Unexplored Possible Climate Balancing Mechanism
Posted on 07/10/2012 10:01:10 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
This visible image of a 93 mile wide deep-ocean plankton eddy was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite ~ 800 km south of South Africa in the Agulhas current. Image: NASA’s Earth Observatory
Effect of CO2 levels on phytoplankton.
Story submitted by Don Healy
This article opens up a whole new vista into the relationship between CO2 levels, oceanic plant growth and the complex relationships that we have yet to learn about in the field of climate science. If phytoplankton respond like most plant species do, we may find that the modest increases in CO2 levels we have experienced over the last 50 years may actually create a bounty of micro plant growth in the oceans, which would in turn create the food supply necessary to support an increase in the oceans’ animal population.
At the same time, it would explain where the excess atmospheric CO2 has been going; much of it converted into additional biological matter, with only a limited existence as raw CO2.
There may well be a naturally balancing mechanism that explains how the earth was able to survive atmospheric levels of CO2 as high as 7000 mmp in past geologic history without turning into another Venus. Just surmising of course, but this fits with what we know about the response of terrestrial plants to elevated CO2 levels, so it is a plausible theory. Hopefully more studies along this line can clarify the situation.
From the article:
The diatom blooming process is described in the article by Amala Mahadevan, the author of the study and oceanographer at WHOI, as inextricably linked to the flow of whirlpools circulating the plants through the water and keeping them afloat.
“[The study’s] results show that the bloom starts through eddies, even before the sun begins to warm the ocean,” said Ms. Mahadevan.
This study explains the causation of phytoplankton’s phenology—the reasons behind the annual timing of the microscopic plant’s natural cycle—as it is influenced by the ocean’s conditions.
“Springtime blooms of microscopic plants in the ocean absorb enormous quantities of carbon dioxide, much like our forests, emitting oxygen via photosynthesis. Their growth contributes to the oceanic uptake of carbon dioxide, amounting globally to about one-third of the carbon dioxide we put into the air each year through the burning of fossil fuels. An important question is how this ‘biological pump’ for carbon might change in the future as our climate evolves,” said researchers.
WHOI describes the study as being conducted by a specially designed robot that can float just below the surface like a phytoplankton (only much, much larger). Other robots, referred to by WHOI as “gliders” dove to depths of 1,000 meters to collect data and beam it back to shore. Together, the robots discovered a great deal about the biology and nature of the bloom. Then, using three-dimensional computer modeling to analyze the data, Ms. Mahadevan created a model that corresponded with observation of the natural phenomena.
Full story:
http://www.thebunsenburner.com/news/cause-of-north-atlantic-plankton-bloom-is-finally-revealed/
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Eddy-Driven Stratification Initiates North Atlantic Spring Phytoplankton Blooms
Springtime phytoplankton blooms photosynthetically fix carbon and export it from the surface ocean at globally important rates. These blooms are triggered by increased light exposure of the phytoplankton due to both seasonal light increase and the development of a near-surface vertical density gradient (stratification) that inhibits vertical mixing of the phytoplankton. Classically and in current climate models, that stratification is ascribed to a springtime warming of the sea surface. Here, using observations from the subpolar North Atlantic and a three-dimensional biophysical model, we show that the initial stratification and resulting bloom are instead caused by eddy-driven slumping of the basin-scale north-south density gradient, resulting in a patchy bloom beginning 20 to 30 days earlier than would occur by warming.
fyi
Poor “paid” scientists...always looking for a scape goat to cover their lying a**** AND their own ignorance.
Let the oceans do their jobs....more phytoplankton,...more life in the ocean....
Related stoy from yesterday:
The rain forest has one of the highest CO2 levels on earth.
This phenomenon has been known for over 100 years and confirmable by experiment for at least that long. Meanwhile, dinoflagellates that eat algae are the primary carbon sink for the whole planet.
And they're telling us they haven't yet taken this mechanism into account? Really???
These creeps belong on a prison farm pulling weeds.
Zooplankton eat phytoplankton. Fish and sea mammals (whales, etc.) eat zooplankton. Food chain expands, ergo more phytoplankton, more larger fish, more food.
You mean God built a mechanism that allows the ecology to balance itself and return to a state of equilibrium? Wow! Who’d a thunk it?
