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Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification - Inter-Academy Panel statement on Ocean Acidification
The attached statement has been endorsed by 70 science academies from around the world and will be formally launched during the UNFCCC Bonn talks in early June 2009. The UK's Royal Society notes:- "The timing of this statement is deliberate. The acidification of the world's oceans, like climate change, is a direct consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Deep and rapid cuts in CO2 emissions are the only solution, and yet ocean acidification is not yet on the agenda for the UNFCCC Bonn or Copenhagen climate talks in 2009. The objective of this statement is therefore to raise the profile of ocean acidification within the context of the UNFCCC talks, and to encourage climate negotiators to consider the additional impacts of ocean acidification when discussing global emission reduction targets.
The statement emphasises;
- the critical role of the oceans in the global carbon cycle: the oceans have absorbed about a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere by human activities since the industrial revolution.
- the rapidity and irreversibility of the changes in ocean chemistry that have occurred as a direct result. The oceans are now more acidic than they have been for 800,000 years.
- the implications of these changes for marine ecosystems. At current emission rates models suggest that all coral reefs and polar ecosystems will be severely affected by 2050 or potentially even earlier. Marine food supplies are likely to be reduced with significant implications for food production and security in regions dependent on fish protein, and human health and well-being.
The statement concludes that deep and rapid reductions of global CO2 emissions by at least 50% by 2050 and much more thereafter are needed, and calls on world leaders to:
- Acknowledge that ocean acidification is a direct and real consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, is already having an effect at current concentrations, and is likely to cause grave harm to important marine ecosystems as CO2 concentrations reach 450 ppm and above;
- Recognise that reducing the build up of CO2 in the atmosphere is the only practicable solution to mitigating ocean acidification;
- Within the context of the UNFCCC negotiations, recognise the direct threats posed by increasing atmospheric CO2 emissions to the oceans and therefore society, and take action to mitigate this threat;
- Implement action to reduce global CO2 emissions by at least 50% of 1990 levels by 2050 and continue to reduce them thereafter;
- Reinvigorate action to reduce stressors, such as overfishing and pollution, on marine ecosystems to increase resilience to ocean acidification. "
Presentations Now Available Online: A Celebration of International Polar Year 2007-2008
The US National Academy of Sciences, together with the National Science Foundation, held a celebration on 6 April 2009 to recognize the achievements of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY). The meeting included highlights of IPY projects, including such topics as climate change, sea ice stability, Antarctic ecosystems, and people in the Arctic. Presentation videos detailing various aspects of IPY research are available on the National Science Foundation website.
The posted presentations include:
- Welcoming and Opening Remarks by James White, Ralph J. Cicerone, and Arden L. Bement, Jr.;
- How the Past Informs the Future by Richard Alley, Pennsylvania State University;
- Responses to Sea Ice in Transition by Hajo Eicken, University of Alaska Fairbanks;
- Ice Sheet Stability and Global Sea Level by David Holland, New York University;
- A Systems View of Climate Change in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by Timothy Killeen, Geosciences Directorate, National Science Foundation;
- The Arctic: IPY 1882 to IPY 2050 by Stephanie Pfirman, Barnard College;
- Antarctic Ecosystems and Climate Change by Diana Wall, Colorado State University;
- Audience Questions and Answers.
More greenhouse gas methane emerging from warming Arctic permafrost
The Alfred Wegener Institute reports (30 March 2009) that higher temperatures in Arctic permafrost soils alter the community of methane-producing microorganisms and lead to an increased emission of methane. Results come from work in the Laptev Sea, a shallow shelf sea close to the coast of Siberia. Caused by overflooding with relatively warm sea water, this so-called 'submarine permafrost' is about 10º C warmer than the permafrost on land.
Permafrost covers about 25% of the earth's land area and stores huge amounts of organic carbon. In the absence of oxygen, the climate relevant trace gas methane is generated by decomposition of organic carbon. Special microorganisms (methanogenic archaea) are responsible for the generation of methane. The microorganisms generate methane even in deeply frozen permafrost layers of about -7° C. If these temperatures are experimentally increased by some degrees, the organisms' metabolic activity increases and thus also the production of methane in permafrost. Submarine permafrost has developed in a former landmass which was flooded due to the raised main sea level after the last glacial. It is therefore originally a terrestrial permafrost deposit. In contrast to current terrestrial permafrost with a mean temperature of -12° C, submarine permafrost has already been warmed to a temperature of -2° C. By comparing the two communities of microorganisms generating methane in both permafrost regions, AWI could show that the composition of methane-producing microorganisms in submarine permafrost is different from that in terrestrial permafrost, and adapted to the warmer conditions.
