Methane Feedback and Abrupt Climate Change/cont.

Disclaimer: I want to add this disclaimer to cover any posts here regarding Methane feedback. I absolutely DO NOT support the geoengineering of our atmosphere through spraying of chemicals as a solution to climate destruction. This could well tip our atmosphere even further with unknown consequences. ANY references to it on ANY sources I link to here are not supported by me. I have added certain sources simply to illustrate and inform regarding the real concern we must have with methane feedback- which can be addressed though initiatives to decrease of CO2/methane emissions such as a ban on fracking as well as through sustainable agriculture, afforestation, renewable energy and financial incentives not tied to markets but that hold markets accountable. Thank you. IMPORTANT UPDATE ON FAILURE OF HUMANITY:

Record-breaking Greenhouse Gas Levels in Atmosphere: 'Time is Not On Our Side'

So this message goes out to the UN COP Conference coming up this week in coal spewing Poland and to all of those environmental organizations that think continuing to give irrelevant deniers attention simply for political reasons above calling for URGENT AND DRASTIC MEASURES is more important now: STOP giving attention to these accomplices and MOBILIZE TO SAVE HUMANITY. And to the UN, heed the message delivered to you by a young lady not too long ago at one of your corporate run conferences: GET IT DONE.

From link:

"The amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere reached a record high in 2012, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), continuing an upward and accelerating trend which, according to report authors, spells "devastating consequences" for the future of the planet.

According to WMO's annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, between 1990 and 2012 our atmosphere underwent a 32% increase in 'radiative forcing,' the warming effect on our climate, with carbon dioxide—"mainly from fossil fuel-related emissions"—accounting for 80% of this increase.

These observations, according to WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, "highlight yet again how heat-trapping gases from human activities have upset the natural balance of our atmosphere and are a major contribution to climate change.”

“Time is not on our side,” Jarraud added, indicating the perils ahead if the trend is not halted or emissions reduced.

The Bulletin writes:

[O]n the global scale, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 393.1 parts per million in 2012, or 141% of the pre-industrial level of 278 parts per million. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increased 2.2 parts per million from 2011 to 2012, which is above the average 2.02 parts per million per year for the past 10 years, showing an accelerating trend.

The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin reports on concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) that remain in the atmosphere after a percentage of the gases are absorbed into the biosphere and oceans.

In addition to the dramatic increase in atmospheric CO2, atmospheric methane reached a new high of about 1819 parts per billion (ppb) in 2012, or 260% of the pre-industrial level, due to increased emissions from human activities."

End of excerpt.

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NASA: Study Finds Surprising Arctic Methane Emission Source

"So how is the methane being produced? The scientists aren’t yet sure, but Kort hinted biological production from living things in Arctic surface waters may be a likely culprit. “It’s possible that as large areas of sea ice melt and expose more ocean water, methane production may increase, leading to larger methane emissions,” he said. He said future studies will be needed to understand the enhanced methane levels and associated emission processes and to measure their total contribution to overall Arctic methane levels. “While the methane levels we detected weren’t particularly large, the potential source region, the Arctic Ocean, is vast, so our finding could represent a noticeable new global source of methane,” he added. “As Arctic sea ice cover continues to decline in a warming climate, this source of methane may well increase. It’s important that we recognize the potential contribution from this source of methane to avoid falsely interpreting any changes observed in Arctic methane levels in the future.”

End of Excerpt

Also see:

NASA: Is A Sleeping Giant Stirring In The Arctic?

And:

Abrupt Climate Change

From site link:



"High Methane Levels persist over Arctic Ocean

High methane levels are prominent over the Arctic Ocean, as illustrated by the image below, covering a period from October 3, 2013, 10:54 am to October 7, 2013, 11:53 pm. The fact that methane has not been present elsewhere in such high concentrations over this period indicates that the methane wasn't carried there by the wind from elsewhere. Also, methane typically appears to move along the same latitude, due to the Coriolis effect."

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Methane deposits on the sea floor for thousands of years remain stable as long as temperature remains stable. As we are seeing however, global temperature has been rising consistently since the 1970s with scientists expecting us to exceed the 2 degree threshold to at least 4 degrees + by century end. That indicates we have entered a period where climate consequences will be irreversible. This increase in global temperature is due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere which is the most prevalent radiative forcing in the atmosphere lasting for centuries. The trapping of CO2 in the lower level of our atmosphere then produces more heat which produces more water vapor and more energy in our climate, carbon and hydrologic cycles. This is the cause of the increased and alarming melting of the Arctic sea ice which is the mirror of our planet (and other glaciers globally) as well as more extreme events such as droughts, flooding and storms.

