You may have already known (I didn’t) that the ability of the Southern Ocean, the ocean that surrounds Antarctica, to absorb carbon dioxide slowed during the first decade of the 21st century. No one is quite sure why. Apparently, its ability to absorb carbon dioxide is picking up again:
The Southern Ocean, which absorbs huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, has regained its ability to do so, after a period when the ocean’s uptake had stalled, scientists say.
In the first decade of the 21st century, scientists announced that the ability of the Southern Ocean to absorb greenhouse gases that human activities emit into the atmosphere was weakening and feared dire consequences for future climate change.
But new research, published in Science Magazine, reveals that rather than stalling, the amount of carbon dioxide being Âabsorbed by the Southern Ocean is on the rise again.
The Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, is responsible for soaking up about 40 percent of man-made emissions, such as the burning of fuels including coal, gas, and oil, thus slowing down the growth of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. It basically helps to lessen the speed of climate change.
Nobody knows why that is, either. There’s a lot we don’t know.
How about a little Lauren Bacall and Hoagy Carmichael?
It seems to me they actually answer the proximate question. After looking at both the thermodynamic and kinetic issues (T, P, water chemistry, surface area exposure) they conclude that co2 rich ( probably due to lower T and higher P) deep water was roiled and exposed to the surface during the co2 solution “depressed ” phase. Such roiling has now ceased and the kinetics of co2 dissolution have slowed. Anyone who has used a spoon to stir and cool a cup of coffee, tea or soup knows the effect.
It leaves open the issue of why the wind patterns. It leaves open the issue of a still net increase in atmospheric co2 without T increase, and, most importantly, it leaves Ms Bacall’s observation relevant……………….and the opportunity to observe her. 😉
That brings to mind an experience of mine from years ago. I was having coffee with a friend, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering. As we stirred our coffees, I mentioned that the mathematics and physics of something so ordinary was actually pretty daunting. We began to try and model stirring cream into coffee and after noodling with it for a while decided that turbulence was damned hard to model.
The chemistry is interesting, too. If you pour cream slowly into a cup of coffee it will go straight to the bottom in a layer. You need to stir to get them to mix. If you add sugar first, it won’t. The question is whether that’s because of physics or chemistry.
Welcome. Today on Physics World we discuss…….
“We began to try and model stirring cream into coffee and after noodling with it for a while decided that turbulence was damned hard to model.”
Which is why engineering, especially fluid flow mechanics, has so damned many “factors” and “coefficients” in its descriptive process equations.
The cream and sugar thingy has me flummoxed. Off to Starbucks for a science experiment………………..
When you just ignore it, it is all rather easy. The beauty of numbers is that they are malleable.
The increased hurricanes refuse to cooperate. The infallible computer models refuse to cooperate. The oceans are becoming more of a factor than anybody with more than two brain cells could have predicted. Soon, the next ice age will start, and humans will have done nothing to stop man-made global warming.
What are we to do? We are humans, damn it. We are not just some specks of matter no more significant than a gnat’s ass.
Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!