Tag Archives: carbon dioxide

Carbon hotspots: Rivers and streams leak more CO2 than thought

By Guest PostNovember 22, 2013EnvironmentAmazon, annual rainfall, atmosphere, carbon budget, carbon dioxide, carbon hotspots, central america, CO2, co2 evasion rate, concentration of co2, david butman, ecosystem, field data, flux of co2, global carbon cycle, global dataset, global resource, human activity, hydrochemical database, jens hartmann, percentage of emission, peter a raymond, southeast asia, university of hamburg

The amount of carbon dioxide escaping from rivers and streams into the atmosphere is much larger than previously thought, according to a new study that maps for the first time the flux of CO₂ from inland waters worldwide. Published in the journal Nature, the research reveals the major role these waterways play in the global carbon cycle, the authors said.

“This study solidifies the significance of inland waters as conduits of exchange and provides a framework for inclusion of this exchange in regional and global studies,” said lead author Peter A. Raymond, a professor of ecosystem ecology at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). “Understanding how ecosystems exchange carbon is important, as they currently offset a significant percentage of emissions caused by human activity.” (more…)

A Living Desert Underground

By Guest PostNovember 20, 2013Natureantje legatzki, archaea, atacama desert, australia, bacteria, biomass, brisbane, carbon dioxide, cave formation, Chile, desert ecosystem, dna analysis, ecosystem of microbes, environmental cleanup solutions, erythromycin, exploring mars, groundwater, hypersaline water, julie neilson, kartchner caverns, kentucky, limestone cave, limestone cave system, living desert underground, organic carbon, raina maier, rod wing, sewage treatment plant, shark bay, southeastern arizona, stromatolite, sunlight, throne room, type of habitat, typical ecosystem, university of arizona, west virginia, whetstone mountains

In the perpetual darkness of a limestone cave, UA researchers have discovered a surprisingly diverse ecosystem of microbes eking out a living from not much more than drip water, rock and air. The discovery not only expands our understanding of how microbes manage to colonize every niche on the planet but also could lead to applications ranging from environmental cleanup solutions to drug development.

Hidden underneath the hilly grasslands studded with ocotillos and mesquite trees in southeastern Arizona lies a world shrouded in perpetual darkness: Kartchner Caverns, a limestone cave system renowned for its untouched cave formations, sculpted over millennia by groundwater dissolving the bedrock and carving out underground rooms, and passages that attract tourists from all over the world. (more…)

Gas Injection Probably Triggered Small Earthquakes Near Snyder, Texas

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2013Environmentaustin, carbon capture, carbon dioxide, CCS, ccs project, cliff frohlich, co2 eor, cogdell field, earthscope, enhanced oil recovery, gas injection, magnitude 3, northwest texas, salt creek field, scurry area canyon, small earthquake, snyder, snyder earthquake, storage, texas, texas railroad commission, trigger, U.S. Geological Survey, underground, university of texas, usarray data, wei gan

AUSTIN, Texas — A new study correlates a series of small earthquakes near Snyder, Texas between 2006 and 2011 with the underground injection of large volumes of gas, primarily carbon dioxide (CO₂) — a finding that is relevant to the process of capturing and storing CO₂ underground.

Although the study suggests that underground injection of gas triggered the Snyder earthquakes, it also points out that similar rates of injections have not triggered comparable quakes in other fields, bolstering the idea that underground gas injection does not cause significant seismic events in many geologic settings. (more…)

Global warming led to dwarfism in mammals — twice

By Guest PostNovember 6, 2013Environment, Scienceabigail dambrosia, carbon dioxide, climate change, diacodexis, dwarfism in mammals, early horse hyracotherium, early horses, eocene thermal maximum, etm2, future global warming, geological past, global warming, greenhouse gases, heat trapping, human caused, hyperthermals, hyracotherium, jaw fossils, modern day horse, paleocene eocene, paleontologist, petm, philip gingerich, primate cantius, thermal maximum, university of michigan, will clyde

ANN ARBOR — Mammal body size decreased significantly during at least two ancient global warming events. A new finding that suggests a similar outcome is possible in response to human-caused climate change, according to a University of Michigan paleontologist and his colleagues.

