By Andrea Thompson, Climate Central November 15, Live Science There is still 2 months left of 2016, however scientist have recorded 2016 to be the hottest year on record. This year 2016 of the 17 hottest years in the books recorded in this century, the only exception being the intense El Niño year of 1998 has been the hottest year. Global temperatures in both 2015 and 2016 were al little bit higher from a strong El Niño, but the heat has built up in the atmosphere over decades, trapped by ever-rising levels of greenhouse gases. 2016 has record-high carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and record-low Arctic sea ice levels during many months of this year. Negotiators in Morocco are concerned about the election of Donald Trump derailing the international climate action that has been taken place. He has promised to pull the U.S. out of the Paris agreement and also to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, which is aimed at reducing domestic greenhouse gas emissions. The more our growing population emits green house gasses the hotter every year is going to be getting every year is getting hotter and hotter. It is an increasing global temperature that is slowly rising. Our population try's to limit the emission of green house gases, however it is not enough with only a small percentage actually reducing their carbon footprint. There is also a percent of our population that is ignorant, and does not take the emission of green house gasses seriously. They do not think it is harmful to our environment, however over time this will degrate our environment much more, if action is not taken soon. With the election of a new president that does not believe in global warming it is going to be difficult to reduce the emissions of green house gasses.
0 Comments
A 20-year study of deep coral reefs off of the Hawaiian Islands has found "meadows" of algae 300 feet (90 meters) beneath the surface and the highest rates of species found nowhere else on Earth. Exploring mesophotic coral ecosystems is a challenge because scuba divers can barely reach their depths. Recreational divers don't get below 130 feet (40 m), and the reefs are too shallow for most submersible vehicles to operate there. So this show how difficult it is to reach these distinctive depths. This research group overcame this challenge by combining strategies. They used remote-sensing technology such as multibeam bathymetry mapping, which maps the seabed with sonar. They towed camera systems beneath boats and sent remotely operated cameras on solo undersea adventures. They also had divers wearing mixed-gas closed-circuit rebreathers swiming alongside submersibles. Source: Live Science Contributor Auther: Stephanie Pappas October 4, 2016 This new discovery is truly a huge advancement for for the scientific community, our bodies of water are not explored enough. Our scientific community is working to learn more about other planets, however has not even explored 10% of the oceans around the world. When the earth is roughly made up of 70% of water. This shows that the scientific community need to work more toward what they have on earth now. They were able to document the highest rates of endemism of any marine environment on Earth. The deeper the researchers dove, the more they found that they were in a one of kind world. At greater depths, more of the fish species they found were species that live only around Hawaii. Species that live in only one place on Earth this is endemic. The endemism rate at some deep reefs was 100 percent. This is a huge and unique discovery this need to be researched a lot more.
How wetlands and agriculture, not fossil fuels, could be causing a global rise in methane9/27/2016 New research suggests, that rises in levels of methane in our atmosphere is being driven by biological sources, such as swamp gas, cow burps, or rice fields, rather than fossil fuel emissions. Atmospheric methane is a major greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Its levels have been growing since 2007, and in 2014 the growth rate of methane in the atmosphere was doubled previous years, largely driven by biological sources than fossil fuel emissions. Date: September 27, 2016 Source: University of Royal Holloway London This new evidence is extremely useful for the scientific community, it definitely gives an insight to the rapid rise in global warming. Gas emissions should be regulated, the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane are known sources, and what contributes it to the world. The increase of these gases are beginning to get out of hand and slowly they will get out of control. The emissions of greenhouse gases are underestimated, and need to be taken control of.