Forty percent of Arctic ice has been lost since the 1980s so far as we saw CO2 PPM reach 400 in the Arctic this year after 2012 saw the greatest increase of melting in a continuing overall downward trend in extent and volume. This huge amount of lost ice reveals more open water which then produces a positive feedback mechanism by reducing reflectivity and melting more ice on surface and below the surface as ice also thins with less refreezing which then releases more CO2 into the atmosphere and also methane. While methane does not last as long in the atmosphere as CO2 does it however is 30x stronger than CO2. A major release of it from the sea floor due to excessive decreases in Arctic ice and permafrost is a time bomb waiting to be released.

That might not really be a concern now but for the fact that CO2 emissions are the highest now than they have ever been in human existence. Postulations from some scientists and those who are very concerned about the effects of this warming and continued rapacious melting are now questioning if/when the world may reach a point where runaway climate change would commence should this pace of consumption continue and accelerate. While some may think it "alarmist" to be concerned and while some also place the label "alarmist" on everything they either do not wish to discuss or don't know enough about, I think it very prudent to understand the possibilities of our continued rapacious unabated consumption of resources particularly fossil fuels.

The point is we do not know just how much longer we can continue with this experiment on our atmosphere before we tip the scales totally out of our favor. Just based on this one fact I would think we as a species would be much more prudent and wary of what we are doing if we truly care about this planet and our future on it. We simply cannot burn every gigaton of fossil fuels left on this planet and survive it. To do so would also release a methane "Kracken" upon us that would be catastrophic to civilization.

Observations over the Arctic for October this year show a high amount of methane in the atmosphere. The NASA report above references methane releases form open ocean water through melted ice. Apart from the obvious benefits of decreasing CO2 emissions, this reason seems to also be an urgent one. If you were on a ledge blindfolded and had no idea how far ahead you could walk without falling off and killing yourself would you continue walking or would you step back?

This is why there is such an outcry for political and moral will. This is why concerned world citizens are relentless in speaking out to stop tarsands, the most carbon intensive dirtiest fuel on this planet besides coal. This is why concerned world citizens go to the Arctic risking arrest in speaking out for us to protect this pristine pole that balances our climate and our very lives...because this is about our very lives!

I do not for one minute consider myself an "alarmist." I do however, consider myself a realist who understands human nature and for the life of me I cannot comprehend how people can simply look at reports on the pace of increasing CO2 emissions, methane emissions, melting ice, extreme weather events, die offs, alarming loss of biodiversity, acidifying of our oceans that hasn't been seen in thousands of years, increased loss of agriculture and water scarcity and not connect it to our consumption patterns and resource depletion.

We are taking this Earth to a place we have never seen it before. That isn't "alarmist" that is fact. The fact that we are also continuing on present course thinking we still have years to address this is actually what is alarming. Could we, the human species be perpetuating our own demise through our own arrogance?

How far do you think we should go to find out?

This is only some of what we need to do:

* Stop all excavation and emission of fossil fuels (especially tarsands which has caused this rapid quickening of effects) in line with aggressive institution of renewable energy (real renewable energy and not what politicians call renewable energy for their own agendas) globally in order to beat downward curve of fossil fuel resources and to meet increasing curve of population increases and consumption. Also, decreasing consumption of all resources and instituting methods globally that recognize the Rights of Mother Earth with stiff political penalties for continuing to support economic models that kill biodiversity and that do not sustain and conserve resources needed by all species to live. This aggressive institution of renewable energy would be possible with only a minor financial transaction tax instituted on banks. Those who in great part caused this crisis by funding it should now have to take responsibility for it.

* Institute aggressive Sustainable Agriculture policies globally that get us off fossil fuels and back to holistic agriculture that increases yield, health and sequesters CO2 in soil as well as preserving soil nutrients needed in order for food to grow. This should be instituted along with a MAJOR global reforestation initiative that is not tied to corporations making wealth, but that incentivizes farmers and indigenous peoples who are the true caretakers of our world.

* Institute adaptation plans that seek to study areas of the world where crops can now be grown in lieu of changing monsoon patterns, drought, aquifer depletion, etc. This should also include types of crops that are not as water intensive. This would then preclude agriculture policy not being tied to CORN AND SOY subsidies that kill biodiversity, soil nutrients and causes economic and environmental chaos. BIOFUELS, especially from food must be stopped in lieu of using all available lands for growing of biodiverse crops and reforestation using sustainable methods with control of lands given to farmers without influence from multinational chemical companies that have hijacked our food systems thus perpetuating the very conditions they claim to prevent. This crisis is also about equality, justice and giving voice to those who know and have known for generations what needs to be done to bring our planet back and their voices must now be heard.

