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Author Topic: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere  (Read 56815 times)

Tom_Mazanec

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DrTskoul

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #101 on: July 30, 2019, 11:00:37 PM »
Probably vultures will like AGW too...


vox_mundi

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #103 on: August 07, 2019, 12:08:11 AM »
Calcium Levels in Freshwater Lakes Declining in Europe and North America
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-calcium-freshwater-lakes-declining-europe.html

A new global study of how calcium concentrations are changing in freshwater lakes around the world has revealed that in widespread areas in Europe and eastern North America, calcium levels are declining towards levels that can be critically low for the reproduction and survival of many aquatic organisms.

The decline of calcium may have significant impacts on freshwater organisms that depend on calcium deposition, including integral parts of the food web, such as freshwater mussels and zooplankton.

In Widespread diminishing anthropogenic effects on calcium in freshwaters, published recently in Scientific Reports, researchers discovered that the global median calcium concentration was 4.0 mg/L, with 20.7% of the water samples showing calcium concentrations < 1.5 mg/L.

1.5 mg/L is a threshold considered critical for the survival of many organisms that require calcium for their survival, therefore, some lakes are approaching levels of calcium that endanger organisms that rely on that calcium for structure and growth.

Open Access: Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer et al, Widespread diminishing anthropogenic effects on calcium in freshwaters, Scientific Reports (2019)
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vox_mundi

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #104 on: August 07, 2019, 06:19:38 PM »
Stranger Sea Things Turning Up Off Nova Scotia Shores
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-stranger-sea-nova-scotia-shores.html

... In recent years, recreational divers have been spotting far more exotic species that appear to be drifting north and settling into warmer Atlantic waters.

They have documented everything from tiny seahorses and sleek cornet fish to triggerfish and brightly colored butterfly fish—all creatures that appear to be moving north on the Gulf Stream.

And what was once a rare occurrence is not so unusual for Bond who routinely sees tropical and subtropical fish in his favorite dive sites after seeing his first one in Nova Scotia about eight years ago.

"It seems that in the last five years, it is more and more regular and some species I find every year," says Bond, the paint shop supervisor at Dalhousie.

Quote
"I caught a triggerfish in Mexico one year and then I saw one here the next year and I was thinking, 'Something's not right here—I shouldn't be seeing this here.'"

The tropical species may be lingering longer in northern waters too as the water temperatures stay warmer longer.

A recently published federal government report documented the warming trends for both air and water temperatures. The study, titled "Canada's Oceans Now: Atlantic Ecosystems," found there was a 100-year record high water temperature in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence in the 2012-2016 period.

https://dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/publications/soto-rceo/2018/atlantic-ecosystems-ecosystemes-atlantiques/index-eng.html
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Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

bligh8

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #105 on: August 08, 2019, 02:51:36 PM »
Quote
"I caught a triggerfish in Mexico one year and then I saw one here the next year and I was thinking, 'Something's not right here—I shouldn't be seeing this here.'"

Going back to the early/mid nineties tropical oddities were often seen in inlets and some in shallower water areas where there was an obstruction, rocks, wreaks & jetties.  From trigger fish to sea horse's they would all be here locally, at times, in high numbers.  Some felt that their eggs would ride north on sargassum seaweed and be born locally, others suggested these small creatures would traverse that long ride from the tropics to the northern reaches of the
temperate zone within the stream.  The gulf stream does at times deliver waves of tropical water up against the coast,  I found it disorienting to roll off my boat and clearly see the pebbles on the bottom some 50ft below , in water that one would expect 10-15 ft of viz.  It was very unusual but not un-heard of to have 200ft of visibility…. mostly, late summer.
I could see the population of these tropical creatures fall in-step with the water temps.  The pic below is of my dive boat "Miss Fitt"  your typical down-east, hard chine, full keel & stable platform from which to dive.






kassy

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #106 on: August 08, 2019, 04:56:29 PM »
A marine microbe could play increasingly important role in regulating climate

...

The study finds bacteria containing rhodopsins, a sunshine-grabbing pigment, are more abundant than once thought. Unlike algae, they don't pull carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air. And they will likely become more abundant in warming oceans, signaling a shuffling of microbial communities at the base of the food chain where the nitty-gritty work of energy conversion occurs.

...

hodopsin photosystems were much more abundant than previously realized and concentrated in nutrient-poor waters. In such oligotrophic zones, they outperform algae at capturing light. While algae use sunlight and CO2 to produce organic material and oxygen, rhodopsin pigments use light to make adenosine triphosphate, the basic energy currency that drives many cellular processes.

Rhodopsins appear to be more abundant in a nutrient-poor ocean, and in the future, the ocean will be more nutrient poor as temperatures change," Gómez-Consarnau explained. "So, with fewer nutrients near the surface, algae will have limited photosynthesis, and the rhodopsin process will be more abundant. We may have a shift in the future, which means the ocean won't be able to absorb as much carbon as it does today. So more CO2 gas may remain in the atmosphere, and the planet may warm faster."

and more on:
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-marine-microbe-increasingly-important-role.html
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Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #107 on: August 10, 2019, 08:30:57 PM »
Coral becomes 15% weaker in warmer water. Worse than bleaching, pieces are breaking off:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49255642

vox_mundi

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #108 on: August 12, 2019, 07:26:24 PM »
Nice boat bligh8. Reminds me of my lobstering days. Looks like you'll have some company in the water this summer/fall ...

