Antarctic control of global climate:

Discussion in 'Earth Science' started by paddoboy, Aug 28, 2019.

  1. paddoboy Valued Senior Member

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    https://phys.org/news/2019-08-antarctic-global-climate.html

    Research sheds new light on Antarctic control of global climate
    by University of Southampton

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    Sea ice and icebergs in the shelf sea environment adjacent to Antarctica. Credit: Mike Meredith, British Antarctic Survey
    Scientists have made a new discovery that challenges previous understanding of the relationship between the polar Southern Ocean, next to Antarctica, and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Their findings show that, contrary to existing assumptions, biological processes far out at sea are the most important factors determining how the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide. The results are published this week in the journal Science Advances.

    Carbon dioxide is absorbed in the surface ocean and stored in the deep seas over a timescale of 100s to 1000s years. The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in how this carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere and knowing how it functions helps scientists understand dramatic climate transitions in the past, such as the ice ages, and better predict future climate change. It is commonly thought that the transformation of the water from light to dense—caused by cooling at the ocean's surface—is crucial in determining whether carbon is released to the atmosphere or trapped in the deep ocean. As a result, current research is often focused on the shallow seas right next to the Antarctic continent, where most of this transformation takes place.
    more at link......

    the paper:
    https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/8/eaav6410

    Reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean:

    Abstract
    Global climate is critically sensitive to physical and biogeochemical dynamics in the subpolar Southern Ocean, since it is here that deep, carbon-rich layers of the world ocean outcrop and exchange carbon with the atmosphere. Here, we present evidence that the conventional framework for the subpolar Southern Ocean carbon cycle, which attributes a dominant role to the vertical overturning circulation and shelf-sea processes, fundamentally misrepresents the drivers of regional carbon uptake. Observations in the Weddell Gyre—a key representative region of the subpolar Southern Ocean—show that the rate of carbon uptake is set by an interplay between the Gyre’s horizontal circulation and the remineralization at mid-depths of organic carbon sourced from biological production in the central gyre. These results demonstrate that reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean is an essential step to better define its role in past and future climate change.
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    I was lucky enough a few years ago, to take a flight over the Antarctic peninsula and continent approximating about a 3 hour stay...probably the second most impressive thing I have ever done...the first being sailing the Pacific in a three masted square rigged Barquentine from Cristobal to Sydney in 1974.
    The story of that trip over 4 months is told here....
    http://thanetonline.blogspot.com.au/2007/12/friggin-in-rigging.html
     
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  3. Quantum Quack Life's a tease... Valued Senior Member

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    I loved the blog stories. The living history of a living vessel like the Black Opal is so enthralling for me.
    As a young adult I had dreams of doing as you have done. sailing in the wide, on board a schooner or larger, writing and composing. I even dreamed of building my own, a ketch Marinna 38. Couldn't locate a the timber needed for the keel board nor did I have flat land to build on. ( I had a slope of 17.5 degrees) so continue to dream I did.
     
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  5. Quantum Quack Life's a tease... Valued Senior Member

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  7. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

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