* And what may be most important now: the TRUE URGENCY of this crisis must be relayed instead of using it for political advantage. SO much time has been wasted due to environmental organizations and those on the "other side" merely using this real crisis for their own political fodder. It is time to MOBILIZE and tell the truth about this entire crisis. I truly believe that only when we know the worst of what we can do are we at our best.

But make no mistake, this is the most URGENT crisis we will face in this century. Again, we cannot go on continuing business as usual regarding CO2 emissions as methane begins to seep out of the melted Arctic ocean floor and other places around our globe. The clock is ticking.

Carbon Budget Crunch

Part 1: Methane Feedback and Abrupt Climate Change: How Far Are We From It?

Super Typhoon Haiyan Big Threat To Philippines- With Updates

Update-November 11: Doctors Without Borders:"Unprecedented" Disaster

It is much worse than thought. Please do all you can to help the people of the Philippines in these areas as desperation is taking its toll due to lack of communication, food and water. If you are wary of donating to organizations because you do not trust them, Doctors Without Borders is then one organization you should donate to as they are completely trustworthy and get aid to those effected directly.

To note:

UN COP Conference 19 in Warsaw has begun.

Typhoon prompts 'fast' by Philippines climate delegate

I can almost guarantee that as much as Obama has talked about addressing climate change when it is politically convenient, the US will once again be one of the "developed" countries refusing to nail down anything near adequate to address this abrupt climate change being experienced particularly by the poor of our world.




Imagine that. They say you "violate" diplomatic protocol if you cry... if you act human. How can we expect a human response to this crisis from political robots?


Update-November 10: Horror stories as 10,000 feared dead in Typhoon Haiyan

The people need aid now. HOW MUCH LONGER ARE GLOBAL BODIES GOING TO CONTINUE THEIR BOGUS CONFERENCES IN LIGHT OF THESE CONTINUING DISASTERS BEING PUSHED BY CLIMATE CHANGE?



This is another factor to consider with this "new normal" we are entering. Reaction time and the ability to reach people with aid is drastically affected by these more extreme storms that do more damage. After experiencing Superstorm Sandy here I can empathize with those who now feel as if they are in an alternate universe and feeling desperate because of no power, communication, food, etc. In the Philippines however it is much worse due to location and lack of infrastructure. This is simply beyond devastating. I hope all who read this do whatever they can to help the people of the Philippines. 1.7 million children are effected by this storm. If this is to be the way of our world now as we have made it, we better then become more prepared to aid those effected by it.


Update-November 9: Typhoon Haiyan Kills Up to 1200 In Philippines

Up to 1,200 people are feared dead after Super Typhoon Haiyan — one of the most powerful storms ever recorded — slammed into the central islands of the Philippines, the Philippine Red Cross said Saturday.

That death toll estimate, made by Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, comes from what the relief organization's workers have been reporting in the field, Richard Gordon, CEO of the Philippine Red Cross, told USA TODAY.

As Haiyan heads west toward Vietnam, the Red Cross is at the forefront of an international effort to provide food, water, shelter and other relief to the hundreds of thousands of residents who have lost their homes and livelihood, Gordon said.

"This is a big, full-court press," he said. "We're pulling out all the stops to help."

With widespread power outages, roads blocked, bridges down and debris strewn everywhere, getting life back to some semblance of normal in the region will take time.

"The Philippines are always resilient, and we're going to get back up," Gordon said.

Because communications in the Philippines were cutoff, it remains difficult to determine the full extent of casualties and damage.

"We expect the level of destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan to be extensive and devastating, and sadly we fear that many lives will be lost," said Anna Lindenfors, Philippines director of Save the Children.

"With this magnitude we know that the destruction is overwhelming," said Emma Amores, who was waiting outside Villamor Airbase in Manila, where a C-130 was loading relief supplies and personnel heading to hard-hit Tacloban. "From the images we saw on TV, it's highly likely our houses are gone. We just want to know that the family are all safe."

Romil Elinsuv, who is in Manila for work training, worried about his wife and 4-year-old son who are at their home in Palo, a town in the province of Leyte.

"I feel fear. I don't know what the situation is there," Elinsuv said. He said he spoke with his wife the day before. She assured him they were OK, but then the line went dead, and he's been unable to reach her since.

