Tag Archives: CO2

MU Scientist Finds Late Cretaceous Period Was Likely Ice-free

By Guest PostSeptember 28, 2013Environment, ScienceAntarctica, benthic foraminifera, carbon dioxide levels, CO2, environmental conditions, fossilized shells, grain of salt, greenland, ice free, ken macleod, late cretaceous climate, late cretaceous period, modern warming, planktic, ppm, single celled organisms, Tanzania, university of missouri

Study results could foreshadow earth’s future climate, MU researcher says

COLUMBIA, Mo. – For years, scientists have thought that a continental ice sheet formed during the Late Cretaceous Period more than 90 million years ago when the climate was much warmer than it is today. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found evidence suggesting that no ice sheet formed at this time. This finding could help environmentalists and scientists predict what the earth’s climate will be as carbon dioxide levels continue to rise.

“Currently, carbon dioxide levels are just above 400 parts per million (ppm), up approximately 120 ppm in the last 150 years and rising about 2 ppm each year,” said Ken MacLeod, a professor of geological sciences at MU. “In our study, we found that during the Late Cretaceous Period, when carbon dioxide levels were around 1,000 ppm, there were no continental ice sheets on earth. So, if carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, the earth will be ice-free once the climate comes into balance with the higher levels.” (more…)

„Die große Chance, die Arktis zu schützen, bevor sie zerstört wird“

By Guest PostSeptember 16, 2013EnvironmentCO2, die arktis, die grosse chance, dms, esperanza, expedition, fjord wasser, geomar helmholtz zentrum, Greenpeace, greenpeace schiff esperanza, groenland, iris menn, kohlensaeure, meeresoekosystem, michael sswat, organischen kohlenstoff, ozeanforschung kiel, ozeanversauerung, savethearctic, universitaet maine, usa, zu schuetzen

Wie wirkt sich die Versauerung der Ozeane in 20, 40 oder gar 100 Jahren aus? Heute hat das GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel die Ergebnisse eines Experiments aus dem Jahr 2010 veröffentlicht – das Greenpeace mit einer Schiffstour in die Arktis unterstützt hat. Iris Menn, Meeresbiologin, erinnert sich im Interview an die Expedition.

Der zunehmende Ausstoß von Treibhausgasen macht nicht nur dem Klima zu schaffen. Unsere Meere nehmen CO2 aus der Atmosphäre auf, das sich im Wasser zu Kohlensäure wandelt. Steigender CO2-Ausstoß lässt auch die Aufnahme in das Meer steigen – das Wasser wird sauer. (more…)

Klimaneutraler Watt-Tourismus?

By Guest PostSeptember 13, 2013EnvironmentCO2, co2 verbrauch, daenemark, deutschland, hans ulrich roesner, klimafreundlichen urlaub, klimaneutral, klimaneutraler watt tourismus, klimaschutz, nesco, niederlanden, nordseekueste, prowad, schleswig holstein, tourismus, urlaubstag, wattenmeer, wwf

WWF-Studie: 10-Punkte-Plan für klimafreundlichen Urlaub am Wattenmeer

Hamburg/Husum – Ein Urlaub an der Nordseeküste ist zwar weit klimafreundlicher als eine Flugreise in entfernte Weltregionen, dennoch ist die Klimabelastung noch viel zu hoch. Das geht aus einer heute vom WWF veröffentlichten Machbarkeitsstudie zu klimafreundlichem Tourismus in der Wattenmeer-Region hervor. Eine jährliche Belastung von 1,5 Mio. t CO2-Äquivalenten durch den in Deutschland, Dänemark und den Niederlanden stattfindenden Wattenmeer-Tourismus ermittelt die vom Kieler „Institut für Tourismus- und Bäderforschung in Nordeuropa“ durchgeführte Studie. Dies entspricht 148 kg CO2-Äquivalenten pro Urlaubsreise bzw. 15 kg CO2-Äquivalenten pro Person und Urlaubstag. Von „klimaneutral“ ist der Urlaub am Wattenmeer also noch weit entfernt. Für die Umweltschützer liegt die Lösung jedoch nicht im Verzicht auf den Nordseeurlaub: In einem 10-Punkte-Plan schlägt der WWF vor allem Umstellungen im Verkehrsbereich, energetische Gebäudesanierung, Nutzung erneuerbarer Energien, Transparenz beim CO2-Verbrauch der touristischen Angebote, eine bevorzugt regionale Verpflegung der Gäste, sowie eine bessere Kooperation der Akteure vor. (more…)

UA Grows Gourmet Mushrooms That Recycle Waste

By Guest PostJune 15, 2013Sciencebarry pryor, Berkeley, blue oyster, cancer, carbon dioxide, CO2, commercial mushroom grower, dementia, gourmet mushrooms, kingdom fungi, lauren jackson, maitakes, man, molds, mushroom based, mushrooms, mycologist, oysters, parker evans, pink oyster mushrooms, pizza boxes, recycle waste, recycling program, regeneration of soil, shitakes, start up company, substrate, tumors, university of arizona

UA plant scientists are growing gourmet mushrooms on coffee grounds, landscape waste, even pizza boxes – and reducing that waste to compost.

The University of Arizona class is called “Mushrooms, Molds and Man.” Intrigued, undergraduate Lauren Jackson decided to learn about “Kingdom Fungi” and its impact on the world.

