Global Warming

[beagle]

Real science or a case of getting your disclaimer in first for when the natural cycle turns?

[Swatopluk]

My predictions/views:
1. It will not change the public views into either direction
2. Constant means don't preclude extremes*
3. You can tell that to the polar bears
4. I still believe the predictions that it will be a very hot summer this year (and no lasting snow next winter, but that is just my guts).

*oscillations between -100° and +100° have the same integral per cycle as a constant 0°

[ivor]

I'm buying into the CO2 thing now.  A ten percent rise in CO2 is just not good.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

You'll need to buy into methane too, because that's what's coming after the thawing of the tundra's permafrost. 

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

You'll need to buy into methane too, because that's what's coming after the thawing of the tundra's permafrost. 

Not to mention, if you raise the average annual temperature enough, the average temperature of the bottom of freshwater lakes will rise too.

So?  You say....

But, trapped in the bottom of countless freshwater lakes is immense tonnage of methane.  Kept there by the low average lake-bottom temperatures.   Raise that temp, and the methane "boils" up out of the water....

[Alpaca]

But, trapped in the bottom of countless freshwater lakes is immense tonnage of methane.  Kept there by the low average lake-bottom temperatures.   Raise that temp, and the methane "boils" up out of the water....

Plus the fact that as a general rule a gas's solubility in water decreases as temperature increases, so we can see where that's going. (Think amount of CO₂ hissing from warm soda bottle vs cold soda bottle.)

[Swatopluk]

And then there are those methane hydrates on the ocean floor that become unstable if not kept at low temperature.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Can anyone say "Venus like conditions?" 

[Swatopluk]

I doubt that it will rain sulphuric acid except maybe if this global cooling plan of shooting sulphur into the high atmosphere is executed 

[Sibling Chatty]

Er, what??

Duz dese guys not unnerstan' grabbity?? Whot goez up iz gunna coem down, an' it might not be happi when it coemz down??

Der.

[Swatopluk]

If ye shoot it up high enough, it will not come down but slowly drift away into outer space, so the aliens can smell the hell we made.
Iirc Benjamin Franklin proposed spreading coal dust for melting snow (black absorbs heat, white reflects it).
But if we proceed the way we do, the great sun dragon will waken soon and spread his wings between Earth and Sun, shielding us (could get a wee bit chilly then but there should be enough nuckular waste to keep us warm and glowing).

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I saw a science bit about supervolcanoes a while ago.

It seems that there are still several of these things on Earth, waiting as it were to "strike".

The most recent was roughly 60,000 years ago, and is still active-- that is, it could blow at any time.

The one I'm most familiar with is Yellowstone Park-- the entire park is in the crater of that volcano.

Geologic evidence shows that whenever one of these things blows, the entire world is cooled for roughly 1,000 years or so... very brief in geologic terms....

... but highly significant in human terms.

Wouldn't it be quite ironic, if all our efforts at staving off global warming came to naught, because of a supervolcano blast?  Which enabled a "mini" ice age lasting 1,000 years?

According to the science, the ocean's temperatures averaged 10 degrees cooler... this is enough to kill all but the microscopic life forms in the areas affected.  I imagine the tropics would not be affected as much, but the northern latitudes would be devoid of eatable fish in a year or two.

Whales would not be affected directly-- they are pretty tolerant of variations in temperature individually.  But if their chief food sources vanished?  So would they.

It would be a very different Earth, after a supervolcano eruption.  TOTALLY ignoring the direct effects of the blast itself, obviously...

[Swatopluk]

cynical thought of the day: There won't be many fish to be killed by the event. We will do the job ourselves.

[ivor]

I heard everything below 40 degrees latitude is screwed.

[Griffin NoName]

I heard Southern English Wine Vinyards may be threatened