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☆ Mars could be creating 'giant whirlpools' deep within our planet's oceans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mars may be 140 million miles away, but its gravitational pull could be impacting Earth's oceans. Scientists at the University of Sydney in Australia believe the red planet's tug is creating "giant whirlpools" in the oceans called eddies, which can shift the deep-sea floor. This, they claim, is part of a 2.4-million-year climate "grand cycle" on Earth that has been ongoing for at least 40 million years. The red planet's orbit and ours are locked in an intricate dance, and every so often, these line up so that Mars' gravitational pull on Earth is just a little more intense — this is called resonance. This information is crucial when refining models helping us see how our planet's intricate climate will progress over time.

Persons: Adriana Dutkiewicz, NASA's, Dietmar Müller, Malin, Matthew England, Benjamin Mills, wasn't, Mills Organizations: Service, University of Sydney, Business, NASA's Goddard Space, geosciences, Nature Communications, Mars NASA, JPL, Systems, University of New, New, University of Leeds Locations: Australia, Japan, New, University of New South Wales, Sydney

☆ Crucial ocean current system could be on course to collapse with catastrophic impacts on global weather
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This new study provides an “important breakthrough,” said René van Westen, a marine and atmospheric researcher at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and study co-author. It’s the first time a collapse has been detectable using these complex models, representing “bad news for the climate system and humanity,” the report says. “But we can at least say that we are heading in the direction of the tipping point under climate change,” van Westen said. The AMOC’s collapse could also cause sea levels to surge by around 1 meter (3.3 feet), van Westen said. “(It) adds significantly to the rising concern about an AMOC collapse in the not too distant future,” he said.

Persons: ”, René van Westen, van Westen, ” van Westen, Stefan Rahmstorf, Rahmstorf, Joel Hirschi, Jeffrey Kargel, Hirschi, “ Organizations: CNN, Northern, University of Utrecht, Southern, Potsdam University, National Oceanography, Planetary Science Institute Locations: Atlantic, Netherlands, Europe, Germany, Arizona

☆ Oceans absorb 90% of the heat from climate change — here's why record ocean temps are so harmful
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

"Over 90 percent of the excess energy on earth due to climate change is found in warmer oceans, some of it in surface oceans and some at depth." Put simply, the greenhouse gases serve to trap more heat, some of which is absorbed by the ocean," Kirtman told CNBC. In addition to the daily record on July 31, the monthly sea surface temperature for July was the hottest July on record, "by far," Copernicus said. CopernicusThese record sea surface temperatures arise from multiple factors, including the El Niño weather pattern, which is currently in effect. "These climate variations occur when sea surface temperature patterns of warming and cooling self-reinforce by changing patterns of winds and precipitation that deepen the sea surface temperature changes."

Persons: Baylor, Carlos E, Del Castillo, Castillo, Benjamin Kirtman, Kirtman, Copernicus, Gavin Schmidt, Kemper, Zeke Hausfather, Sarah Kapnick, Kapnick, Kempler, Hurricane Ian, Michael Lowry, Lowry, Rainer Froese, Daniel Pauly, Pauly, Vigfus, pollack, Sean Gallup, Lorenz Hauser, Hauser, Froese, Phanor Montoya, Javier, Carolyn Cole, Hans W, Paerl, Justin Sullivan, Christopher Gobler, Gobler, Gary Griggs, Kimberly McKenna, Angela Weiss, Griggs, it's, Judith Kildow, Kildow, It's Organizations: International, Baylor Fox, Kemper, Brown University, CNBC, Ecology Laboratory, NASA, University of Miami, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Fox, El, Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, heatwave, NOAA, Northern Hemisphere, Miami Herald, Tribune, Service, Getty, Helmholtz, Ocean Research, University of British Columbia's Institute, Fisheries, School of, Fishery Sciences, Restoration Foundation, Coral Restoration Foundation, Looe Key, Los Angeles Times, University of North, Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences, Berkeley Marina, San, Quality, Centers for Disease Control, Stony Brooke University's School of Marine, Atmospheric Sciences, University of California, Stockton University Coastal Research, Afp, Ocean Economics Locations: Florida, El, Pacific, Berkeley, Fort Myers, Hurricane, Germany, New York, Nova Scotia, Hofn, Hornafjordur, Iceland, Seattle, Alaska, Looe, University of North Carolina, San Francisco Bay, Berkeley , California, San Francisco, Europe, Santa Cruz, Atlantic City , New Jersey, Atlantic City, Antarctica, Greenland

