The information below has been gleaned from numerous scientific sources and leads to some conclusions that do not bode well for life on Earth. The sections below outline the severity of various situations that will combine to send many species down the path to extinction and others will see their numbers reduced and will need to adapt to a new natural paradigm in order to continue to survive.
METHANE FOUNTAINS
Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 23 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2. While atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have risen by about 31% since pre-industrial times, methane concentrations have more than doubled.
The Russian research vessel Academician Lavrentiev conducted a survey of 10,000 square miles of sea off the coast of eastern Siberia. They made a terrifying discovery – huge plumes of methane bubbles rising to the surface from the seabed. “He found more than 100 fountains, some more than a kilometer across,’ said Dr Igor Semiletov, “These are methane fields on a scale not seen before. The emissions went directly into the atmosphere. This is the first time that we’ve found continuous, powerful and impressive seeping structures, more than 1,000 meters in diameter. It’s amazing. Earlier we found torch or fountain-like structures like this,” Semiletov told the Independent. “Over a relatively small area, we found more than 100, but over a wider area, there should be thousands of them.”
Semiletov’s team used seismic and acoustic monitors to detect methane bubbles rising to the surface. Scientists estimate that the methane trapped under the ice shelf could lead to extremely rapid climate change. Current average methane concentrations in the Arctic average about 1.85 parts per million, the highest in 400,000 years.
Concentrations above the East Siberian Arctic Shelf are even higher. The shelf is shallow, 50 meters or less in depth, which means it has been alternately submerged or above water, depending on sea levels throughout Earth’s history. During Earth’s coldest periods, it is a frozen arctic coastal plain, and does not release methane. As the planet warms and sea levels rise, it is inundated with seawater, which is 12-15 degrees warmer than the average air temperature. In deep water, methane gas oxidizes into carbon dioxide before it reaches the surface. In the shallows of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, methane simply doesn’t have enough time to oxidize, which means more of it escapes into the atmosphere. That, combined with the sheer amount of methane in the region, could add a previously uncalculated variable to climate models.
Methane trapped under the Siberian Ice sheet is also a combustible catastrophe waiting to happen. In the air, directly above the ocean surface near Siberia, methane levels were elevated overall and the patchy seascape was dotted with more than 100 hotspots spewing the dangerous gas.from professor Ian Plimer’s authoritative 504-page geology book, Heaven and Earth;
“There have been a few unusual events of gassing over the last 200 million years when change was extreme, rapid, unpredictable and had short-lasting consequences.”“There were only two major events of note, the Late Palaeocene-Early Eocene (55.8 Ma) and Early Jurassic, (183 Ma) events of extinctions, intense rapid global warming, changes to the hydrologic cycle, widespread loss of oxygen from the oceans and major changes in carbon chemistry.”“Land and sea surface temperatures increased by 5 to 10?C with associated extinctions of life over a period of 10,000 to 20,000 years. The Arctic sea surface soared to 24?C and warm water species dominated the Arctic fossil record from that time. Fresh melt waters were flushed into the Arctic Ocean …. Some 1200 to 5000 billion tonnes of carbon as methane was suddenly released into the atmosphere and oceans at this time.” (pp 181-183)“Methane hydrate changes to methane beneath the sea floor and the methane is oxidised in seawater to CO2 and H2O. The carbon in the CO2 retains this distinct proportion of C12 to C13 of microscopic marine live When this marine life dies, it falls to the sea floor to be fossilised in sediments. The C12C13 signature is retained.”“Continental shelf sediments show a series of distinctive C12C13 spikes showing that methane has been suddenly injected into seawater many times. This process may well take place today. If there is a significant injection of methane into the ocean, the water is charge with gas and loses density. Some rather odd instantaneous sinks of North Sea fishing trawlers may result from methane outburst creating a sudden loss of buoyancy.”“Ignition of methane to CO2 and H2O was probably triggered by volcanic activity.”“These gassing processes at 183 and 55.8 Ma probably derive from the explosive loss of methane from shallow water ocean sediments. How sudden methane degassings occurs is not really known. Suggested mechanisms are the heating of oceans by volcanicity, ocean current change or climate change to release ethane hydrate from sediments, the lowering of sea level by global cooling to depressurise sediment-bound methane hydrate or the triggering of methane hydrate release by earthquake, volcanic, cometary or meteorite activity….the total vegetation biomass on Earth is too low to account for so much carbon in the atmosphere.” (p 431)
So there you have it. Methane degassing has occurred many times before mankind existed, and, unfortunately, it can be correlated with mass extinctions.
