Posted on 01/08/2009 6:26:23 AM PST by ma bell
JUNEAU, Alaska – Ted Johnson planned on using a set of logs to a build a cabin in Alaska's interior. Instead he'll burn some of them to stay warm.
Extreme temperatures — in Johnson's case about 60 below zero — call for extreme measures in a statewide cold snap so frigid that temperatures have grounded planes, disabled cars, frozen water pipes and even canceled several championship cross country ski races.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
As the Earth warms, greenhouse gases once stuck in the long-frozen soil are bubbling into the atmosphere in much larger amounts than previously anticipated, according to a study in Thursday's journal Nature.
Methane trapped in a special type of permafrost is bubbling up at a rate five times faster than originally measured, the journal said.
Scientists are fretting about a global warming vicious cycle that had not been part of their already gloomy climate forecasts: Warming already under way thaws permafrost, soil that had been continuously frozen for thousands of years.
Thawed permafrost releases methane and carbon dioxide. Those gases reach the atmosphere and help trap heat on Earth in the greenhouse effect. The trapped heat thaws more permafrost, and so on.
"The higher the temperature gets, the more permafrost we melt, the more tendency it is to become a more vicious cycle," said Chris Field, director of global ecology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "That's the thing that is scary about this whole thing. There are lots of mechanisms that tend to be self-perpetuating and relatively few that tends to shut it off."
The effect reported in Nature is seen mostly in Siberia, but also elsewhere, in a type of carbon-rich permafrost, flash frozen about 40,000 years ago. A new more accurate measuring technique was used on the bubbling methane, which is 23 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than the more prevalent carbon dioxide.
"The effects can be huge," said lead author Katey Walter of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. "It's coming out a lot and there's a lot more to come out."
Another study earlier this summer in the journal Science found that the amount of carbon trapped in this type of permafrost - called yedoma - is much more prevalent than originally thought and may be 100 times the amount of carbon released into the air each year by the burning of fossil fuels.
It won't all come out at once or even over several decades, but the methane and carbon dioxide will escape the soil if temperatures increase, scientists say.
The issue of methane and carbon dioxide released from permafrost has caused concern this summer among climate scientists and geologists. Specialists in Arctic climate are coming up with research plans to study the effect, which is not well understood or observed, said Robert Corell, chairman of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a group of 300 scientists.
"It's kind of like a slow-motion time bomb," said Ted Schuur, a professor of ecosystem ecology at the University of Florida and co-author of the Science study. "There's these big surprises out there that we don't even know about."
Most of this yedoma is in north and eastern Siberia, areas that until recently had not been studied at length by scientists.
What makes this permafrost special is that during a rapid onset ice age, carbon-rich plants were trapped in the permafrost. As the permafrost thaws, the carbon is released as methane if it's underwater in lakes, like much of the parts of Siberia that Walter studied. If it's dry, it's released into the air as carbon dioxide.
Scientists aren't quite sure which is worse. Methane is far more powerful in trapping heat, but only lasts about a decade before it dissipates into carbon dioxide and other chemicals. Carbon dioxide traps heat for about a century.
"The bottom line is it's better if it stays frozen in the ground," Schuur said. "But we're getting to the point where it's going more and more into the atmosphere."
Vladimir Romanovsky, geophysics professor at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, said he thinks the big methane or carbon dioxide release hasn't started yet, but it's coming. It's closer in Alaska and Canada, which only has a few hundred square miles of yedoma, he said.
In Siberia, the many lakes of melted water make matters worse because the water, although cold, helps warm and thaw the permafrost, Walter said.
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Obama’s Fault
My question to the global warmers is “exactly how much melting is occurring at negative 60 degrees?”
No worries, next summer the arctic ice will completely melt
Its cold I agree but hasn’t shut me down, I’ve seen colder, I rescued a family at 2am on a dark stretch of highway north of Wasilla, Alaska several years ago, it was -47.
It has been on average -30 for a week now, kids still go to school, life goes on as usual, we are Alaskans.
Except some parts of Anchorage.
State residents are more likely than other Americans to back efforts to address climate change, with large majorities favoring government regulations, tax incentives and other efforts by industry and individuals to curb their emissions, the poll showed.
