Study: Southern Ocean saturated with CO2 (Reuters/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Southern Ocean around Antarctica is so loaded with carbon dioxide that it can barely absorb any more, so more of the gas will stay in the atmosphere to warm up the planet, scientists reported Thursday.

Human activity is the main culprit, said researcher Corinne Le Quere, who called the finding very alarming.

The phenomenon wasn't expected to be apparent for decades, Le Quere said in a telephone interview from the University of East Anglia in Britain.

"We thought we would be able to detect these only the second half of this century, say 2050 or so," she said. But data from 1981 through 2004 show the sink is already full of carbon dioxide. "So I find this really quite alarming."

The Southern Ocean is one of the world's biggest reservoirs of carbon, known as a carbon sink. When carbon is in a sink -- whether it's an ocean or a forest, both of which can lock up carbon dioxide -- it stays out of the atmosphere and does not contribute to global warming.
***
more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/05/17/climate.ocean.reut/index.html

Ruh roh.

Folks, this is bad news. OTOH, maybe this explains why all the other GW phenomena are showing up earlier than expected. At least that would mean the situation, while grim, now had one less unknown.

[Truthseeker013]

1. Looking for Gore-haters...

Bet I won't be finding any for some time to come. Maybe we *do* need a catastrophe for the Idiots On High to get the point.

[kestrel91316]

2. What happens as the Southern Ocean temp rises?

I suspect it will hold LESS CO2, but I am not sure. Can anybody enlighten me?

[flyingfysh]

5. colder water can hold more dissolved gases

This is why when you heat water on the stove, you see bubbles form on the sides of the pan. It also explain why cold polar waters have such a high fish population; there is a lot of oxygen in the water. Making that water warmer causes problems for species that depend on the high oxygen content.

[kestrel91316]

12. That's what I thought. We're ok until all the ice cubes have melted.....

[file83]

16. Plop, plop, fizz-fizz

I keep imagining a can of pop fizzing over...

[Uben]

7. Carbon saturates water at......

350 parts per million, indicating there are approximately 4 trillion metric tons of carbon at present. As temps rise, the saturation rate shrinks, and less carbon is absorbed. The resulting phenomena could be a polarization of the micro-density of carbon now present, which could lead to an increased release factor of up to 7%. In other words, unless you are a cockroach, you're screwed!

Ha ha ha! Okay, I am just bullshittin you. I have no earthly idea what I am talking about, but it was fun tryin to make it sound somewhat scientific!

Whatever the consequences are, it can't be good!

[GliderGuider]

3. I'm getting so tired of saying "Oh, shit" all the time.

Fuck.

[wildhorses]

4. excellent substitution, i approve

fuckity fuckity fuck fuck fuck

fuck me

[Dead_Parrot]

6. Gets repetitive, doesn't it?

I had "Oh, Fuck" as a sig-line for a while. Saved loads of time...
Now I have to type it manually, of course.


Oh, fuck.

[Benhurst]

8. Recommended sadly. #5

[phantom power]

9. I wonder if Madonna will write a song about it.

[kurth]

10. The Great Dying

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian-Triassic_extinction_event

[hatrack]

11. Ladies & Gentlemen, may I present my Nominee for 2007 Word of the Year:

"Oops!"

[phantom power]

14. word of the 21st century?

[Nihil]

15. And the matching phrase ...

"... much faster than expected."

[FatDave]

13. Wait, let me get this straight.

So, even though this happened much sooner than expected, they expected it to happen? So using science, they were able to predict a future event? Then doesn't that prediction go a long way to validate the science?

HOLY FUCK BATMAN! Maybe there is something to this science stuff after all!

Every day I get angrier and angrier. Please, somebody help me focus it constructively.