The data suggest that the atmospheric warming we observe leads to an increased emission of the climate relevant trace gas methane in earth's vast permafrost regions today.
Arctic Dipole is the Major Driver for Arctic Sea Ice Minima
New research is now available on the causes of the arctic summer sea ice minimum in 2007 and other previous minima. Dr Jia Wang of NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and his colleagues recently published an article in Geophysical Research Letters to explain that the Arctic Dipole (DA) is the major driver for the Arctic sea ice minima.
The previous record lows of arctic summer sea ice extent are found to be triggered by the arctic atmospheric Dipole Anomaly (DA) pattern. This local, second-leading mode of sea-level pressure anomaly in the Arctic produced a strong meridional wind anomaly that drove more sea ice out of the Arctic Ocean from the western to the eastern Arctic into the northern Atlantic during the summers of 1995, 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2007. In the 2007 summer, the DA also enhanced anomalous oceanic heat flux into the Arctic Ocean via Bering Strait, which accelerated bottom and lateral melting of sea ice and amplified the ice-albedo feedback. A coupled ice-ocean model was used to confirm the historical record lows of summer sea ice extent.
For more information, see the full paper.
Polar Oceans Day - March 2009
Every three months, IPY celebrates International Polar Days, focusing on a different aspect of polar research. Previous Polar Days have focused on Sea Ice, Ice Sheets, Changing Earth, Land & Life, People and Research Above the Polar Regions. In March 2009, there will be a focus on Polar Oceans. Events will start on the 18th March with activities continuing throughout that week until the 26th March. A list of activities is available from the IPY website.
We want to make this day as multilingual as we can and are keen to encourage as many local activities as possible that range from inspiring primary school classes to providing higher-level information about IPY research and the process of science for higher-level students, educators and media.
In conjunction with this, there will be several live events connecting researchers in the field with students around the world, activity and ocean summary flyers in many languages, a virtual balloon launch, and profiles of IPY research and researchers. If you would like to contribute, or if you have any links and resources or educational activities you think would be suitable for this day, please contact Nicola Munro (ipy1@bas.ac.uk).
Antarctic and Arctic Essay Competition
The Association of Early Career Scientists (APECS), together with the organisers of the Antarctic Treaty Summit, are asking all young researchers to share their thoughts and opinions in form of an essay focusing on how to better integrate science and policy, and on the needs for new policy dealing with current issues in the Antarctic as well as the Arctic. Winners will receive a travel fellowship to represent the new generation of polar researchers at the Antarctic Treaty Summit, which will be held in Washington, DC from 30 November to 3 December, 2009. The deadline for submissions is 15 March 2009. For more information, please visit the essay competition page of the APECS website.
Download the application form.
International Polar Day focusing on Oceans
The next International Polar Day will focus on Oceans, with activities occurring around the world between March 18th and 25th. During that period, the IPY Office is hoping to catalyse many international, multi-lingual activities around the world. The Office is looking for scientists with expertise related to polar oceans who could help write, or check, content for the webpages, check educational activities, talk about their research during 'live events', or be profiled in our Meet the Scientist section. Please pass this information on to any colleagues, students, or mentors who might be interested in polar science outreach. More details about Polar Days can be found on the IPY Polar Days web page or by downloading the invitation letter from the IPY Office.
Record 2007 Greenland Ice Sheet Melt
The latest snow modelling data, reported in the Journal EOS (vol. 90, No. 2, 13 Jan 2009), show that the melt extent in 2007 was 915,000 sq km, 20% more than the average for 1995-2006. Runoff was 35% greater than the 1995-2006 average. These trends are increases on previous years, suggesting a speeding up in the underlying processes. At the time of writing the trend for 2008 seemed to be continuing that for 2007.
Global temperature - 2008 cool, but still 7th warmest since 1900
The analysis of global temperature trends by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Science (GISS) is now out, and shows that even though we had record sea ice melt in the Arctic, 2008 was cooler than 2007. Nevertheless it was still one of the top 10 warmest years of recent times. The cause of the cooling appears to be persistence of a cold La Niña event in the Pacific, combined with the fact that we are now at the nadir between two sunspot cycles, and that solar output is fractionally lower than at the last such nadir. There are signs that the La Niña may soon be replaced by an El Niño, and, if the sunspot cycles continue as they have in recent times, the number of sunspots (hence solar energy emitted) should soon rise. A record warm year appears to be likely in the next couple of years.
Read the full article.
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