I agree,....isn’t Al Gore on the coast south of you....we need to round him up!
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Agulhas Current, a warm surface current of the Indian Ocean. It is a branch of the South Equatorial Current. North of southern Madagascar it is known as the Mozambique Current. The Agulhas Current flows southwestward along the southeastern and southern coast of Africa. It is deflected eastward and southeastward at Cape Agulhas by the cold Benguela Current. The Agulhas is one of the world's strongest ocean currents, with a speed of up to 1.4 miles per hour (2.3 km/h).
What kind of “scientists” is this such a revelation to??
Let’s see:
Green plants, on land or in the ocean, love and absorb CO2, retaining the carbon from it for growth and respirating the oxygen (that much of the animal kingdom needs).
Why would not more atmospheric CO2 (a) be a boon to the growth of green plants, on land and in the oceans, and (b) create the condition (more green plants) that would absorb more of the atmospheric CO2???
Logic says there would be no mystery to such an outcome.
Maybe too many “scientists” today did not choose courses in logic when they attended college. Maybe they didn’t even acquire logic skills before college.
Threading the Climate Needle: The Agulhas Current System
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Press Release 11-085
Increased Agulhas "leakage" significant player in global climate variability
 Agulhas Current system and its "leakage" into the Atlantic Ocean, affecting climate. |
April 27, 2011
View a video on the Agulhas Current.
The Agulhas Current which runs along the east coast of Africa may not be as well known as its counterpart in the Atlantic, the Gulf Stream. But now researchers are taking a closer look at this current and its "leakage" from the Indian Ocean into the Atlantic Ocean--and what that may mean for climate change
In results of a study published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, a team of scientists led by University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Oceanographer Lisa Beal, suggests that Agulhas leakage could be a significant player in global climate variability.
The Agulhas Current transports warm and salty waters from the tropical Indian Ocean to the southern tip of Africa. There most of the water loops around to remain in the Indian Ocean (the Agulhas Retroflection), while some water leaks into the fresher Atlantic Ocean via giant Agulhas rings.
Once in the Atlantic, the salty Agulhas leakage waters eventually flow into the Northern Hemisphere and act to strengthen the Atlantic overturning circulation by enhancing deep-water formation.
Atlantic overturning circulation is technically known as Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC); it carries warm shallow water into northern latitudes and returns cold deep water southward across the equator.
Recent research points to an increase in Agulhas leakage over the last few decades, caused primarily by human-induced climate change.
The finding is profound, oceanographers say, because it suggests that increased Agulhas leakage could trigger a strengthening in Atlantic overturning circulation--at a time when warming and accelerated meltwater input in the North Atlantic has been predicted to weaken it.
"This could mean that current IPCC model predictions for the next century are wrong, and there will be no cooling in the North Atlantic to partially offset the effects of global climate change over North America and Europe," said Beal.
"Instead, increasing Agulhas leakage could stabilize the oceanic heat transport carried by the Atlantic overturning circulation."
There are also paleoceanographic data to suggest that dramatic peaks in Agulhas leakage over the past 500,000 years may have triggered the end of glacial cycles.
These data are further evidence that the Agulhas system and its leakage play an important role in the planet's climate, Beal and others say.
"This study shows that local changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the Southern Hemisphere can affect the strength of the ocean circulation in unexpected ways," said Eric Itsweire, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s physical oceanography program, which funded the research.
"Under a warming climate," said Itsweire, "the Agulhas Current system near the tip of South Africa could bring more warm salty water from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean and counteract opposing effects from the Arctic Ocean."
The study establishes the need for additional research in the region that focuses on Agulhas rings, as well as on the leakage, believes Beal.
Climate modeling experiments are critical, she said, and need to be supported by paleoceanographic data and sustained observations to firmly establish the role of the Agulhas system in a warming climate.
"Our goal now is to get more of the scientific community involved in research on the Agulhas system and its global effects," said Beal. "The emphasis has been too long in the North Atlantic."
The Agulhas Current Time-Series Experiment, or ACT, was launched in April 2010 to measure the variability of the Agulhas Current using a combination of current meter moorings and satellite data.
