Global warming on Free Republic
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."
Thanks for the ping!
This racist thing has gone way to far!! Now they are segregating carbon! What could be next?
Unless this study was peer-reviewed by James Hansen and Al Gore, it can’t be valid.
/moonbat
No. The Chronicle is the weekly newspaper put out by the University administration. The Cornell Daily Sun is the "mainstream" (read: liberal) student newspaper and the Cornell Review is the conservative paper.
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.
No conservative student with a background in high school chemistry would accept that canard.
Thank you enlightening me as to the facts.
“Global warming” hoax BUMP!
This is the gratuitous qualifier Lehmann had to state in order to keep his gravy train of government funding out of jeopardy.
The study author is a highly regarded scientist worth listening to. You know this, but others “not from around here” need to know not to lump all of Cornell (or Ithaca) into a single stereotype.
Unfortunately, one has to be careful and judicious. No funding means no research.
Yes, and I started my thread out by pointing out that his study was a rare moment of sanity from Ithaca/Cornell.
It's getting cold fast.
I guess if its an environmental issue, then the Democrats/liberals have no problem sticking it to poor people and poor nations... It gets in the way of their agenda, and they only need poor folk to vote for them...
Democrat has become -> Demon-cr@p
Because the Christian element (c) of the Democratic party is now Pagan (p).
The addition of 'N' stands for "Not" -- as in "Not Constitutional", "Nonsense", "No Good", etc...
The Democratic Party, i.e., the party of DEMON-CR@Ps are just a bunch of no-goods anymore, in my opinion...
Should have been: Because the Christian element (t) of the Democratic party is now Pagan (p).
A "T" can symbolize the cross Christians carry...
It’s all a bunch of white supremacist junk science!
When are they going to “study” white carbon? Why is it sooooo important that only black carbon gets the blame? This so-called “study” is more like an indictment of black carbon if you ask me! THEY WANT TO LYNCH BLACK CARBON!
/sarc and lmao
Global warming on Free Republic
“soils...producing 10 times more carbon dioxide each year than all...human activities combined.”
Mathematics is not my strongest suite, but can someone explain to me how, if soils produce 10 times what humans produce each year, that atmospheric CO2 has doubled in the past few decades. If their figures are correct, then the CO2 increase should be much more gradual than it seems to be. In other words, why the “hockey stick”?
Thanks for the ping.
From Cornell?!?!
Maybe hell did freeze over.
Of course, with the weather we’ve been having the last few days.....
I’ve been wracking my brains trying to recall all the other colors carbon comes in and am coming up short....
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