☆ The climate changed. Get used to it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In this year of epic heat, it’s time to start thinking about how the climate changed rather than the fact of its changing. “These giant swings in temperature over short distances in cities, known as the urban heat island effect, make heat waves even worse,” writes CNN’s Rachel Ramirez of a new report by the nonprofit research group Climate Central. There’s a climate change angle for everywhere and everythingThe reason gas prices have spiked in recent days? “I don’t think anybody can deny the impact of climate change anymore,” Biden said, announcing the measures. The partisan divide over climate change is also the largest it has ever been.

Persons: CNN —, CNN’s Zain Asher, Marina Romanello, Asher, Romanello, ”, CNN’s Rachel Ramirez, ” Ramirez, CNN’s Eric Zerkel, Joe Biden, West Virginia Sen, Joe Manchin, ” Biden, –, Bill McGuire, ” McGuire, “ Organizations: CNN, Phoenix, Climate, Florida, Democrat, White House, Gallup, University College London Locations: Europe, Greece, Vermont, Iran, California, Arizona, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Los Angeles, New York, West, West Virginia, Rhodes

A critical system of ocean currents could collapse much sooner than expected as a result of the deepening climate emergency, according to the findings of a new study, potentially wreaking havoc across the globe. The AMOC acts like a conveyor belt of currents carrying warm waters from north to south and back in a long and relatively slow cycle within the Atlantic Ocean. The circulation also carries nutrients necessary to sustain ocean life. For one, the NOAA says England would have a "much colder climate" if not for the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. The projected collapse of the AMOC is seen as a "major concern" because it is recognized as one of the most important tipping elements in the Earth's climate system.

Organizations: Nature Communications, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA Locations: Europe, Florida, England

☆ Climate change is killing off a vital ocean current system and it could spark permanent droughts and extreme winters, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A key system of Atlantic Ocean currents may collapse anytime between 2025 and 2095, a new study found. Potential impacts include permanent drought in Western Africa and extreme winters in Western Europe. In 2019, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted the stream would collapse sometime after 2100. The effects of such a collapse could include permanent drought in Western Africa, extreme winters in Western Europe, and disruptions to monsoon patterns in India, South America, and Western Africa, CNN reported in 2021. The authors of the study included recommendations to mitigate the collapse of the system, including immediate moves to eliminate planet-warming pollution.

Persons: Peter Ditlevsen —, —, Peter de Menocal Organizations: CNN, Service, United Nations, Oceanographic Institution Locations: Western Africa, Western Europe, India, South America

☆ Atlantic Ocean circulation is heading for a collapse around mid-century, scientists report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The AMOC is a complex tangle of currents that works like a giant global conveyor belt. It transports warm water from the tropics toward the North Atlantic, where the water cools, becomes saltier and sinks deep into the ocean, before spreading southwards. The likeliest point of collapse is somewhere between 2039 and 2070, Ditlevsen said. Warming oceans and melting ice threaten to desatbilize a crucial system of ocean currents in the Atlantic. “The key point of this study is that we don’t have much time at all to do this,” de Menocal said.

Persons: ”, Peter de Menocal, Peter Ditlevsen, Ditlevsen, “, Drew Angerer, Menocal, It’s, haven’t, ” de Menocal, Stefan Rahmstorf Organizations: CNN, Oceanographic Institution, University of Copenhagen, Atlantic, University of Potsdam Locations: Europe, Greenland, Cove, Newfoundland, Canada, Germany

☆ The most dangerous cruise routes, ports, and destinations are in parts of the world where conditions are unpredictable — and help is nowhere nearby, travel analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But some cruise destinations and routes are prone to dangerous conditions and risky activity. These are some of the most dangerous cruise locations around the world. AntarcticaThe world's southernmost continent is among the most beautiful — and dangerous — cruise destinations, according to Chiron and Klein. Cruise passengers during a lifeboat drill in the Northwest Passage near Nunavut, Canada. National Park Service via APCruise lines avoid dangerous portsWhile rough seas and high winds can make ocean travel dangerous, uncertainties on land pose their own risks for visitors.