Myth: Animals and plants can adapt Corals, trees, birds, mammals, and butterflies are adapting well to the routine reality of changing climate. Scientist state a large number of ancient mass extinction events have been strongly linked to global climate change. Because current climate change is so rapid, the way species typically adapt is not be possible due to the speed increase. Global change is occurring too rapidly. Scientist believe that we are heading to the 6th mass extinction. However, just because adaptation exists it does not mean it is applicable to all situations. Adaptation takes time but there is a limit to how fast they can evolve. More than 40% of animals are in endangerment of extinction at the end of the century. If the animals can evolve rapidly the plants also have to. Because that is going to affect their food source, therefore both plants and animals have to be able to adapt rapidly which makes it fairly impossible at the rate of global climate change Is extreme weather caused by global warming?Myth: Extreme weather isn't caused by global warming
Most people are ignorant and do not accept the fact that the climate is changing due to pollution. Since they do not have a strong science background they ignore all the facts and conclude that its just weather acting on its self. The 30 major droughts of the 20th century were likely natural in all respects. They are indicative of what could also happen in the future.The increase rate of evapotranspiration, is the total evaporation of water from soil, plants and water bodies. This can have a direct effect on the fequency and intensity of droughts.Along with a warmer atmosphere it can hold more water vapour. The atmosphere now holds 4% more water vapour than it did 40 years ago as a result of increasing temperatures. This increases the risk of extreme rainfall events. In the context of global warming, this means that rising temperatures increase the odds of extreme events occurring. This is the facts people are missing and should know before jumping to conclusions A new study found by the University of Washington a trend toward earlier sea ice melt in the spring and later ice growth in the fall across all 19 polar bear populations. This can negatively impact the feeding and breeding capabilities of the bears. Polar bears are among the animals most affected by the seasonal and year-to-year changes in Arctic sea ice. Because they rely on this surface for essential activities such as hunting, traveling and breeding. Nineteen separate polar bear populations live throughout the Arctic, spending their winters and springs on sea ice and hunting. Date: September 14, 2016 Source: University of Washington The Polar bears are one of the hundreds of species in endangerment of extinction. I think Polar bears need to be protected better. The shorter sea ice season is really affecting the bear’s diet. The Polar bears have evolved mainly to eat seals, which provide necessary fats and nutrients in the harsh Arctic environment. Polar bears can't outswim their prey, so they perch on the ice and ambush seals at breathing holes or break through the ice to access their dens. They are capable of existing on land for part of the year, but the sea ice is where they obtain their main food source. This is why it is so important to keep a healthy environment for the Polar bears. I LOVE POLAR BEARS:)
A new study suggests, 4.6 billion years ago, space rocks pummeling the Earth kept it hot and molten. As the planet grew bigger the heat and pressure kept precious metals trapped within its upper layers rather than allowing them to sink into the newly forming core. Later, chemical reactions with sulfur pulled the metals deep down. This discovery is giving scientists insight on how the planet formed. In the first 100 million years or so of Earth’s existence, the planet grew to about 60 percent of its modern-day mass, the conditions kept the highly siderophile elements (the gold) in the planet’s middle layer, the mantle, rather than dropping into the core. This new discovery is a huge advancement in the science world.Scientist all over the world have been trying to figure out how the earth first formed. Scientist might even be able to extend this sort of approach to other planets and make predictions about their early histories. Gold is a nonrenewable resource because it is an natural earth product. However this explains why there is not very much gold on earth’s outer layer because most of it is in earth’s Iron rich core. According to a new study, tiny ripples of sediment on ancient seafloor, captured inside a 3.7-billion-year-old rock in Greenland, may be the oldest fossils of living organisms ever found on Earth.In the Isua Greenstone Belt in southwestern Greenland, there was a discovery of the oldest rocks on the Earth's surface. Layered mounds of sediment and carbonates that build up around colonies of microbes that grow on the floor of shallow seas or lakes. More than 4 billion years ago, a period of intense volcanic activity when large meteorites and icy comets frequently bombarded Earth. That was once subject to intense underground heating and pressure, which distorted their original shapes and changed their chemical composition of the rock. This discovery is a huge new study that is found to be very interesting in the science communitty. Those 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites, found in sedimentary rocks are found to be similar to the environment in Mars today, and , may hold many answers to how life started. It is a very valuable piece in the science community, and further studies are yet to be held for this new discovery.
|
Vanessa Astorga-THS Archives
November 2016
Categories |