research links
http://www.drmcdougall.com/
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/melting...me_bomb_/2081/------------------------------------------------------------
LOSS OF THE POLAR ICE CAP
As the amount of summertime ice has declined in the Arctic Ocean, it has increased in the Southern Ocean adjoining Antarctica. The processes controlling ice in these two areas are not the same, though, and the implications for global climate are very different.Southern sea ice forms and decays each year around the edge of Antarctica. However, the continent itself remains virtually covered with ice year round. In the Arctic Ocean, there is about twice as much summer ice as there is around Antarctica.
The loss of summer ice in the Arctic threatens to expose much of the ocean to the midsummer sun. Since dark ocean absorbs far more sunlight than does the brighter sea ice, this leads to a warmer ocean and, thus, further melting, in a warming feedback loop. The total loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic would also have profound implications for the people and wildlife of this region.Arctic is intensely feeling the heat of climate change. In fact, Arctic is warming faster than any other place on our planet.
The latest data suggests that the 2011 was the warmest year on record with average Arctic temperatures 2.28 degrees Celsius (4.1 degrees Fahrenheit) higher compared to those measured in period from 1951-1980.The highest recorded temperatures have also lead to an all time low Arctic ice cover. The rapid loss of Arctic ice has been measured by researchers and they say that the ice cover on Arctic has declined by staggering 76 percent from 1979 (16,855 cubic kilometers) to 2011 (4,017 cubic kilometers).
CGI View of the ice free Arctic Ocean from space
The ever-warming Arctic spells the danger for entire planet because researchers believe that the region could soon hit climatic tipping points that could severely affect the rest of the world.The loss of sea ice is already having devastating effect on Arctic's ecosystems resulting in decline of many animal species such as polar bears and walruses.One of the recent studies has even connected this year's cold winter in Europe with the loss of Arctic's ice cover and many researchers also believe that massive blizzards that stroke the U.S. in 2009 and 2010 were also connected with increased melting of Arctic.The thawing of Arctic's permafrost is also raising serious concerns because of the huge amounts of greenhouse gases trapped in the permafrost.
If these gases get released they have potential to equal the amount of greenhouse gases currently emitted by deforestation worldwide.The melting of Arctic's ice should be of real concern to world leaders but instead of worrying about the global environmental impact of Arctic' ice melting they seem to be more occupied with plans to expand oil and gas exploitation, create new shipping routes, and increase mining and other industry in this ecologically sensitive area.The chemtrail conspiracy is anything but a conspiracy and is in actuality a radical attempt to stop the warming trend that will be accelerated by the loss of sea ice and the rise in methane levels.
"Chemtrails" are the injection of reflective aerosols and/or particles into the stratosphere by means of aviation fuel additives in order to increase the reflectiveness of the stratospheric cloud layer.Chemicals being used for this are typically dimethyl sulphide which produces sulphur dioxide and tetra ethyl silicate to produce silica particles. Considering the consequences of the loss off sea ice and the rapid warming caused by it, seeding the clouds is the lesser of two evils.---------------------------------------------------------------
DYING OCEANS DUE TO CONTAMINATION
The very people who are the prime culprits of this contamination will be victims of the effects of their own excessive abuse of the seas’ natural equilibrium. It is estimated that around 80% of substances which contaminate the sea are from human waste.According to the annual survey of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the health of the oceans is mainly endangered by the high quantities of phosphorous and plastic which are dumped in the seas, and that these waste products also present risks to our own health and that of all living creatures.
In fact, as well as phosphorous, other substances such as nitrogen, residual waters and man-made chemical products affect the natural equilibrium of the oceans. For example, plastics that come from factories which let their waste out into the sea can provoke serious health issues for the animals which populate the oceans, and then in turn for humans.This is because fish can ingest such plastics and die as a result, or transmit toxins which can cause illness in humans such as mutations and cancer.
In this way, elements like mercury are dumped into the seas at two and a half times the amount that is generated through natural processes, and in the same way the amount of magnesium discarded comes to four times the natural amount, and copper, lead and zinc up to twelve times more. Heavy metals, such as mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic are extremely harmful to the food chain.It’s obvious that the oceans are fundamental to the natural equilibrium of the earth and for our own survival, but if their deterioration continues there will come a point where the seas will simply no longer be able to function properly.
