Warming Temperatures Across The Globe
Scientists at data centers across the globe are bracing themselves for the 2008 annual minimum, which is expected to have been reached in mid-September, when another record loss in worldwide temperatures are forecast. A major announcement is scheduled after the findings for the study have been completed. Scientists warn that rising temperatures could cause massive extinctions for wildlife, including lions, elephants, and mountain gorillas. The climate change has also been blamed as the alleged cause of droughts which have left nearly 1.8 million Africans without a sufficient supply of clean water. Scientists believe this second heating was largely caused by the burning of fossil fuels, rather than a change in the sun.
Atmospheric CO2 concentration increased by only 20 parts per million over the 8000 years prior to industrialisation; multi-decadal to centennial-scale variations were less than 10 ppm and likely due mostly to natural processes. However, since 1750, the CO2 concentration has risen by nearly 100 parts per million. Atmospheric scientists generally agree that as carbon dioxide levels increase there is a law of “diminishing returns” – or more properly “diminishing effects” – and that ongoing increases in CO2 concentration do not generate proportional increases in temperature. The common analogy is painting over window glass.
Natural processes of decomposition of soil organic matter provide plants and microbes with the energy source and water they need to grow, and carbon is released into the atmosphere as a by-product of this process. Warming temperatures are expected to speed up this process which will increase the amount of CO2 that is transferred to the atmosphere.
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 6:18 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.