Waning Pacific Clouds Suggest Global Warming Feeds On Itself - Bloomberg

[hatrack]

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Fewer clouds dot the Pacific skies than a half-century ago, allowing the sun to beat down on the sea and raise temperatures, according to scientists who say the discovery means our planet may heat up more than forecast.

A self-perpetuating cycle, triggered by global warming, has appeared in weather data gathered from 1952 to 2007 over a 3 million-square-kilometer (740,000 square-mile) expanse of ocean off Mexico, Amy Clement of the University of Miami and colleagues wrote in this week’s edition of Science.

Clouds, like forest fires and Arctic permafrost, are studied for their potential to amplify warming. There is still enough mystery in how they function that scientists have said it’s difficult to produce a consensus forecast for temperatures, which in turn may determine the severity of future storms, droughts and Arctic ice melting. “There’s a wide range of predicted warming for the 21st century,” Clement, a professor of meteorology and oceanography, said in a podcast on the Science Web site. “This study indicates that perhaps we should be giving serious consideration to the high range of future warming.”

Trying to stem climate change, a 17-member group of the Earth’s most polluting nations including the U.S. and China agreed this month to limit the global average temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. They couldn’t agree on targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, leaving that for climate treaty talks that are set to conclude in December.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=a6EvbLkU1w6w

[pansypoo53219]

1. my cousin based his Phd on global warming feeding itself.

but he was going on increased growth leading to more decomposition.

[pansypoo53219]

2. my cousin based his Phd on global warming feeding itself.

but he was going on increased growth leading to more decomposition.