Hi Ladies - very good informative show. Well done))
All the topics you mentioned tonight, I have been discussing for some time. The one exception is the ACC (it's new info) which I will do a video on coming soon. Eddies pinch off of major currents due to the fact that there is fluid rotating on a spherical body. Eddies result from vorticity mechanisms that balance this rotation along with pressure gradient and Coriolis effects.
Oceans have absorbed 93% of all heat energy since 1971 to the tune of 226 ZJ of energy. In addition, CO2 is being absorbed which acidifies the oceans - all points made tonight which are correct. That heat is melting the sea ice. That heat will diffuse to the atmosphere. The problem with the CO2 is what it does to the CCD - Calcite Compensation Depth also called the Lysocline. Basically, below this depth calcite (CaCO3) stays in solution. Above it, it can precipitate. Below the lysocline, one does not find organisms that have shells (invertebrates mainly). The lysocline is getting shallower causing shells of organisms to dissolve or prevent them from forming in the first place. This is leading to increased mortalities. As you know I did the Ocean Heat Content video. I also posted a video on the Lysocline as well as on ocean acidification.
In the arctic, there are features called thermokarst lakes. Basically, these are lakes that form on the surface (from snow melt, precipitation) because the frozen ground prevents infiltration. Now as the permafrost thaws, this water now percolates into the ground. Another thing to remember is that there are several sources of CH4, not just biogenic (microbe activity on organic matter). There is also thermogenic sources such as what I recently discussed occurring at the shelf break in the arctic ocean. The warmer oceanic water flowing into the arctic is thawing the submerged permafrost. At the shelf break, the ground thaws releasing trapped pockets of CH4 in a literal explosion of gas. Closer to shore the process is more biogenic. But, warmer oceans are contributing to increased permafrost thaw. N2O is another gas I have discussed before. (I think I have a new video coming up). I did discuss how N2O contributes to CO2e in my AGGI video.
I also discussed how zombie fires are increasing rate of thaw and CH4 addition to the atmosphere. Zombie fires are prevalent all throughout the arctic now.
Communities built on permafrost are in serious trouble. As the ground thaws, buildings (you showed a photo) and roads collapse and crumble. (I did a video on this some time ago)
Keep in mind the boreal forest is the most extensive terrestrial ecosystem on the planet with loads of carbon stored. As the permafrost thaws, that carbon is being released (a source like the Amazon). Some models project that temps will actually increase by at least 5-7 C by 2100 if not 7-9 C or more... Yikes...
Elizabeth Kolbert wrote an excellent book called The Sixth Extinction. She argues we are already in the middle of this event caused by humans. I agree with her. Book came out in 2014. Still prescient today if not more so.
As Jennifer correctly pointed out - the rate of change is key to understanding what is happening. Simply put, the rate of change is the fastest for which we have data for. And the exponentiation... is itself exponentiating.
What Happens in the Arctic Does Not Stay in the Arctic. I look forward to your show next week with Nick, Tony and Jenn. Thanks Sandy)) Lots of love to you)) Jim
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“This eastern ice shelf is likely to shatter into hundreds of icebergs,” she said. “Suddenly the whole thing would collapse.” The failure of the shelf would not immediately accelerate global sea level rise. The shelf already floats on the ocean surface, taking up the same amount of space whether it is solid or liquid. But when the shelf fails, the eastern third of Thwaites Glacier will triple in speed, spitting formerly landlocked ice into the sea. Total collapse of Thwaites could result in several feet of sea level rise, scientists say, endangering millions of people in coastal areas. “It’s upwardly mobile in terms of how much ice it could put into the ocean in the future as these processes continue,” said Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, and a leader of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC). He spoke to reporters via Zoom from McMurdo Station.
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