He was hooked in a heartbeat. Barely into the course, “I just raised my hand and asked about research opportunities.” That week he started working in the lab with UA mycologist Barry Pryor. (more…)

New Study Reveals How Sensitive U.S. East Coast Regions May Be to Ocean Acidification

By Guest PostApril 1, 2013Environmentacidic, acidic environment, bicarbonate, buffer capacity, carbon dioxide, carbon in ocean, carbonate, carbonic acid, changes in acidity, chemical survey, CO2, co2 levels, coastal ocean acidification, continental scale, coral, corpus christi, dic, dissolved co2, dissolved inorganic carbon, florida strait, galveston, georgia, glaciers, gulf of maine, gulf of mexico, influx of co2, labrador sea, melting sea ice, middle atlantic bight, Mississippi, ocean acidification, offshore, oysters, pteropods, rik wanninkhof, robert h byrne, ronald h brown, snails, texas, total alkalinity, tsung hung peng, university of georgia, us east coast, water ph, whoi, wie jen huang, wie jun cai, xinping hu, zhaohui aleck wang

A continental-scale chemical survey in the waters of the eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico is helping researchers determine how distinct bodies of water will resist changes in acidity. The study, which measures varying levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other forms of carbon in the ocean, was conducted by scientists from 11 institutions across the U.S. and was published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.

“Before now, we haven’t had a very clear picture of acidification status on the east coast of the U.S.,” says Zhaohui ‘Aleck’ Wang, the study’s lead author and a chemical oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). “It’s important that we start to understand it, because increase in ocean acidity could deeply affect marine life along the coast and has important implications for people who rely on aquaculture and fisheries both commercially and recreationally.” (more…)

Dead Forests Release Less Carbon Into Atmosphere Than Expected

By Guest PostMarch 25, 2013Environmentalaska, atmosphere, boulder, carbon, carbon dioxide, climate, climate change, CO2, david moore, dead forests release, dendroctonus ponderosae, double whammy, earth, greenhouse gas, Mexico, mountain pine beetles, NASA, nicole trahan, niwot ridge, North America, organic compounds, outbreaks, photosynthesis, pine beetle outbreaks, russell monson, soil microbes, surface, university of arizona, university of colorado, warmer conditions

Billions of trees killed in the wake of mountain pine beetle infestations, ranging from Mexico to Alaska, have not resulted in a large spike in carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, contrary to predictions, a UA-led study has found.

Massive tree die-offs release less carbon into the atmosphere than previously thought, new research led by the University of Arizona suggests.

Across the world, trees are dying in increasing numbers, most likely in the wake of a climate changing toward drier and warmer conditions, scientists suspect. In western North America, outbreaks of mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) have killed billions of trees from Mexico to Alaska over the last decade. (more…)

More Potent than Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide Levels in California May be Nearly Three Times Higher Than Previously Thought

By Guest PostDecember 9, 2012Environmentagricultural production, atmospheric measurement, berkeley lab, biogeochemical process, bottom up inventory, california, carbon dioxide, CO2, cycle of emissions, edgar, emission, environmental condition, estimate, factor, fossil fuel, greenhouse gas, laughing gas, level, marc fischer, methane, model prediction, moisture, new method, nitrogen fertilizer, nitrous oxide, noaa, temperature, total n2o, type of soil, walnut grove

Berkeley Lab researchers devise a new method to estimate state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Using a new method for estimating greenhouse gases that combines atmospheric measurements with model predictions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers have found that the level of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, in California may be 2.5 to 3 times greater than the current inventory.

At that level, total N₂O emissions—which are believed to come primarily from nitrogen fertilizers used in agricultural production—would account for about 8 percent of California’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The findings were recently published in a paper titled “Seasonal variations in N₂O emissions from central California” in Geophysical Research Letters. Earlier this year, using the same methodology, the researchers found that levels of methane, another potent greenhouse gas, in California may be up to 1.8 times greater than previous estimates. (more…)

Student Startup Aims to Prevent Traffic Jams

By Guest PostDecember 4, 2012Technologyaaron tushabe, akhtar badshah, analyze, andrew lin, anton posternikov, anton stepanov, asthma, australia, bing maps, christian breuggeman, cloud service, CO2, coca cola, crunch data, cy khormaee, david musinguzi, egypt, enable talk, grants program, graphmasters, health buzz, hon weng chong, imagine cup, joseph kaizzi, joshua okello, josiah kavuma, kim ramchen, london starbucks, mahsa salehi, maxim osika, Microsoft, navigation software, network, nunav, pneumonia, prevent, student startup, team greenway, team lifelens, team stethocloud, team vivid, traffic jams, valeriy yasakov, windows azure, youthspark initiative

Winners of the second annual Imagine Cup Grants program, part of Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative, include student startups aiming to eliminate traffic jams and bring cheap, effective ways to diagnose childhood pneumonia.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Dec. 4, 2012 — Traffic jams typically produce little more than frustration, profanity, and CO2. Four years ago, though, they happened to give Christian Brüggeman an idea.

He was sitting in a London Starbucks with a friend and fellow computer science student. As they chatted, they noticed that one street outside was choked with cars while another was practically empty.

They wondered why drivers weren’t taking advantage of every possible route. If cars could be directed along less-congested roads, wouldn’t that prevent back-ups before they began? (more…)