Super Typhoon Haiyan hit Guiuan, on the Philippine island of Samar, at 4:40 a.m. local time Friday. Three hours before landfall, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center assessed Haiyan's sustained winds at 195 mph, gusting to 235 mph, making it the fourth strongest tropical cyclone in world history.


Update- November 8:

I was hoping to see no casualties, but reports say four dead and we do not know what is happening regarding huge storm surge, flooding and mudslides. This was the strongest typhoon to hit land in recorded history. What will the world do in response?

Oxfam Responds/Please Donate

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Update- November 8: Typhoon Haiyan Makes Landfall over Philippines-"Off The Charts"

"Classified as a super typhoon, the Pacific storm Haiyan has made landfall in the Philippines, bringing top sustained winds that were measured at more than 195 miles per hour before landfall. The measurement reflects the winds sustained by the storm for one minute; the storm was also producing gusts of 230 mph.

Updated at 10:40 p.m. ET: Storm Strength Could Be Historic

The strength of the massive super typhoon could be record-setting, weather experts were saying Thursday night.

At 9:45 p.m. ET, The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang reported: "With estimated maximum sustained winds of 195 mph, it is thought to be the strongest storm to ever make landfall anywhere in the world in modern records." Those winds speeds would be 5 mph higher than the recorded maximum sustained winds of Hurricane Camille in 1969, Super Typhoon Tip in 1979 and Hurricane Allen in 1980.

Jeff Masters, meteorology director and founder of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Mich., told Bloomberg that the power of Haiyan is "off the charts."

Update at 6:15 p.m. ET: Aid And Communication Resources

As has happened in other large events, Google has published a crisis and relief map, showing the storm's path and the locations of evacuation centers and other resources.

The Philippine Red Cross is also posting updates and news on its Twitter feed.

Update at 5 p.m. ET: Typhoon Makes Landfall

"Typhoon 'Yolanda' has made landfall over Guiuan, Eastern Samar," according to the Philippines' PAGASA weather agency's most recent advisory, issued at 5 a.m. local time.

Local news site ANC/Yahoo reports, "Typhoon Yolanda made landfall in Guiuan, Eastern Samar at 4:40am."

"The situation is potentially very destructive to communities," the weather agency says, noting the chance that trees, agriculture, and buildings could be destroyed in the powerful storm.

The typhoon will not be clear of the Philippines territory until early Saturday morning, according to PAGASA.

Haiyan, also called Yolanda within the Philippines, achieved a rare mark earlier Thursday.

"Haiyan has achieved tropical cyclone perfection," Florida meteorologist Brian McNoldy tweeted earlier today. "It is now estimated at 165kts (190mph), with an 8.0 on the Dvorak scale... the highest possible value."

Update at 2:15 p.m. ET: Winds Strengthen Further

Haiyan's maximum sustained winds have grown to 170 knots (196 mph), according to the just-released update from the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii. Wind gusts are being measured at more than 230 mph.

The storm "has tracked westward at 21 knots over the past six hours," according to the update. "Maximum significant wave height ... is 50 feet."

End of Excerpt.

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Update- November 7: Strongest Storm Of The Year Heads For Philippines

"Thousands of people in vulnerable areas of the Philippines are being relocated as the strongest storm on the planet so far this year spins toward the country. With sustained winds of 305 kph (190 mph) and gusts as strong as 370 kph (230 mph), Super Typhoon Haiyan was churning across the Western Pacific toward the central Philippines as one of the most intense tropical cyclones ever recorded.

Its wind strength makes it equivalent to an exceptionally strong Category 5 hurricane.

The storm, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, is expected to still be a super typhoon, with winds in excess of 240 kph (149 mph), when it makes landfall Friday morning in the region of Eastern Visayas.

The storm is so large in diameter that clouds from it are affecting two-thirds of the country.

More than 3,800 people to evacuation centers by late Thursday, Maj. Reynaldo Balido of the Philippine Office of Civil Defense said. Most of those relocated live in Tacloban City, which sits on the coast of the island of Leyte and has a population of more than 200,000.

iReport: Heavy rains as Philippines braces for typhoon In a speech Thursday, President Benigno S. Aquino III warned residents of the "calamity our countrymen will face in these coming days."

"Let me repeat myself: This is a very real danger, and we can mitigate and lessen its effects if we use the information available to prepare," he said."





Super Typhoon Haiyan A Serious Storm

"The expected track of Haiyan will take it directly over the areas hardest hit by a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 150 people in the middle of October.

Haiyan will also produce a severe and inundating storm surge, especially along the eastern coast of southern Luzon and Samar islands.

