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Ice loss causing Arctic to reflect less heat

25 points by headalgorithm 7y ago

genidoi 7y ago
Which leads to more light-absorbing ocean being exposed, raising ocean temperatures. Then microscopic phytoplankton, nature's primary co2 -> oxygen converters die out further raising co2 levels, eventually leading light-reflecting upper atmospheric clouds to form with progressively lower surface areas. Climate change is going to be a hell of a way to put "feedback loops" in the global cultural dictionary.
- ocschwar 7y ago
  Really? I'd expect the water in the Arctic to still over around 32F and for the phytoplankton to be blooming.
  - genidoi 7y ago
    Cold Arctic water currents cool equatorial water, so when those currents are warmer equatorial water becomes too hot.
neffy 7y ago
This isn't news...the albedo effect and its implications are long understood.
- gt565k 7y ago
  Yup. Learned about it in EAS (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences) college intro lab course. The planet will heal itself and purge us all through a few thousand / million years. The planet will be just fine, humanity as species though, will probably have to adapt and migrate.
- tzs 7y ago
  The news is not the albedo effect and its implications. The news is that the researchers determined which of four factors that were thought to contribute to reduced albedo were actually doing so and which were not. In particular, as noted in the article: > Within the scientific community, there had been a considerable level of debate over the role of soot blowing up from urban areas to the Arctic. One view was that it played a significant role in the reduction of the albedo effect in the Arctic because the dark soot would absorb more sunlight, thus increasing warming. The researchers determined that this soot only had a minimal effect. Of the factors that did affect albedo, > They found that sea-ice, snow on top of sea-ice and ice on land contributed equally to the region's albedo effect
wallace_f 7y ago
Hey guys once the global warming is fixed then do we get to stop stepping over all the homeless people around SV or wasting most of our economic resources on jobs that do not add value to society? If it gets super duper stopped then are we allowed or capable to stop inhumanely farming animals?

25 points by headalgorithm 7y ago

Which leads to more light-absorbing ocean being exposed, raising ocean temperatures. Then microscopic phytoplankton, nature's primary co2 -> oxygen converters die out further raising co2 levels, eventually leading light-reflecting upper atmospheric clouds to form with progressively lower surface areas. Climate change is going to be a hell of a way to put "feedback loops" in the global cultural dictionary.

ocschwar 7y ago
Really? I'd expect the water in the Arctic to still over around 32F and for the phytoplankton to be blooming.
- genidoi 7y ago
  Cold Arctic water currents cool equatorial water, so when those currents are warmer equatorial water becomes too hot.

neffy 7y ago

This isn't news...the albedo effect and its implications are long understood.

gt565k 7y ago
Yup. Learned about it in EAS (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences) college intro lab course. The planet will heal itself and purge us all through a few thousand / million years. The planet will be just fine, humanity as species though, will probably have to adapt and migrate.
tzs 7y ago
The news is not the albedo effect and its implications. The news is that the researchers determined which of four factors that were thought to contribute to reduced albedo were actually doing so and which were not. In particular, as noted in the article: > Within the scientific community, there had been a considerable level of debate over the role of soot blowing up from urban areas to the Arctic. One view was that it played a significant role in the reduction of the albedo effect in the Arctic because the dark soot would absorb more sunlight, thus increasing warming. The researchers determined that this soot only had a minimal effect. Of the factors that did affect albedo, > They found that sea-ice, snow on top of sea-ice and ice on land contributed equally to the region's albedo effect

wallace_f 7y ago

Hey guys once the global warming is fixed then do we get to stop stepping over all the homeless people around SV or wasting most of our economic resources on jobs that do not add value to society? If it gets super duper stopped then are we allowed or capable to stop inhumanely farming animals?