Beal, who serves as chief scientist, spent one month aboard the research vessel Knorr in the southwest Indian Ocean deploying oceanographic instruments.
The data gathered in situ, when combined with along-track satellite information, will help increase our understanding of how the Agulhas system is changing in a warming climate, Beal said.
The scientific team included Beal, Wilhelmus P.M. de Ruijter of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Arne Biastoch of Leibniz- Institut für Meereswissenschaften (IFM-GEOMAR) in Germany, and Rainer Zahn of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain.
It also included members of the Scientific Committee for Oceanic Research (SCOR) Working Group 136 on the Climatic Importance of the Agulhas System, sponsored by SCOR, the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans, and the World Climate Research Program.
For information on the program, please visit the ACT website.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov
Barbra Gonzalez, RSMAS (305) 421-4704 barbgo@rsmas.miami.edu
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget is $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives over 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards nearly $420 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
And paid them to support it!
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Nerd says:
Interesting till you reach to the end of the article…
“It remains unclear exactly what impact this study will have on global climate change. A better understanding of the cause of the massive plankton blooms could allow climate scientists to unravel the mysteries of global warming. Findings also allow for a better understanding of how carbon dioxide, the main source of climate change, impacts local ocean life.”
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Jeff Norman says:
“At the same time, it would explain where the excess atmospheric CO2 has been going; much of it converted into additional biological matter, with only a limited existence as raw CO2″
Yes but the new biological matter is draining the natural CO2 out of the atmosphere and leaving higher concentrations of man made CO2 [/sarc]
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milodonharlani says:
The authors made their necessary obeisance to CO2 orthodoxy (“the main source of climate change”), while at the same time reminding the High Priests & Archdruids of the CAGW cult (who are prepared to sacrifice not just first born sons or selected virgins but all humanity on their altar) that science still doesn’t know a great deal about possible carbon sinks, along with much else regarding the mechanics of climate.
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Gary says:
Liebig’s Law will apply with phytoplankton. As spring advances, light becomes less limiting and growth takes off, but then nutrients (most likely nitrogen) become the inhibitor of continued rampant growth, even if CO2 is over-abundant. Studies such as this are limited as well — sort of a corollary to LL — because they don’t look at everything over enough time to see the big picture.
Justus von Liebig's Law of the Minimum states that yield is proportional to the amount of the most limiting nutrient, whichever nutrient it may be. From this, it may be inferred that if the deficient nutrient is supplied, yields may be improved to the point that some other nutrient is needed in greater quantity than the soil can provide, and the Law of the Minimum would apply in turn to that nutrient.
Liebig made great contributions to the science of plant nutrition and soil fertility. As a result of millenia of practical experience of farmers manuring fields to improve fertility, many early chemists thought that the "principle of vegetation", the essential nutrients needed for plant growth, were organic in nature rather than mineral. Liebig essentially debunked the humus theory and made a scientific case for plant requirements for mineral elements from the soil, carbon from CO2 in the air, and H and O2 from water. Liebig thought that plants derived most of their nitrogen content from the air as well, which is somewhat correct for legumes, but not true for other plants. Liebig developed the first mineral fertilizers applied to replentish nutrients removed from soils by crops and clearly saw mineral fertilizers as part of sustainable agricultural practices.
Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) was a German chemist who spent the early part of his accomplished career as a pioneer in organic chemistry. He turned to what is now called biochemistry about 1838, and first published on agricultural chemistry in 1840, and made numerous significant advances and engaged in extensive, fruitful debate with other researchers in the field.
Recent scholarship, beginning in 1950, has discovered the significance of the German agronomist Carl Sprengel (1787-1859) who conducted pioneering research that could be considered the start of agricultural chemistry, including disproving the humus theory and formulating the Law of the Minimum. His publications on these subjects predated Liebig's 1840 publication and therefore he has precedence for these discoveries. It is uncertain that Liebig was unaware of Sprengel's work, so Liebig may be considered a propagandist and promulgator of these discoveries and, by virtue of his greater reputation, may have been unduly credited for the discoveries themselves. The Association of German Agricultural Experimental Stations regularly acknowledges outstanding service or achievement to agricultural with the Sprengel-Liebig Medal, thereby honoring both scientists.
For more information on Liebig, see:
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