Residents are urged to take the necessary precautions now ahead of Haiyan's approach and heed all evacuation orders issued by local officials."

End of excerpt

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Super Typhoon Haiyan

"The 2013 Western Pacific Ocean remains quite active in the tropics. Right now, we’re keeping a close eye on Super Typhoon Haiyan. Super Typhoon Haiyan, (or Yolanda, which is the name given the storm by the Philippines) is producing sustained winds of 160 mph (140 knots.) It is considered a Category 5 storm on the Saffir Simpson scale.

Haiyan is a powerful storm that will hit the Philippines on Friday around 0-6 UTC. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center believes this storm will still be a powerful Category 4 storm with sustained winds around 145 mph (125 knots) when it hits. If you live in the Philippines, you need to know that this storm could be devastating and you must prepare now.

Haiyan will become the fifth storm to directly affect the Philippines this year. According to Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, four storms have directly impacted the Philippines killing 30 people. The strongest of these, Typhoon Utor, which had sustained winds of 140 mph, hit the Philippines on August 12, 2013 and cost $25 million dollars in damage.

The Philippines typically average eight to nine storms per year, so activity has been slightly below average. However, the overall Western Pacific Typhoon season has been very active, especially north of the Philippines. So far in 2013, we have seen 28 named storms. The last time we had this much activity was back in 2004, when we recorded 32 named storms. In general, the Western Pacific is an area likely to spawn some of the strongest tropical cyclones in the world."

End of excerpt.



SST 29-30°C combined with deep ocean heat content means Typhoon Haiyan will remain Super Typhoon until landfall.

This is a monster. Be safe Philippines. (But remember the denier creed: warmer ocean temperatures, more moisture in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels and deforesting the planet producing more energy had nothing to do with this...)

Methane Feedback and Abrupt Climate Change: How Far Are We From It?

Disclaimer: I want to add this disclaimer to cover any posts here regarding Methane feedback. I absolutely DO NOT support the geoengineering of our atmosphere through spraying of chemicals as a solution to climate destruction. This could well tip our atmosphere even further with unknown consequences. ANY references to it on ANY sources I link to here are not supported by me. I have added certain sources simply to illustrate and inform regarding the real concern we must have with methane feedback- which can be addressed though initiatives to decrease of CO2/methane emissions such as a ban on fracking as well as through sustainable agriculture, afforestation, renewable energy and financial incentives not tied to markets but that hold markets accountable. Thank you.

Anyone who has been following the global events of the past three plus decades and has been doing so without political rose colored glasses on knows that what we are experiencing on planet Earth at this point in time is unlike anything we have experienced in the whole of human existence. CO2 PPM is at an unprecedented global high with our oceans warming at an increasing rate and acidifying more than they have been in thousands of years. Glaciers globally on the whole are melting as we see unprecedented melting continuing to take place in the Arctic. Climate change, the effect of global warming and our continued experiment on the atmosphere is now upon us and its effects including more of our planet experiencing extreme weather in response to our human forcing upon our climate, carbon and hydrologic cycles is evident with scientific reports warning us that continued effects will become worse particularly regarding water and food supplies.

Scientists now look at this new epoch beginning as the Anthropocene- the epoch where human influence on our planet is now being seen. The questions this particular post aims to examine are just how far will that human forcing go and how fast will the effects of it happen? If you look at the political answer to those questions, the amount of time to begin to address it is not nearly as urgent as it should be. For purposes of their climate meetings where they sit bickering over which country should foot the bill while coming to no real conclusions or solutions, they deem 2 degrees Celsius to be the point at which we really have to start taking action. I don't know what they are thinking about beyond their benefactors but after seeing the global effects of a close to 1.0 increase already it is clear we must address this now.

Discussing the culmination of the effects of this based not just on science but on our consumerism, industrialization, globalization, greed, hubris and political partisanship that impedes true progress on the climate front also requires that the effects of feedbacks (particularly methane clathrates) must be addressed and taken more seriously. We really do not know how much or how little of a forcing could catapult the planet into abrupt warming and at the rate we are consuming fossil fuels and depleting our carbon budget that point may be much sooner than we know :

Large Release of Methane Could Cause Abrupt and Catastrophic Climate Change as Happened 635 Million Years Ago, UCR-led Study Warns

An abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, about 635 million years ago from ice sheets that then extended to Earth’s low latitudes caused a dramatic shift in climate, triggering a series of events that resulted in global warming and effectively ended the last “snowball” ice age, a UC Riverside-led study reports.

