Ocean Warming Has been Drastically Underestimated. This came across the wire a few days ago. Most do not understand what it means. Here is a detailed explanation.
90% of the earth's global warming happens in the oceans. The amount of global ocean warming that has been measured during the last 10 years is so great that if that same amount of warming was instead applied to the earth's atmosphere, air temperatures all over the world would be 35 degrees Fahrenheit warmer every day and night.
Significant work has been done by scientists to quantify the total amount of warming that has been going on. This is important because knowing how much warming is happening now shows us how much the earth is likely to warm in the future. It also helps us to understand how much time we have left before climate change becomes a terrible and irreversible demon that will devour all the world in droughts, famines, plagues, storms and the subsequent wars that will result as societies are stressed by these impacts.
Previous scientific analysis has established that the threshold of climate change that is not catastrophic and irreversible is 2 degrees Celsius of total warming. To prevent this level of destruction we were told that 350 parts per million off CO2 in the earth's atmosphere is the highest long-term threshold that we must stay below to keep the earth below that dangerous level of warming, (actually it was a 50% chance to stay below it).
All that has changed now.
This new analysis of global satellite and ARGO buoy temperature and salinity data in the southern oceans has determined that scientists have severely underestimated the amount of warming that the earth has been experiencing.
takeaways:
1. This means that the amount of global warming caused by CO2 is HIGHER than we expected.
2. This means that the amount of total warming that will happen for a given amount of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere is HIGHER than we expected.
3. This means that, for a given rate of global CO2 emissions over the next 20 years the earth is going to warm FASTER than we expected.
How much faster?
10% to 30% faster.
How much sooner?
6 to 14 years sooner
This means that 350.org needs to change its name to 320.org
This means that to keep global temperatures stabilized we will have to EXTRACT that much more CO2 out of our atmosphere over the next 50 years.
And if that isn't bad enough,
Because the earth is now going to warm faster than we expected, this means that the threshold for emissions that will lead to even worse natural feedbacks will happen that much sooner. These feedbacks are not included in the IPCC AR5 report.
How the IPCC Underestimated Climate Change
Scientifc American, Dec. 6, 2012
Reality: Scientists estimate that the world’s permafrost holds 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon. That worries scientists: The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on earth, and researchers are seeing soil temperatures climb rapidly, too. Some permafrost degradation is already occurring.
The U.N. Environmental Programme revealed this week that IPCC’s fifth assessment, due for release starting in September, 2013, will again "not include the potential effects of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate."
As bad as you think global warming will be, you don't yet fully understand what hell we have prepared for our children, and their children if they have any.
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However, there IS a solution. This only means that we must take the solution up and START RIGHT NOW!
The Solution
1. The creation of the Federal Climate Mitigation Authority and the total societal mobilization via command economy of energy efficiency, alternative energy, public-electric powered transportation, electric vehicle mandates for autoindustry, agricultural re-development (victory gardens) with regional support systems and water conservation technology. This will include rationing and targeted reductions in fossil fuel consumption
This will not happen unless some significant structural changes happen within our corporate government/media systems.
Global Warming is Going to Kill Your Children -- START MOBILIZING!