Posted on 05/13/2016 12:27:40 PM PDT by sparklite2
In fact, deep ocean circulation slowed down to such an extent that the heavy, saline water mass below a depth of 2000 metres was not in contact with the surface for almost 3000 years. "During this time, so much bound carbon in the form of animal and algae remains trickled down from the more intermixed sea surface into the deep water layer that we were able to identify it as the major carbon reservoir that we have looked for so intensively," says Thomas Ronge. The data also showed that the already old age of the water masses was artificially increased from about 3000 to 8000 years as a result of the injected volcanic carbon.
At the end of the last ice age, when the Antarctic sea ice decreased again, the westerly winds returned to the south and the ocean circulation picked up speed again, the deep water enriched with carbon reached the surface of the sea. "The water then released large amounts of the stored carbon in the form of old carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and thus significantly accelerated the warming of the planet," says Thomas Ronge.
Today, carbon-rich deep water around the Antarctic is transported to the sea surface as well. Since the industrialisation, however, carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased to more than 400 ppm, which means that the Southern Ocean is not currently emitting carbon dioxide, and instead is absorbing the greenhouse gas, which in turn slightly dampens global warming. Previous model studies indicate, however, that this ratio may reverse in the coming centuries.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Please note, poison ivy loves more CO2. I and other seniors I know have remarked on how much more of it there is these days.
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