Seeding the oceans with iron-rich fertilizer nanoparticles to store excess carbon dioxide

Nanowerk  November 29, 2022 Artificial ocean fertilization (AOF) carbon sequestration efficiency appears lower than natural ocean fertilization processes due mainly to the low bioavailability of added nutrients, along with low export rates of AOF-produced biomass to the deep ocean. An international team of researchers (UK, Thailand, USA – University of South Carolina, industry, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) explored the potential application of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) to overcome these issues. Data from 123 studies showed that some ENPs may enhance phytoplankton growth at concentrations below those likely to be toxic in marine ecosystems. ENPs may also increase bloom lifetime, boost phytoplankton […]

Stripping carbon from the atmosphere might be needed to avoid dangerous warming—but it’s a deeply uncertain prospect

Phys.org  November 25, 2022 The target to limit global warming to 1.5℃ this century remains but it is unlikely we’ll meet it. Attention is turning to other options for climate action, including large-scale carbon removal. Proponents argue carbon removal is required at a massive scale to avoid dangerous warming. However, successfully stripping carbon from the atmosphere at the scale our planet requires is a deeply uncertain prospect. The IPCC said in a report this year that large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal was “unavoidable” if the world is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. According to the IPCC report in […]

Underwater tsunamis created by glacier calving cause vigorous ocean mixing

Phys.org  November 24, 2022 Researchers in the UK took ocean measurements close to the William Glacier, situated on the Antarctic Peninsula. It has one or two large calving events per year, and the team estimated this one broke off around 78,000 square meters of ice. Before it broke away, the water temperature was cooler at around 50-100 meters in depth, and warmer below this. After the calving temperature was much more even across different depths. Glaciers that end up in the sea cause big waves at the surface and create waves inside the ocean causing the sea to mix. This […]

Unabated Carbon Is Shrinking Earth’s Upper Atmosphere, Scientists Warn

Science Alert  November 22, 2022 A team of researchers in the US (NASA Langley Research Center, industry, NCAR, University of Colorado, Catholic University of America, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton University) examined the thermal structure of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) using observations from 2002 through 2021 from the NASA satellite. They showed that the MLT has significantly cooled and contracted between the years 2002 and 2019 due to a combination of a decline in the intensity of the 11-year solar cycle and increasing CO2. During this time the thickness of atmosphere between approximately 48 and 105 km has […]

Study: Four major climate tipping points close to triggering

Phys.org  September 11, 2022 Climate tipping points (CTPs) occur when change in large parts of the climate system become self-perpetuating beyond a warming threshold. Triggering CTPs leads to significant, policy-relevant impacts, including substantial sea level rise from collapsing ice sheets, dieback of biodiverse biomes such as the Amazon rainforest or warm-water corals, and carbon release from thawing permafrost. An international team of researchers (Sweden, UK, Germany) provides a comprehensive reassessment of all the nine policy-relevant tipping elements and their CTPs that were originally identified by Lenton et al. (2008). The team updated assessment of the most important climate tipping elements […]

A new catalyst to slow down global warming

Phys.org   September 2, 2022 An international team of researchers (Russia, USA – University of Notre Dame) has developed a new simplified method of producing industrial cobalt-nickel catalysts for carbon dioxide processing that makes the process simple and inexpensive. The catalysts are a bulk alloy with a porous surface and nanoscale grains that form foamy high-activity particles. Due to the structure and the synergistic interaction of Co with Ni, the catalysts are characterized by a more intense interaction with CO2 molecules and high stability. They focused on exploring the possibilities of full utilization of carbon dioxide, simplifying the production of effective […]

Review suggests current global efforts are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C

Phys.org  June 24, 2022 According to researchers in Canada human activities have caused global temperatures to increase by 1.25°C, and the current emissions trajectory suggests that we will exceed 1.5°C in less than 10 years. Though the growth rate of global carbon dioxide emissions has slowed, and many countries have strengthened their emissions targets, current midcentury net zero goals are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial temperatures. The primary barriers to the achievement of a 1.5°C-compatible pathway are not geophysical but rather reflect inertia in our political and technological systems. Both political and corporate leadership are needed […]

A huge Atlantic Ocean current is slowing down—if it collapses, La Niña could become the norm for Australia

Phys.org  June 7, 2022 Climate projections suggest a weakening or collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) under global warming, with evidence that a slowdown is already underway. This could have significant ramifications for Atlantic Ocean heat transport, Arctic Sea ice extent and regional North Atlantic climate. However, the potential for far-reaching effects, such as teleconnections to adjacent basins and into the Southern Hemisphere, remains unclear. Researchers in Australia used a global climate model to show that AMOC collapse can accelerate the Pacific trade winds and Walker circulation by leaving an excess of heat in the tropical South Atlantic. […]

Scientists address the imbalance of the ‘Asian Water Tower’

Phys.org  June 7, 2022 The Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalayan system, Asian water tower, named the Third Pole, is the largest global store of frozen water after the polar regions, providing a reliable water supply to almost 2 billion people. Marked atmospheric warming has changed the balance of Asian water tower and altered water resources in downstream countries. In a review article an international team of researchers (China, UK, the Netherlands, USA – Ohio State University, Austria) synthesized the observational evidence and model projections that describe an imbalance in the Asian water tower caused by accelerated transformation of ice and snow into liquid […]

Climate change triggering global collapse in insect numbers, stressed farmland shows 63% decline: New research

Phys.org  April 21, 2022 Although research has shown that biodiversity changes are driven primarily by land-use change and increasingly by climate change, the potential for interaction between these drivers and insect biodiversity on the global scale remains unclear. Researchers in the UK have shown that the interaction between indices of historical climate warming and intensive agricultural land use is associated with reductions of almost 50% in the abundance and 27% in the number of species within insect assemblages relative to those in less-disturbed habitats with lower rates of historical climate warming. These patterns are particularly evident in the tropical realm. […]