"They think California can take the lead in being an innovator and in making the state more energy efficient and reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Field Poll. "They are very optimistic about the state's ability to do something without hurting the economy."
The poll found that 9 in 10 Californians said the state could be a leader in new technologies to address global warming.
More than 4 out of 5 respondents said they believe that global warming poses a serious or very serious threat. Californians see climate change as an issue with major regional impacts: 63 percent said it threatens the snowpack in the Sierra; 66 percent said it poses health risks to residents where air quality is poor; 53 percent believe it could hurt Central Valley farmers; and 51 percent said it threatens low-lying coastal communities.
The poll found a much higher level of concern in California than the nation generally. Seventy percent of state residents said global warming is extremely important or very important to them personally. An identical question asked in an ABC News/Washington Post/Stanford University poll in April found that 52 percent of U.S. adults described the issue as important to them.
In California, 43 percent said global warming requires immediate action and 32 percent said some action should be taken - higher than in the national poll, where 34 percent wanted immediate action and 30 percent backed some action.
"Californians, as a rule, are more future oriented," DiCamillo said. "When there is a problem that is cropping up in the future, they are more apt to attempt some early fix, to do something about it. That conforms pretty much with the way Californians have reacted on other issues."
Lawmakers and some economists have raised questions about the costs of cutting greenhouse gases, but 85 percent of Californians in the poll said they agree strongly or somewhat with the view that emissions can be reduced while creating jobs and expanding the economy - echoing the view of supporters of new climate rules.
State residents also want to see action by many different entities on the issue - not just the government. Asked which groups could do the most, 64 percent said major corporations, 63 percent said gas and electric utilities, 57 percent said the general public, and 56 percent said the federal government.
Californians remain undecided over possible solutions to the problem. Eight of 10 surveyed support tax incentives to industry to reduce emissions, and 79 percent back similar incentives for individuals.
A similar majority supports government regulations requiring businesses to cut their emissions, although that support dropped from 81 percent to 61 percent if the new rules increased the cost of goods and services.
Statewide, 65 percent of voters back a "cap-and-trade" system - where emissions are capped and polluters can trade credits to emit greenhouse gases - while 26 percent oppose it. California lawmakers have approved a cap-and-trade scheme and Congress is considering legislation to do the same.
Asked about a carbon tax, Californians initially like the idea (72 percent support), but only 53 percent said they would remain supportive if the tax increased costs for consumers.
DiCamillo said one of the striking findings of the poll was that there was little difference in views on warming based on party affiliation. There was a bigger gap based on how much people knew about the issue, he said. Those who said they'd heard a great deal about climate change were 20 percent more likely to say the issue was important.
The poll was sponsored by Next Ten, a Palo Alto-based group founded by venture capitalist F. Noel Perry that seeks to get Californians engaged in issues affecting the state's future.
The survey was based on
First of all, does not some of the permafrost melt and release gases, every year?
Secondly, our local forecasters here in Texas are saying we might get a piece of that cold down here in the middle to the latter part of next week.
TEENS = Damn Cold
They are telling us here in West Central Florida that after that cold gets through with you it will head our way too.
Palin’s Fault!
Media/Liberals = Damn Hysterical
You beat me to it!!
But it’s a DRY cold.
LOL! Not in these parts, even if you put a '-' in front of them. Around here right now, teens (above) is considered a heat wave.
I’d get ahold of Sarah to keep me warm.
I’d warm her up first so you won’t be so cold.
It’s all Sarah Palin’s fault. ;)
But, but, but...
ice is melting and polar bear bitches are having hot flashes
we are domed, seriesly
0’bama save us!
Californians, as a rule, are more future oriented,” DiCamillo said. “When there is a problem that is cropping up in the future, they are more apt to attempt some early fix, to do something about it. That conforms pretty much with the way Californians have reacted on other issues.”
****
So Mr. DiCamillio, how’s that future oriented Kaleeefornia budget lookin’ these days?
I can’t imagine -47 degrees. Brrr.
Here in IL this winter, we’ve had it get down to -10 with a -30 windchill, and that’s more than cold enough for me.
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