Of all cultures, the Inuit people of the Arctic have been most strongly affected by ocean contamination. They are faced with the dilemma of giving up their traditional ways of eating or consuming animals that contain high concentrations of toxic chemicals. Hunting and fishing provide the Inuit with a sustainable and independent way of life and are important elements of their 4,000-year-old culture.
The animals of the Arctic now have extremely high concentrations of toxins in their body fat. Beluga Whales, ringed seals, narwhal and polar bears are carrying a huge toxic burden and experiencing the terrible effects of these chemicals.In the mid-1980’s scientists began to find elevated levels of toxic chemicals known as POPs (persistent organic pollutants) in the blood and fat tissues of the Inuit and other people of the Arctic.
Scientists say the toxins can cause cancer, damage reproductive and neurological organs, injure immune systems and cause learning disabilities.POPs are a set of extremely toxic, long-lasting, organic chemicals that can travel long distances and accumulate in people, animals and ecosystems.They include pesticides, insecticides, industrial chemicals such as PCBs and waste combustion such as dioxin and furan. These chemicals originate sometimes thousands of miles away.
They are carried to the Arctic on wind and water currents where they bio-accumulate and bio-magnify in the Arctic food chain. Polar ice can trap contaminants that are gradually released into the environment during melting periods, even years later.The Inuit diet of “country food’ which includes marine mammals such as beluga whale, narwhal and seal, puts them at the top of a contaminated food chain. The toxins collect in the animals' fat and are passed on to the Inuit as they eat, or through breast milk.
Depending on the amount and type of country food consumed, many Inuit have levels of POPs in their bodies well in excess of the "level of concern" defined by Health Canada.The bodies of Arctic people, particularly Greenland's Inuit, contain the highest human concentrations of POPs found anywhere on Earth — levels so extreme that the breast milk and tissues of some Greenlanders could be classified as hazardous waste.
From Russia sans love
The plastic containers come in all shapes and sizes take practically forever to biodegrade due to their chemical makeup. This means that, unless some major changes and cleanup efforts take place, for the forseeable future the same pieces of plastic will be floating around on the waves of the Atlantic.Plastics seem to accumulate at the places where currents meet. This can result in huge plastic 'islands' containing waste that has been discarded from mainland areas rather than from boats and ships.
Researchers from the Sea Education Society (SES) have taken on the task of trying to establish the extent of the problem caused by plastics in the oceans.During their initial investigation, SES managed to collect more than 6000 samples that inidcated the
polluting pieces ranged in size from being very minute to quite large. By the end of the research they had managed to collect over 64,000 samples. One shocking haul was carried out in thirty minutes in 1997, when the scientists collected 1069 pieces during this short span of time.
They calculated that this equals around 580,000 pieces per kilometer square.The plastic floating in the Atlantic gets there because we keep throwing it away. The only way we will ever reverse this unfortunate trend is by choosing to use less plastic and launching massive cleanup and
recycling efforts.One of the major problems with the plastic is that the contaminants cause premature
death in animals.
They can be ingested, leading to a painful death, and other dangers include strangulation or slow starvation if wildlife becomes imprisoned in the plastic. There is also concern about animals using the islands as transportation. They can end up far from their usual habitat and find themselves in unfriendly waters.Plastics also contain chemicals that are slowly released into the waters and the atmosphere. As fish breath in the chemicals from the water it ends up contaminating them. Fishermen then catch the fish and this contamination ends up back in the human food chain.
There are concerns that the problem will get worse before it improves. Over the last decade humans have thrown away far more plastic than previous years.
Research:
http://www.bluevoice.org/ http://www.theprisma.co.uk/http://www.earthtimes.org/http://www.seashepherd.org/
Earth as we will never see it, hot and lifeless.
It’s happening now. I’m not speculating about the distant future. The first crack in our global life support system is widening now and we are about to experience our first major systems failure.
We are on the threshold of the first major eco-system collapse of the Homocene.
The Homocene is the 6th major mass extinction event in the planet’s history. The last such extinction event was the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event which occurred 65 million years ago. That was the event that wiped out the dinosaurs. In the past 540 million years there have been five major events when over 50% of animal species died.
This one, the sixth, is called the Homocene because one species, our own, is responsible for this catastrophic event that will see more species of plants and animals go extinct between 2000 and 2065 than we have lost over the last sixty-Five million years. This is a major disaster, greater than any war, Tsunami, earthquake or fire, yet to read the newspapers or to watch television, one would be hard pressed to see any sense of urgency or even great concern.
