Surprise! Atmospheric CO2 is increasing faster than predicted

[pscot]

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-carbon-increase,0,2964551.story

WASHINGTON - Just days after the Nobel prize was awarded for global warming work, an alarming new study finds that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing faster than expected.

Carbon dioxide emissions were 35 percent higher in 2006 than in 1990, a much faster growth rate than anticipated, researchers led by Josep G. Canadell, of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...

"In addition to the growth of global population and wealth, we now know that significant contributions to the growth of atmospheric CO2 arise from the slowdown" of nature's ability to take the chemical out of the air, said Canadell, director of the Global Carbon Project at the research organization.

The changes "characterize a carbon cycle that is generating stronger-than-expected and sooner-than-expected climate forcing," the researchers report.

,"

Alan Robock, associate director of the Center for Environmental Prediction at Rutgers University, added: "What is really shocking is the reduction of the oceanic CO2 sink," meaning the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide, removing it from the atmosphere....(more)

[soothsayer]

1. ruh roh

[lvx35]

2. Shit. Could it be a secondary effect, like decreased plant growth due to warming?

Or perhaps warming releasing ice trapped carbon into the atmosphere?

[flyingfysh]

4. I thought it was ocean circulation

Ocean circulation near Antarctica has changed so that water with more carbon dioxide is at the surface. So the ocean can absorb less. All the people building computer models had overlooked that possibility.

[phantom power]

5. And the north atlantic, as well:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=118053&mesg_id=118053

[lvx35]

7. Wildcards like this are exactly why we should be scared...

Damn! I mean it just makes sense, this particular release of carbon in this way is unprecedented in history, so we should expect unprecedented side effects. I wish people would take this as seriously as Gore.

[kestrel91316]

3. Wow. NO ONE could have forseen this......

[Tesha]

6. Someone should have warned us! Gorey-be! (NT)

[NNadir]

9. ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO OPPOSE CLIMATE CHANGE GAS FREE FORMS OF ENERGY.

In general, there is a subset of illiterate people who couldn't care less about dangerous fossil fuel waste.

Many of them write here, in an appeal to creationist type ignorance, opposing the world's largest, by far, climate change gas free form of energy.

I've observed them whining and squealing whenever the words "dangerous fossil fuel waste" are used. I can't tell whether it's because they believe that dangerous fossil fuel waste is safe, or because they have their heads very, very, very, very far up their asses in a frenzy of opposition to the world's largest climate change gas free form of energy.

[tom_paine]

8. We need to put it to rap music...

N-n-n n-n-no no-no no-no-no one c-c-c-c-co-co-ould have f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f fu-fu-fu-fu-fu-fu-foreseen it...

(scratch record NOW!)

[pscot]

10. No one ever expects----the Spanish Inquisition

Somehow I don't believe we'll be getting the "comfy chair" or the "soft cushions". Rather more like the rack and the bastinado.