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A blog post with every single category marked (I'm doing this for scribefire)

Know your Global Warming Facts #2

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Carbon Dioxide is a "Greenhouse Gas". This means that, when the sun's rays hit our atmosphere, visible light passes through but infrared light is absorbed by some of the gases therein. Any Greenhouse gas that absorbs this light essentially absorbs its energy, which means, in simple terms, the gas gets hotter.

There are a number of different sorts of Greenhouse gas, but the most common one is Carbon Dioxide. Of course, Carbon Dioxide is an integral part of our atmosphere and is essential to the development of life on our planet. As we all know, the process of photosynthesis in plants turns sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy for the plant to grow. A byproduct of photosynthesis is the production of oxygen.

The argument of modern climate scientists is that the increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere will result in higher global temperatures. The reason for this is both scientific and historical.

In terms of science, an increase in carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will result in more infrared radiation from the sun being stored in the atmosphere - which essentially means that the atmosphere gets hotter. Moreover, as light reflects from earth, greenhouses gases (including CO2) help to reduce our planet's albedo (the ability to reflect light and not absorb it).

Here in Australia, a lot of us drive white cars. One reason we do is because white reflects the sunlight better and makes cars cooler than those painted darker colours. If Greenhouse gases in our atmosphere increase, it is like having a darker paint on your car.

This is backed up by historical data. Ice core samples taken from places like Greenland and Antarctica give us a "snapshot" of what atmospheric conditions were like up to 400 thousand years ago. What it shows us is that during periods where the earth was relatively warm, CO2 levels were correspondingly high, while when earth was cool, the CO2 levels were quite low.

Moreover, these same studies indicated that CO2 levels ranged between 180 - 210 ppm (parts per million) during cold periods, and between 280 - 300 ppm during warm periods.

According to historical data measured at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, for the past 40 years or so, CO2 levels around the world have been increasing steadily for some time. Presently, CO2 levels are 384ppm - substantially higher than at any time in the last 400 thousand years. The Mauna Loa figures date back to 1957, but other CO2 measurements around the world since that time have validated these figures, which show a marked increase in atmospheric CO2. Moreover, the ice core samples I spoke of earlier contain much evidence from the last few centuries, and not just the last 400 thousand years. What these samples show is that CO2 levels around the world began to increase in the early-mid 19th century - the period known as the "Industrial Revolution".

While the specifics of Global Warming are yet to be determined, the broad implications are clear - recent measurements clearly indicating global warming have their basis in increased levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere which, in turn, have their basis in human activity for the past 200 years. The burning of oil and coal and other fossil fuels to produce energy is beginning to heat up the atmosphere.

Know your Global Warming Facts #1

The 8.2 Kiloyear Event.

The 8.2 kiloyear event is the term that climatologists have adopted for a sudden decrease in global temperatures that occurred approximately 8200 years before the present, or c. 6200 BCE, and which lasted for the next two to four centuries. Milder than the Younger Dryas cold spell that preceded it, but more severe than the Little Ice Age that would follow, the 8.2 kiloyear cooling was a significant exception to general trends of the Holocene climatic optimum.

The strongest evidence for the event comes from the North Atlantic region; the disruption in climate shows clearly in Greenland ice cores and in sedimentary and other records of the temporal and tropical North Atlantic. It is less evident in ice cores from Antarctica and in South American indices. The effects of the cold snap were global, however, most notably in changes in sea level during the relevant era.

The cooling event of 6200 BCE may have been caused by a large meltwater pulse from the shrinking but still massive Laurentide ice sheet of northeastern North America—most likely when the glacial Lake Ojibway suddenly drained into the North Atlantic Ocean. (The same type of action produced the Missoula floods that created the Channeled scablands of the Columbia River basin.) The meltwater pulse adversely affected the Gulf Stream and the global thermohaline circulation regulating the Earth's climate regime (an instance of warming causing cooling). Cooling occurred by 5 to 6 °C (9 to 11 °F) in the temperate zones, and 3 °C (5 °F) in the tropics: "cores drilled into an ancient coral reef in Indonesia show an abrupt sea surface cooling of about 3 degrees Centigrade." Cooler and drier conditions prevailed, again as in the Younger Dryas though less extreme. Yet the changes were severe enough to impact the earliest settled human communities: the first phase of Catal Huyuk ended during the 8.2 kiloyear event. The site was abandoned and not re-occupied until about 5 centuries later, when climate conditions had improved markedly.

Drier conditions were notable in North Africa, while East Africa suffered five centuries of general drought. The initial meltwater pulse raised sea levels by as much as 1.2 meters (4 ft), but the cooling that followed allowed a glacial advance and consequent marine regression. After 2 centuries, or by 8000 ybp (6000 BCE), global sea level had dropped by 14 meters (40 ft.). After that point, however, milder climate conditions re-asserted themselves; by 7800 ybp (5800 BCE) the global climate returned to the clement conditions that prevailed during the Holocene climatic optimum.

Yeah okay I copied and pasted this from Wikipedia, which means that I have to point out that the text above is available under the GNU Free Documentation Licence.

The important bit to note is the part I underlined. The result of the meltwater pulse was simultaneously a rise in sea levels of 1.2 metres and a global cooling effect. The reason is obvious - the cold water from Lake Ojibway lowered sea temperatures enough to cause global cooling.

The reason why Lake Ojibway drained into the ocean is probably the result of normal global warming - ie, the ice dam that kept the waters of Lake Ojibway above sea level eventually melted enough for it to disintegrate and caused a massive influx of cold, fresh water into the Atlantic Ocean. What we need to realise is that, although this event caused a "cold snap" for many centuries, eventually temperatures warmed up again.

What can we learn from the 8.2 kiloyear event?

If predictions of the melting of ice sheets are correct, then the water trapped as ice above sea level (in places like Greenland and Antarctica) will eventually melt and mix with seawater. Whether this melting will be gradual or sudden, it means that some cooling effect from the meltwater ice will be experienced at the same time as sea level rise. Thus if we end up in a situation where sea levels do rise as Greenland Ice sheets begin to melt, we will probably experience some level of global cooling and maybe even a drop in sea levels over time. Nevertheless, the already high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere will continue to act as a warming affect, which means that the length of the cooling will only be temporary.