The former chief scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science stated, “There is no way out, no loopholes. The Great Barrier Reef will be over within 20 years or so.”
According to Veron, “Once carbon dioxide hits the levels predicted for between 2030 and 2060, all the world’s coral reefs will be doomed to extinction…
They would be the world’s first global ecosystem to collapse. I have the backing of every coral reef scientist, every research organization. I’ve spoken to them all. This is critical. This is reality.”Dr. Veron’s comments came as the Zoological Society of London, the Royal Society and the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) held a crucial meeting on the future of coral reefs in London yesterday. In a joint statement, they warned that by mid-century extinctions of coral reefs around the world would be inevitable.
According to a report in the Times Online, Warming water causes coral polyps to eject the symbiotic algae that provide them with nutrients. These “bleaching events” were widespread during the El Ni?o of 1997-98, and localized occurrences are becoming more frequent. (During an El Ni?o, much of the tropical Pacific becomes unusually warm.) Reefs take decades to recover but by 2030 to 2050, depending on emissions and feedback effects, bleaching will be occurring annually or biannually.
Although surface sea temperatures are rising fastest in tropical regions the other big threat to coral reefs comes from the higher latitudes. The cold water there absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide more readily than warm water and acidifies more easily.When carbon dioxide concentrations reach between 480 and 500 parts per million, warm water is no barrier to acidification, and the pH in equatorial regions will have dropped so far, meaning higher acidity, that coral reef growth becomes impossible anywhere in the ocean.
“Coral reefs are the most sensitive of marine ecosystems,” said Alex Rogers, scientific director of IPSO.“Increased temperature and decreased pH will have a double-whammy effect. Reefs were safe at CO2 levels of 350 parts per million. We are at 387ppm today. Beyond 450 the fate of corals is sealed,” he continued.In the five mass extinction events in geological history, key was the carbon cycle, in which carbon dioxide is the primary currency. Its concentration in the atmosphere is higher than it has been for 20 million years.
In the Permian extinction, as in all the big extinctions, tropical marine life was the hardest hit. Reef-building corals took more than ten million years to return.The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest and most diverse marine ecosystem, is worth $4.5 billion (?2.8 billion) a year to Australia. Worldwide, reefs are worth $300 billion. “But that is trivial compared with the costs if coral reefs fail,” Dr Veron said. “Then it won’t be a matter of no income, it will be a matter of damage to livelihoods, economies and ecosystems.”The announcement of the certain death of the world coral reef systems including the Great Barrier Reef was greeted with yawns and apathy by the media and the general public. Twenty years is far too long to capture the interests of politicians and with Jennifer Aniston looking to get back together with Brad Pitt, public concern is distracted.
The world mourns for the death of Michael Jackson but scarcely notices the impending death of the Great Barrier Reef and the millions of species that depend upon the reefs for survival.As the poet Leonard Cohen once wrote, "we are locked into our suffering and our pleasures are the seal.”As we entertain ourselves, the oceans and the planet are dying.
The prognosis is not good. With 90% of global fisheries wiped out already and with an irreversible coral reef system collapse occurring right now, the situation is dire, nearly hopeless.But I have faith that we can resurrect the oceans, if only we can stop the destruction and stop it soon.The cause of this imminent global eco-system collapse is some seven billion human beings sucking the life out of the oceans like lust-deranged vampires.It is not a question of saying we should be doing all that is possible to save our oceans, but rather that we must do all that is possible or else.
We no longer have a choice. Failure to act, failure to reverse the pattern has only one consequence – global eco-system collapse or to put it another way the complete failure of the life support system for space ship Earth.The world is full of ecological fools who deny ecological reality. The world is full of mindless mobs of morons obsessed with petty trivialities or distracted by fantasies ranging from silly religions to entertainment.
What the world is lacking are ecological engineers and warriors ready and willing to address the threats to our planet and especially to our oceans.What the great majority of people do not understand is this: unless we stop the degradation of our oceans, marine ecological systems will begin collapsing and when enough of them fail, the oceans will die.
And if the oceans die, then civilization collapses and we all die.
It’s as simple as that, and the choice is between committing mindless mass collective suicide i.e. the ultimate total homicide or standing up and fighting for survival.Similar Articles:
oogle
Reply With Quote
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by belinda01
and be merry.
Bookmarks