The researchers posit that the methane was released gradually at first and then in abundance from clathrates — methane ice that forms and stabilizes beneath ice sheets under specific temperatures and pressures. When the ice sheets became unstable, they collapsed, releasing pressure on the clathrates which began to degas.

“Our findings document an abrupt and catastrophic means of global warming that abruptly led from a very cold, seemingly stable climate state to a very warm also stable climate state with no pause in between,” said Martin Kennedy, a professor of geology in the Department of Earth Sciences, who led the research team.

“This tells us about the mechanism, which exists, but is dormant today, as well as the rate of change,” he added. “What we now need to know is the sensitivity of the trigger: how much forcing does it take to move from one stable state to the other, and are we approaching something like that today with current carbon dioxide warming.”

Study results appear in the May 29 issue of Nature.

According to the study, methane clathrate destabilization acted as a runaway feedback to increased warming, and was the tipping point that ended the last snowball Earth. (The snowball Earth hypothesis posits that the Earth was covered from pole to pole in a thick sheet of ice for millions of years at a time.)

“Once methane was released at low latitudes from destabilization in front of ice sheets, warming caused other clathrates to destabilize because clathrates are held in a temperature-pressure balance of a few degrees,” Kennedy said. “But not all the Earth’s methane has been released as yet. These same methane clathrates are present today in the Arctic permafrost as well as below sea level at the continental margins of the ocean, and remain dormant until triggered by warming.

“This is a major concern because it’s possible that only a little warming can unleash this trapped methane. Unzippering the methane reservoir could potentially warm the Earth tens of degrees, and the mechanism could be geologically very rapid. Such a violent, zipper-like opening of the clathrates could have triggered a catastrophic climate and biogeochemical reorganization of the ocean and atmosphere around 635 million years ago.”

Today, the Earth’s permafrost extends from the poles to approximately 60 degrees latitude. But during the last snowball Earth, which lasted from 790 to 635 million years ago, conditions were cold enough to allow clathrates to extend all the way to the equator.

According to Kennedy, the abruptness of the glacial termination, changes in ancient ocean-chemistry, and unusual chemical deposits in the oceans that occurred during the snowball Earth ice age have been a curiosity and a challenge to climate scientists for many decades.

“The geologic deposits of this period are quite different from what we find in subsequent deglaciation,” he said. “Moreover, they immediately precede the first appearance of animals on earth, suggesting some kind of environmental link. Our methane hypothesis is capable also of accounting for this odd geological, geochemical and paleooceanographic record.”

Also called marsh gas, methane is a colorless, odorless gas. As a greenhouse gas, it is about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and has largely been held responsible for a warming event that occurred about 55 million years ago, when average global temperatures rose by 4-8 degrees Celsius.

When released into the ocean-atmosphere system, methane reacts with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and can cause marine dysoxia, which kills oxygen-using animals, and has been proposed as an explanation for major oceanic extinctions.

“One way to look at the present human influence on global warming is that we are conducting a global-scale experiment with Earth’s climate system,” Kennedy said. “We are witnessing an unprecedented rate of warming, with little or no knowledge of what instabilities lurk in the climate system and how they can influence life on Earth. But much the same experiment has already been conducted 635 million years ago, and the outcome is preserved in the geologic record. We see that strong forcing on the climate, not unlike the current carbon dioxide forcing, results in the activation of latent controls in the climate system that, once initiated, change the climate to a wholly different state.”

End of Excerpt

Also see:

Methane Hydrate Feedback

Also see:

Study Finds Climate Changing Methane Rapidly Destabilizing Off East Coast

A changing Gulf Stream off the East Coast has destabilized frozen methane deposits trapped under nearly 4,000 square miles of seafloor, scientists reported Wednesday. And since methane is even more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas, the researchers said, any large-scale release could have significant climate impacts.

Temperature changes in the Gulf Stream are "rapidly destabilizing methane hydrate along a broad swathe of the North American margin," the experts said in a study published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

Using seismic records and ocean models, the team estimated that 2.5 gigatonnes of frozen methane hydrate are being destabilized and could separate into methane gas and water.

It is not clear if that is happening yet, but that methane gas would have the potential to rise up through the ocean and into the atmosphere, where it would add to the greenhouse gases warming Earth.

The 2.5 gigatonnes isn't enough to trigger a sudden climate shift, but the team worries that other areas around the globe might be seeing a similar destabilization.

