Nature/AFP - Sudden Hyperthermals Lasting 10,000+ Yrs Raised Avg. Global Temps 2-3C, Ended Post-PETM

[hatrack]

Bursts of intense global warming that have lasted tens of thousands of years have taken place more frequently throughout history than previously believe, according to evidence gathered by a team led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego researchers.

Richard Norris, a professor of geology at Scripps who co-authored the report, said that releases of carbon dioxide sequestered in the deep oceans were the most likely trigger of these ancient "hyperthermal" events.

Most of the events raised average global temperatures between 2 degrees and 3 degrees Celsius (3.6 and 5.4 degrees F), an amount comparable to current conservative estimates of how much temperatures are expected to rise in coming decades as a consequence of anthropogenic global warming. Most hyperthermals lasted about 40,000 years before temperatures returned to normal.

The study appears in the March 17 issue of the journal Nature.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Ancient_Hhyperthermals_A_Guide_To_Anticipated_Climate_Changes_999.html

[phantom power]

1. Was watching a show on paleo-oceans last night....

Latest paleontology hypothesizes that 4 of the 5 great extinctions were essentially Canfield Ocean events.

:woohoo:

[hatrack]

2. Bloop . . . . bloop . . . . . bloop . . . . . bloop

Tool Monkeys! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

[phantom power]

6. advantage: land squid!

[GliderGuider]

7. And don't forget the endangered Tree Octopus

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis) can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula on the west coast of North America. Their habitat lies on the Eastern side of the Olympic mountain range, adjacent to Hood Canal. These solitary cephalopods reach an average size (measured from arm-tip to mantle-tip,) of 30-33 cm. Unlike most other cephalopods, tree octopuses are amphibious, spending only their early life and the period of their mating season in their ancestral aquatic environment. Because of the moistness of the rainforests and specialized skin adaptations, they are able to keep from becoming desiccated for prolonged periods of time, but given the chance they would prefer resting in pooled water.

[GliderGuider]

3. Yikes! Purple water and green skies give me nightmares. n/t

[phantom power]

4. My father-in-law commented: "Our emergency rations wouldn't help with that, would they"

phantom: "Nope. No, they would not."

:patriot:

[phantom power]

5. his next comment was: "Wonder what that means for my grandkids"

phantom: "Well, I once read somebody(*) who said: Look your children in the eye. While you still can."

:(


(*) That was NNadir, by the way