Bits of Climate

First proof ocean CO2 uptake has started to slow down

From raw measurements we know that in recent years the oceans seem to take up a smaller percentage of the CO2 we emit. Analysing available data a group of three researchers finds in part of the North Atlantic this is … Continue reading →

Iron fertilisation geoengineering affects deep sea ecology too

Ocean iron fertilisation, one of the most discussed CDR geoengineering proposals, deliberately tries to stimulate biological activity in the upper ocean. New research shows this in turn affects ecology at the ocean floor too. Let’s just hope sea cucumbers don’t … Continue reading →

Ongoing paleo study may help tune CO2 climate sensitivity

Here on Bitsofscience.org we’ve discussed the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) – that sudden CO2 and methane-induced peak climate warming (or ‘hyperthermal’) 55.8 million years ago of around 6 degrees over 20,000 years – on several occasions, because it offers an … Continue reading →

Ocean warming speeds up ice sheet melting Greenland and Antarctica

In March we learned ice sheet formation is two-sided. On Sunday, sipping coffee whilst reading the latest Nature Geoscience, we learned the same might go for ice sheet melting. If so, melting would likely accelerate over this century and sea … Continue reading →

Antarctic krill promotes CO2 uptake by plankton through iron fertilisation

Iron is very rare in the upper layers of the world´s oceans, where photosynthesis is possible and therefore biological activity and concentration of living biomass is highest, making the mineral a growth-limiting nutrient in 40 percent of the world’s oceans, … Continue reading →

Today’s paradox: hunt for oxygen-rich seas may be bad news for hypoxic plankton

Certain types of plankton have adapted themselves to living in water with low oxygen content, so they can hide away from fish when digesting [through anaerobic glycolysis] and meanwhile suppressing their metabolism. Only at night, when in search for food, … Continue reading →

NOAA’s analysis of climate records 2010: trend consistent with climate change

Here on Bitsofscience.org we hope to be your climate records reference point, so we try not to miss any of the major reports on temperature trends or Arctic melting records. That means we definitely could not ignore yesterday’s release by … Continue reading →