This is one place seeing such destabilization:

Thawing Permafrost: The speed of coastal erosion in Eastern Siberia has nearly doubled

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As we continue to survey the effects of warming we are now seeing in the Arctic and our oceans this scenario does become more possible when paired with humanity's incessant rapacious consumption of fossil fuels and time lag effects.

Record Levels Of Greenhouse Gases Raise Concern Over Climate Change

As was discussed in my post regarding our carbon debt we are limited in the amount of fossil fuels we can continue to burn in order to not pass a threshold which will make this irreversible.

This threshold plus the mitigating circumstances that could lead us to abrupt climate change faster than we think and the urgent moral action we need to take now will be the topic of the next entry coming this week.

Part 2: Methane Feedback And Abrupt Climate Change

Message From Harvey Wasserman-Fukushima

We have tentative news that the critical take-down of fuel rods at Fukushima #4 may be delayed two weeks or more.

This is critical news.

So are the horrifying reports that radiation from Fukushima has reached the coast of Alaska.

Please take a look at my current blog asking that nuclear advocates first go to Fukushima.

On Thursday, November 7, at 1pm, we'll turn in the first round of signatures to Ban Ki-Moon at the UN. We have exceeded 112,000 people signing in. It's a tremendous accomplishment.

We must keep going. We will continue to grow this petition and turn in more and more signatures as the crisis deepens.

We are joined by 40,000 signers at www.rootsaction.org, along with thousands more from the Green Shadow Cabinet, which has also brought in many organizational signers.

We continue to welcome many different views on how to deal with Fukushima.

But above all, we cannot stop. Tepco has amply shown their incompetence at Fukushima. Japan, with a new state secrets act, has neither the resources nor the openness to deal with this crisis.

So we continue to call for a global team of scientists and engineers, backed by the many nations of the world, to take control at Fukushima.

There is more to come. We have made the world far more aware of this terrifying crisis. But our lives are on the line, and we have a long way to go.

Thanks, everyone. For a nuke-free future....the only one there is.

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PLEASE go to Nuke Free.org and sign this petition to the UN if you have not already done so. Then please pass it on to all you know. Awareness of this crisis on a mass scale is the first step to calling for appropriate action to deal with it. Hope for no more tremors. More coming, and THANK YOU.



As previous posts here have outlined this is not something to be cavalier about or ignore. Please refer to link for petition in the sidebar and also link for Fukushima Diary.

TEPCO Accepts US Offer To Aid Fukushima Dangerous Clean Up

Aid or cover up is the question.

Please Support This Project

Update November 7: Project reached it's goal! Thanks to anyone who helped through seeing the link here.

Crying Earth Rise Up/Documentary



From link:

"Crying Earth Rise Up is a compelling story documenting the human cost of uranium mining and its impact on sacred water.

The Story

Crying Earth Rise Up is a broadcast-length documentary film that tells the story of two women's parallel search for answers to the question: Why are there high levels of radiation in our drinking water and how can we protect our families and community against this threat?"

End of excerpt.

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Anything you can do to help this project from donating to passing it on will go a long way. We can make a difference and save our sacred water!

I yr...

For those lost to Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean and US



I still hear her wind...

I still see the rising water and devastation...

Remember the cold nights...

The uneasy quiet after the storm...

There is much done,

yet much left to do...

Sandy hurt us,

and that hurt remains...

But she did not defeat us.

Superstorm Sandy: A Look Back



We must now rebuild wisely and with the knowledge that climate change is here.

Faith... strength... will.

Occupy Sandy

Note 10/31: I did not feel comfortable posting these on October 29, because for me it was a day of remembrance and healing. Now that day is over and it is imperative to talk about what led to Hurricane Sandy and so many other events we are seeing globally and to address them aggressively. With extreme weather events due to human forcing on our climate system becoming more extreme and destructive and in some cases more frequent we can no longer deny the scientific facts and must move aggressively to a clean energy world which will require a total paradigm shift in our thinking with time running fast. More on that in subsequent posts.

Hurricane Sandy: Help Rebuild A Firefighter's Home

Hurricane Sandy Storm Surge Directly Effected By Climate Change

NOAA- Waters Off Northeast US Coast Were Warmest In 150 Years

The Arctic-Humanity's Barometer (Cornell University Study On Hurricane Sandy)

Our Carbon Debt, Our Moral Duty

My post from October 28, 2012 before it all went dark:

Huge Hurricane Sandy Bears Down On East Coast: Wake Up Call?

Thousands Of Starfish Melting On the Ocean Floor Off Pacific West Coast

This is concerning and disturbing. Besides rising ocean temperatures and acidifcation happening to our oceans on the whole, this part of the world has another threat: Is this part of the culmination between acidification, rising ocean temperatures and effects of Fukushima?

