Study of Ice Age Bolsters Carbon and Warming Link

[struggle4progress]

By JUSTIN GILLIS
Published: February 28, 2013

A meticulous new analysis of Antarctic ice suggests that the sharp warming that ended the last ice age occurred in lock step with increases of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the latest of many indications that the gas is a powerful influence on the earth’s climate ...

The research was led by Frédéric Parrenin of the University of Grenoble, in France. He and his colleagues took a new stab at sorting out the sequence of events at the close of the last great ice age ...

Using high-precision chemical techniques, Dr. Parrenin and his colleagues have essentially reduced the error margin. Their findings suggest that increases of carbon dioxide lagged temperature increases in Antarctica by no more than about 200 years and may have even preceded the temperature increase ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/science/earth/at-ice-age-end-a-smaller-gap-in-warming-and-carbon-dioxide.html

[AverageJoe90]

1. True, though in the case of the Ice Age, Co2 couldn't have been the only factor, TBH.

Keep in mind, Co2 was at about 190-200 or so ppm just before the end of the Ice Age.....and given that climate sensitivity in terms of GHGs alone is estimated to be about 2-3*C per doubling from pre-industrial levels(i.e. about 280-300 ppm), at least in terms of global warming, it seems like there was much more to the end of the Ice Age than just Co2(though it did play its role, of course). However, though, I'm also open to the possibility that Co2's effect may have also been greater per doubling in the lowest levels as well....if someone has information in that regard, and would like to show me, that would be nice.

[Uncle Joe]

3. I would imagine Methane played a role as well, with the Earth being in a deep freeze for so long

once it started thawing a backlog of decomposition took place.

[AverageJoe90]

4. Yeah, I think so too.

I mean, some think we've got a lotta permafrost today, right? Well, that's practically peanuts compared to what we likely had at the end of the Ice Age.....

[Uncle Joe]

2. "Mr. Gore was right."

Indeed, though most climate scientists have never seen the supposed gap as a major conceptual problem, it has been invoked repeatedly by American politicians who want to delay action on global warming.

In 2007, for example, former Vice President Al Gore was testifying to Congress about the science in his documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” He came under attack by Representative Joe L. Barton, a Texas Republican.

“CO2 levels went up after the temperature rose,” Mr. Barton said, citing a scientific paper from 2001. “The temperature appears to drive CO2, not vice versa. On this point, Mr. Vice President, you’re not just off a little. You’re totally wrong.”

The emerging evidence suggests that Mr. Gore was right.

That would be the same Joe Barton that believed the Obama Administration should apologize to BP for going after them due to the catastrophic Gulf Oil Gusher.

Thanks for the thread, struggle4progress.