☆ Map shows the ice sheets and glaciers melting that scientists most fear will be the source of catastrophic rising sea levels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Marianne Guenot | Annie Fu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Melting ice that could tip sea level rise into catastrophic levelsSource: NASA Ice ViewerChart: Annie Fu/InsiderWhile it's easier to plan for a steady sea level rise, scientists are very concerned about what would happen if huge chunks of ice collapse and abruptly change sea levels. The Antarctic ice sheet is much bigger than the ice sheet on Greenland. If they were to melt totally, the Greenland ice sheet would contribute about 23 ft to the sea levels, while the Antarctic ice sheet holds enough ice to raise sea levels by 58 feet. Local sea level variationGlobal mean sea level rise is only a snapshot of the whole picture. Because sea levels are influenced by the local environment, the sea level rise can be much higher locally than it is on a global scale.

☆ STUDIU: Topirea calotelor glaciare este asociată cu o creştere a nivelului mării de 10 ori mai rapidă
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-02 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

O topire a calotelor glaciare care s-a produs în trecutul Terrei ar fi putut să determine o creştere a nivelului mării de 10 ori mai rapidă decât cea actuală, potrivit unui studiu britanic publicat joi, care conţine numeroase "indicii esenţiale" despre efectele provocate de încălzirea climei, informează AFP.Nivelul mării ar putea să crească cu un metru sau chiar cu doi metri, potrivit estimărilor, până la sfârşitul secolului al XXI-lea, scrie agerpres.ro Autorii studiului, coordonaţi de cercetătorii de la Universitatea Durham, s-au bazat pe măsurători geologice ale nivelului mării din trecutul planetei noastre pentru a estima că nivelurile au crescut cu 3,6 metri pe secol într-un interval de 500 de ani la sfârşitul ultimei perioade glaciare, în urmă cu circa 14.600 de ani.Autorii au constatat, totodată, că acea creştere a nivelului mării cu 18 metri ar fi putut să provină în principal din topirea calotelor glaciare din emisfera nordică, nu a gheţurilor din Antarctica, aşa cum s-a crezut până acum.Autorii consideră că studiul lor ar putea să ofere "indicii esenţiale" despre impactul pe care ar putea să îl aibă schimbările climatice, fenomen ce provoacă o creştere a nivelului mării. "Am constatat că cea mai mare parte din creşterea rapidă a nivelului mării s-a datorat topirii calotelor glaciare din America de Nord şi din Scandinavia, cu o contribuţie uimitor de slabă a Antarcticii", a explicat o coautoare a studiului, Pippa Whitehouse, profesoară la Facultatea de Geografie din cadrul Universităţii Durham. "Următoarea mare întrebare este de a determina ce anume a declanşat topirea gheţii şi ce impact a avut afluxul masiv de apă asupra curentelor oceanice din Atlanticul de Nord. Aceste aspecte ne preocupă mult astăzi - orice perturbare a Gulf Stream, de exemplu, din cauza topirii calotei glaciare din Groenlanda, va avea consecinţe importante asupra climatului britanic", a subliniat Pippa Whitehouse.Fenomenul de creştere a nivelului mării care a durat cinci secole, comparabil cu topirea unei calote glaciare de două ori mai mare decât Groenlanda, a determinat inundarea unor vaste zone de uscat şi o perturbaţie a circulaţiei oceanice, cu efecte în serie asupra climatului mondial, au explicat autorii studiului.

Persons: - lea Organizations: Universitatea, Universităţii, Gulf Stream Locations: Universitatea Durham, Antarctica, America de Nord, Scandinavia, Universităţii Durham, Atlanticul de Nord, Groenlanda

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