I posted this because people need to see what is going on that we are not seeing in the media. The usuals in charge downplay Fukushima, but I truly think that is a grave mistake.

Something Is Killing Life All Over The Pacific Ocean

Excerpt

Clearly something unusual is happening to the Pacific. The following is what one Australian discovered as he journeyed across the Pacific Ocean recently… The next leg of the long voyage was from Osaka to San Francisco and for most of that trip the desolation was tinged with nauseous horror and a degree of fear. “After we left Japan, it felt as if the ocean itself was dead,” Macfadyen said.

“We hardly saw any living things. We saw one whale, sort of rolling helplessly on the surface with what looked like a big tumour on its head. It was pretty sickening. “I’ve done a lot of miles on the ocean in my life and I’m used to seeing turtles, dolphins, sharks and big flurries of feeding birds. But this time, for 3000 nautical miles there was nothing alive to be seen.”

In place of the missing life was garbage in astounding volumes.

“Part of it was the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Japan a couple of years ago. The wave came in over the land, picked up an unbelievable load of stuff and carried it out to sea. And it’s still out there, everywhere you look.”

What would cause the Pacific Ocean to be “dead”?

Could it be Fukushima?

When you consider the evidence presented above along with all of the other things that we have learned in recent months, it becomes more than just a little bit alarming.

The following are some more examples of sea life dying off in the Pacific from my recent article entitled "28 Signs That The West Coast Is Being Absolutely Fried With Nuclear Radiation From Fukushima"…

-Polar bears, seals and walruses along the Alaska coastline are suffering from fur loss and open sores… Wildlife experts are studying whether fur loss and open sores detected in nine polar bears in recent weeks is widespread and related to similar incidents among seals and walruses.

The bears were among 33 spotted near Barrow, Alaska, during routine survey work along the Arctic coastline. Tests showed they had “alopecia, or loss of fur, and other skin lesions,” the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement.

-There is an epidemic of sea lion deaths along the California coastline…

At island rookeries off the Southern California coast, 45 percent of the pups born in June have died, said Sharon Melin, a wildlife biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service based in Seattle. Normally, less than one-third of the pups would die. It’s gotten so bad in the past two weeks that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an “unusual mortality event.”

-Along the Pacific coast of Canada and the Alaska coastline, the population of sockeye salmon is at a historic low. Many are blaming Fukushima.

-Something is causing fish all along the west coast of Canada to bleed from their gills, bellies and eyeballs.

-Experts have found very high levels of cesium-137 in plankton living in the waters of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the west coast.

-One test in California found that 15 out of 15 bluefin tuna were contaminated with radiation from Fukushima.

-Back in 2012, the Vancouver Sun reported that cesium-137 was being found in a very high percentage of the fish that Japan was selling to Canada…

• 73 percent of mackerel tested

• 91 percent of the halibut

• 92 percent of the sardines

• 93 percent of the tuna and eel

• 94 percent of the cod and anchovies

• 100 percent of the carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish

Is it really so unreasonable to wonder if Fukushima could be causing all of this?

And the total amount of nuclear material in the Pacific Ocean is constantly increasing. According to the New York Times, the latest releases from Fukushima contain “much more contaminated water than before”, and the flow of contaminated water will not stop until 2015 at the earliest…

The latest releases appear to be carrying much more contaminated water than before into the Pacific. And that flow may not slow until at least 2015, when an ice wall around the damaged reactors is supposed to be completed.

And that same article explained that cesium-137 is entering the Pacific at a rate that is “about three times as high” as last year…

The magnitude of the recent spike in radiation, and the amounts of groundwater involved, have led Michio Aoyama, an oceanographer at a government research institute who is considered an authority on radiation in the sea, to conclude that radioactive cesium 137 may now be leaking into the Pacific at a rate of about 30 billion becquerels per year, or about three times as high as last year. He estimates that strontium 90 may be entering the Pacific at a similar rate.

Right now, approximately 300 tons of contaminated water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean from Fukushima every 24 hours.

End of Excerpt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I FEEL NUMB READING THIS. IS ANYONE OUT THERE? WHAT HAVE WE DONE?

Also see:

28 Signs That The West Is Being Absolutely Fried With Radiation

You may find this to be "alarmist" but then that seems to be the usual response from those who wish to push it away from their consciousness...and if it isn't Fukushima killing the Pacific Ocean, then what is it? We NEED to be asking questions about these events and demanding answers.