Researchers have known for years that mammals such as primates and the groups that include horses and deer became much smaller during a period of warming, called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), about 55 million years ago. (more…)

The Failing Freezer: How Soil Microbes Affect Global Climate

By Guest PostOctober 10, 2013Environmentabisko national park, arctic circle, big biology problem, carbon dioxide, changsheng li, climate change, climate driven changes, ecologist, Environment, failing freezer, gene tyson, global climate, global scale, jeffrey chanton, matthew sullivan, metagenome, methane, microbial feast, microbial process, organic material, patrick crill, permafrost soil, plexiglas chamber, scott saleska, sentinel ecosystem, soil chemistry, soil microbes, steven frolking, Sweden, types of carbon, university of arizona, virginia, virginia rich

With a $3.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a UA-led international collaboration studies how microbes release greenhouse gases as they gain access to nutrients in the soil thawing under the influence of warmer global temperatures.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $3.9 million to an international collaboration led by University of Arizona ecologists Scott Saleska and Virginia Rich to study how microbes release greenhouse gases as they access nutrients in thawing permafrost soils under the influence of a warmer climate. (more…)

Tropical forest carbon absorption may hinge on an odd couple

By Guest PostOctober 7, 2013Environmentabsorb, atmosphere, carbo loading bacteria, carbon absorption, carbon dioxide, carbon sink, component of biodiversity, david medvigy, dylan craven, Europe, excess nitrogen, human activities, infectious bacteria, jefferson hall, journal nature, lars hedin, legume family, michiel van breugel, models, nitrogen, nitrogen fixation, nitrogen fixing trees, non legume trees, North America, photosynthesis, princeton university, rhizobia, root nodules, sarah batterman, stri, tropical forest, united states

A unique housing arrangement between a specific group of tree species and a carbo-loading bacteria may determine how well tropical forests can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to a Princeton University-based study. The findings suggest that the role of tropical forests in offsetting the atmospheric buildup of carbon from fossil fuels depends on tree diversity, particularly in forests recovering from exploitation.

Tropical forests thrive on natural nitrogen fertilizer pumped into the soil by trees in the legume family, a diverse group that includes beans and peas, the researchers report in the journal Nature. The researchers studied second-growth forests in Panama that had been used for agriculture five to 300 years ago. The presence of legume trees ensured rapid forest growth in the first 12 years of recovery and thus a substantial carbon “sink,” or carbon-storage capacity. Tracts of land that were pasture only 12 years before had already accumulated as much as 40 percent of the carbon found in fully mature forests. Legumes contributed more than half of the nitrogen needed to make that happen, the researchers reported. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Climate Scientists See Better Climate Models, Warmer Future

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 2013Environmentberkeley lab, better climate models, carbon dioxide, centrigrade, climate change, climate scientists, climate warming gases, emission, geoengineering scenario, industrialization, ipcc, michael wehner, precipitation, regional climate change, scientific community, warmer future, william collins, william riley

Berkeley Lab experts contribute to IPCC 5th Assessment Report.

Over the next century, most of the continents are on track to become considerably warmer, with more hot extremes and fewer cold extremes. Precipitation will increase in some parts of the world but will decrease in other parts. These are some of the conclusions reached by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientist Michael Wehner and his co-authors on the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Wehner, a climate scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Computational Research Division, and William Collins, head of the Lab’s Climate Sciences Department, were lead authors on the IPCC report’s chapters on long-term climate change projections and climate models, respectively. They are among more than 200 lead authors from more than 30 countries in IPCC’s Working Group I. Their report released today provides a comprehensive assessment of the physical science basis of climate change. (more…)

Undersea mountains provide crucial piece in climate prediction puzzle

By Guest PostSeptember 20, 2013Environmentantarctic continent, Antarctica, british antarctic survey, carbon dioxide, chemical tracer, climate models, climate prediction puzzle, climate projections, drake passage, ice age, ocean currents, ocean mixing, professor andrew watson, south america, susie grant, undersea mountains, university of exeter

A mystery in the ocean near Antarctica has been solved by researchers who have long puzzled over how deep and mid-depth ocean waters are mixed.

They found that sea water mixes dramatically as it rushes over undersea mountains in Drake Passage – the channel between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic continent. Mixing of water layers in the oceans is crucial in regulating the Earth’s climate and ocean currents.

The research provides insight for climate models which until now have lacked the detailed information on ocean mixing needed to provide accurate long-term climate projections. The study was carried out by the University of Exeter, the University of East Anglia, the University of Southampton, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the British Antarctic Survey and the Scottish Association for Marine Science and is published in the journal Nature. (more…)