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Posted on 11/19/2008 5:09:33 PM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
A detailed analysis of black carbon -- the residue of burned organic matter -- in computer climate models suggests that those models may be overestimating global warming predictions.
A new Cornell study, published online in Nature Geosciences, quantified the amount of black carbon in Australian soils and found that there was far more than expected, said Johannes Lehmann, the paper's lead author and a Cornell professor of biogeochemistry. The survey was the largest of black carbon ever published.
As a result of global warming, soils are expected to release more carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, which, in turn, creates more warming. Climate models try to incorporate these increases of carbon dioxide from soils as the planet warms, but results vary greatly when realistic estimates of black carbon in soils are included in the predictions, the study found.
Soils include many forms of carbon, including organic carbon from leaf litter and vegetation and black carbon from the burning of organic matter. It takes a few years for organic carbon to decompose, as microbes eat it and convert it to carbon dioxide. But black carbon can take 1,000-2,000 years, on average, to convert to carbon dioxide.
By entering realistic estimates of stocks of black carbon in soil from two Australian savannas into a computer model that calculates carbon dioxide release from soil, the researchers found that carbon dioxide emissions from soils were reduced by about 20 percent over 100 years, as compared with simulations that did not take black carbon's long shelf life into account.
The findings are significant because soils are by far the world's largest source of carbon dioxide, producing 10 times more carbon dioxide each year than all the carbon dioxide emissions from human activities combined. Small changes in how carbon emissions from soils are estimated, therefore, can have a large impact.
"We know from measurements that climate change today is worse than people have predicted," said Lehmann. "But this particular aspect, black carbon's stability in soil, if incorporated in climate models, would actually decrease climate predictions."
The study quantified the amount of black carbon in 452 Australian soils across two savannas. Black carbon content varied widely, between zero and more than 80 percent, in soils across Australia.
"It's a mistake to look at soil as one blob of carbon," said Lehmann. "Rather, it has different chemical components with different characteristics. In this way, soil will interact differently to warming based on what's in it."
"We know from measurements that climate change today is worse than people have predicted," said Lehmann. "But this particular aspect, black carbon's stability in soil, if incorporated in climate models, would actually decrease climate predictions."
Imagine that.
Holy Cow-sense from the City of Evil for once ping
Not everyone in Cornell (or Sodom and Gomorrah) is evil. Though I do have a very liberal acquaintance there who thinks he’s a conservative.
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I knew someone at Cornell who thought Olbermann was a centrist.
expected to release more carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, which, in turn, creates more warming.
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proof please
We're all doomed.
Imagine that, real science.
I wonder what Al Whore would have to say about this?
do I really have to say it???
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:58:38 PM
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2134920/posts?page=1
Not a criticism; just a link to further remarks on the topic.
Duh..
Co2 is part of the life cycle, and not a polutant?
Bu.. Bu... Bu...
Al Gorick kan kiss my you know what...
Retards, the greenies all.. St Algorick is the worst- misrepresentation of skewed fact. His science is flawed. Reasearch it for Yourselve’s.
Beam me up to planet Gore!!! Is the cry for folk that know the truth, economic ruin is ALGOREPLAN.
Plants use CO2, we all exhale it, And yes, I exhale too, the bad bad CO2. and if you folk that think that CO2 is so BAAAD, well stop breathing, yer polutin doncha know...
Gimme a damed break. For the folks on the other side, I BEG YOU TO PICK UP A SCIENCE BOOK... I challange you to 9Th grade science.
To the Mods.. Well I did try... I mean, I actually tried to inform both my nephew and neice that CO2 is a part of the life cycle.
Global warming.. You folks at Cornell kill me.. that big ass bright thing that we see every single day has more to do with our climate than “ANYTHING” we could do to effect it.....
I pray that you greenie idiots will see the truth.. I pray that you folk will look into it yer’selves..
That big ball of fire we see every day has far more influence than anything “ants like us” could ever do.
Wow. No offense taken, but I think this is the first time in history someone posted an article about Cornell first. I’m so used to being the source for all news Ithaca here that, I must admit, I don’t even bother to search for an earlier posting. Mea culpa.
LOL, you beat me to it.
Shouldn't be a problem then, considering that the earth has been cooling since 1999.
AlBore and his IDIOT BUddies keep Ignoring me ... We can CUT CO2 by 42% IMMEDIATELY ... if the LIBERALS would JUST STOP Exhaling! Don’t need a NOBEL... just send GRANT MONEY!
**that big ass bright thing that we see every single day has more to do with our climate than “ANYTHING” we could do to effect it.....**
Big ass Bright Thing... doesn’t come around the “CITY OF EVIL” as often as it does in other places...
When I first moved here to the “CITY OF EVIL”, my First TSHIRT celebrated the “ITHACA CLOUD FESTIVAL ... ran from Jan 1 to DEC 31.
Uh... isn't that racist?
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