Global Climate Change Blog
Earth's Recovery from High CO2 Underestimated
Apr 22, 2011; 3:21 PM ET
The Earth may actually be much better at healing itself than previously thought after dealing with high levels of atmospheric CO2 and rising temperatures.
Researchers from Purdue University and the University of California looked at the 170,000 year period of global warming during the end of the Palaeocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, which was 56 million years ago and has many features in common with the world's current situation.
The team wanted to find out how the Earth system recovered and returned to normal atmospheric levels after this major warming.
Image courtesy of NASA.
The scientists examined samples of marine and terrestrial sediments deposited throughout the event. The team measured the levels of two different types of carbon atoms, the isotopes carbon-12 and carbon-13. The ratio of these isotopes changes as carbon dioxide is drawn from or added to the atmosphere during the growth or decay of organic matter, according to Eurekalert.
What they found was that the Earth increased its ability to pull carbon from the air. This led to a recovery that was quicker than anticipated by many models of the carbon cycle, though still on the order of tens of thousands of years.
"We found that more than half of the added carbon dioxide was pulled from the atmosphere within 30,000 to 40,000 years, which is one-third of the time span previously thought," said Gabriel Bowen, the associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue.
The researchers are still trying to figure out where the carbon actually went all those years ago.
------
A paper detailing the team's National Science Foundation-funded work was published in Nature Geoscience.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com
More Global Climate Change
-
Himalayas Experiencing Rapid Climate Change
May 18, 2012; 11:02 AM ET
Average annual mean temperatures in the Himalayas increased 1.5 Celsius or 0.06 Celsius per year between 1982 and 2006, which is three times greater than the average global increase for the same time period....
-
Using Statistical Analysis to Predict Future North American Warming
May 16, 2012; 3:24 PM ET
Researchers from the Ohio State University are using statistical analysis to tell us with how much certainty North America may warm later this century.
-
April 2012 Global Surface Temperatures
May 14, 2012; 2:53 PM ET
April 2012 was tied for 4th warmest on record globally, based on combined land and ocean surface temperature anomalies
-
Correction brings Temperature Trend Outlier back in Line
May 8, 2012; 3:01 PM ET
A scientific group from the University of Washington has identified a problem with one of the three satellite temperature records.
-
Global Satellite Temperature Results for April
May 4, 2012; 2:16 PM ET
La Nina is officially done and its global cooling influence also seems to be fading.........
-
Warming Experiments Greatly Underestimate how Plants respond to Climate Change
May 3, 2012; 12:56 PM ET
A group of researchers compared results from controlled environmental warming experiments on plants with a massive new archive of historical observations and found.....
-
Major Economic Contractions needed to Reduce CO2 Concentrations to Acceptable Levels
May 1, 2012; 1:39 PM ET
Major economic sacrifices may be needed to lower CO2 concentration to acceptable levels, according to one study......
-
Global Mean Sea Level
Apr 30, 2012; 2:05 PM ET
Satellite data since 1993 shows that that there is no doubt that the global mean sea level is steadily rising......
-
The Eastern U.S. "Warming Hole" of the Late 20th Century
Apr 27, 2012; 2:38 PM ET
Increased air pollution may have delayed global warming in the eastern U.S. back in the late 20th century.
-
Arctic Warming
Apr 25, 2012; 1:53 PM ET
Another indication of climate change is the warming of the Arctic....
-
Heat Content of the Upper Oceans is Rising
Apr 24, 2012; 3:37 PM ET
The increasing heat content of the world's oceans over the past few decades is another climate change indicator.
-
Glaciers Retreating, Sea Level Rising
Apr 23, 2012; 1:59 PM ET
As we continue our series on climate change indicators, we will focus on glacier melt and sea level rise today.
-
It's Not the Sun!
Apr 20, 2012; 11:04 AM ET
Over the next week or so I am going to focus on some of the basics of climate change and specifically on climate change indicators......
-
Update on Arctic Sea Ice Extent and Volume
Apr 18, 2012; 2:42 PM ET
Sea ice extent in the Arctic region continues to run close to the 1979-2000 year average at this time.
-
March Global Surface Temperature Data Released
Apr 16, 2012; 2:52 PM ET
March 2012 was the 16th warmest March on record globally......
About This Blog
Global Climate ChangeIn the AccuWeather.com Climate Change Blog, you will find links to the latest research, commentary by experts with various points of view on all aspects of Global Warming and Global Cooling.
AccuWeather.com Bloggers
-
Elliot
AbramsNortheast US Expert
-
Brett
AndersonCanadian Weather Blog
-
Jim
AndrewsInternational Weather
-
Mark
PaquetteAstronomy
-
Brian
ClarkFrom Mt. Washington, NH
-
Ken
ClarkWestern US Expert
-
Jesse
FerrellThe WeatherMatrix Blog
-
Global
Climate ChangeCommentary on global warming & cooling
-
Joe
LundbergJoe's Weather Blog
-
Henry
MargusitySevere Weather Expert
-
Frank
StraitSouthern US
Comments
Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.