of below-average rain and snowfall in California, a step that
urges urban water agencies to reduce water use by 20 percent. Mandatory rationing is an
option if that and other measures prove insufficient.
"This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with
the same urgency by upgrading California's water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable
water supply for our growing state," he said.
Origins of Rivers: Omens of a Crisis
As the source of most of the major river systems in Asia from China to Pakistan, including
the Yellow, the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Salween, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the
Indus, the Tibetan Plateau has become an epicenter of crisis. With the retreating of its glaciers
- what glaciologist Lonnie Thompson has called the “fresh water bank account” of Asia -
rivers and lakes have started running lower, pastures have become drier, deserts larger,
weather patterns more unpredictable. Indeed, the whole ecosystem of the Tibetan Plateau and
its hinterland are now slipping toward a catastrophic environmental disaster which will have
continental implications far beyond the plateau itself.
http://www.asiasociety.org/chinagreen/origins-of-rivers-omens-of-a-crisis/
As the source of most of the major river systems in Asia from China to Pakistan, including
the Yellow, the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Salween, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the
Indus, the Tibetan Plateau has become an epicenter of crisis. With the retreating of its glaciers
- what glaciologist Lonnie Thompson has called the “fresh water bank account” of Asia -
rivers and lakes have started running lower, pastures have become drier, deserts larger,
weather patterns more unpredictable. Indeed, the whole ecosystem of the Tibetan Plateau and
its hinterland are now slipping toward a catastrophic environmental disaster which will have
continental implications far beyond the plateau itself.
http://www.asiasociety.org/chinagreen/origins-of-rivers-omens-of-a-crisis/
All time record rainfall in northern England.
November 21, 2009
November 21, 2009
| Climate Change and the Time of Reckoning HERE |
Climate Change and the Time of Reckoning HERE
Scientists discover huge seabed methane leak. (Current average methane
concentrations in the Arctic are the highest in 400,000 years.)
Posted Fri Mar 5, 2010 7:00am AEDT
Scientists have discovered the Arctic ocean seabed is leaking huge amounts of methane into the
atmosphere.
The research published in the journal Science shows the permafrost under the East Siberian
Arctic shelf, which was thought to be a barrier sealing methane, is perforated.
Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences say more methane will be released if the
permafrost is further destabilised.
CSIRO spokesman Pep Canadell says the study identifies a possibly overlooked source of
methane in the atmosphere.
"Maybe before we were wrongly attributing it to cows or rice paddies or whatever, all the major
sources of methane we have," Mr Canadell said.
"And now when we measure fluctuations in the atmospheric methane concentration we can
more properly attribute where these sources are coming from."
He says the study provides, for the first time, an estimate of the contribution of the Arctic to
overall methane emissions.
Current average methane concentrations in the Arctic are the highest in 400,000 years.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/05/2837124.htm?section=justin
concentrations in the Arctic are the highest in 400,000 years.)
Posted Fri Mar 5, 2010 7:00am AEDT
Scientists have discovered the Arctic ocean seabed is leaking huge amounts of methane into the
atmosphere.
The research published in the journal Science shows the permafrost under the East Siberian
Arctic shelf, which was thought to be a barrier sealing methane, is perforated.
Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences say more methane will be released if the
permafrost is further destabilised.
CSIRO spokesman Pep Canadell says the study identifies a possibly overlooked source of
methane in the atmosphere.
"Maybe before we were wrongly attributing it to cows or rice paddies or whatever, all the major
sources of methane we have," Mr Canadell said.
"And now when we measure fluctuations in the atmospheric methane concentration we can
more properly attribute where these sources are coming from."
He says the study provides, for the first time, an estimate of the contribution of the Arctic to
overall methane emissions.
Current average methane concentrations in the Arctic are the highest in 400,000 years.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/05/2837124.htm?section=justin
| POPULATION CLIMATE HUMAN HEALTH ECONOMY ENVIRONMENT TEMPERATURE SOLAR EARTH CHANGES |
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