Droves of Blacktip Sharks Are Summering in Long Island for the First Time
https://www.livescience.com/amp/sharks-vacation-in-hamptons.html

... Blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus), which range from 4 to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 meters) long, spend much of the year in Florida before heading north to cooler waters. In the past, the Carolinas were the sharks' destination of choice. But not anymore. Because of climate change, the waters off North and South Carolina are no longer cool enough in the summer. So blacktips are seeking waters farther north — and Long Island fits the bill. And just like the New Yorkers eager to spend the last weeks of summer in the Hamptons, these finned beachgoers are traveling in droves.

Long Island is much more packed with humans than blacktips' former habitat. That means more encounters between sharks and humans are probable, Kajiura said. ... That's because blacktips are shallow-water species; they hang out where people swim.

Many of these sharks are tagged with devices that allow scientists to track their locations. But it wasn't until 2016 that scientists noticed that many of the tagged sharks' had new migration pattern. At first, it seemed like a fluke, but it’s happened every summer since then — including this one, Kajiura said. Kajiura was blown away by the change

There are two possible reasons blacktips might choose the Hamptons over the Carolinas, according to Kajiura. It might be that the Carolina waters are getting too hot for them; most sharks, including blacktips, are ectotherms, so they can't cool down their bodies like mammals can. Even a small change in ocean temperature can cause them to overheat. Or, it could be that it's the fish the sharks eat, not the sharks themselves, that are moving due to warming waters —  and the sharks are simply following them, Kajiura said. Either way, there's no question about this: Temperatures along the Atlantic Seaboard are changing rapidly. Since 1960, the temperatures of the waters between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and the Gulf of Maine have shot up by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius), National Geographic reported.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #109 on: August 13, 2019, 05:35:30 PM »
Climate Change Turning Florida's Sea Turtles Female. How Long Can Species Survive?
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-climate-florida-sea-turtles-female.html

As is the case with some reptiles, the sex of sea turtles is determined by the temperature of the sand where the eggs incubate. With climate change turning up the heat in South Florida, producing longer and hotter summers, sea turtle gender balance is being thrown way out of whack.

"It's scary," Wyneken said. "I'm seeing more and more all-female nests, and even when we have males, it's a very small percentage."

... Wyneken's research over the past 20 years shows that the number of males is decreasing across the three species she monitors, even as they lay eggs at different times during the March-October nesting season. Using the past decade as a reference, she said that seven out of the 10 years produced 100% female hatchlings. The three years in which nests produced males, the ratios ranged from just 10 to 20%.

Wyneken said that for the past few years, especially since scorching summers of 2015 and 2016, she hasn't seen a significant difference in the sex ratios of the species in South Florida: it's girls, girls and more girls, in every nest.

What scientists have observed in South Florida is happening in other sea turtle nesting areas around the world.

On Australia's Raine Island, the biggest green turtle nesting ground in the Pacific, the ratio was 116 females to one male in a 2018 study led by Michael Jensen and Camryn Allen, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study found that older turtles that had hatched 30 or 40 years earlier were mostly female, but only by a 6 to 1 ratio. Younger turtles, however, born during the last 20 years, were more than 99% female.

Another study done recently with green turtles in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, by the University of Exeter and Portugal's Marine and Environmental Sciences Center showed similar results.

"All organisms tend to adapt to their changing environment by evolving through natural selection, but the question is, will turtles adapt as fast as the climate is changing around them?" said Fredric Janzen, an evolutionary biologist at Iowa State University who was one of the first scientists to connect climate change to temperature-dependent sex determination in turtles. In a 1994 study titled "Climate Change and Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination in Reptiles," Janzen found that even a small increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) was enough to drastically skew the sex ratio of the painted turtles in his research.

In his opinion, changes are occurring faster than they did prior to human influence, and this can potentially—and fatally—outpace the ability of some species to adapt.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #110 on: August 14, 2019, 03:11:11 AM »
Elephants and monkeys help trees, which help lower AGW, so losing these species will worsen climate change:
https://www.popsci.com/elephants-monkeys-and-climate-change/

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #111 on: August 15, 2019, 12:05:06 AM »
Carnivorous plant invades New York.
And that may be its only hope:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/science/waterwheel-plants-carnivorous.html

vox_mundi

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #112 on: August 15, 2019, 03:18:24 PM »
If you understand the science of this - this is VERY BAD!

--------------

Research: Link Between Increased Atmospheric Vapor Deficit and Worldwide Loss of Vegetation
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-link-atmospheric-vapor-deficit-worldwide.html

Scientists have been studying the possible repercussions of global warming for several years, and suggest it is likely to lead not only to warmer temperatures, but also changes to weather patterns. One such weather change not often mentioned is VPD, which is the difference in air pressure due to water vapor during fully saturated times versus times when it unsaturated. When VPD is increasing, there is less water in the air. VPD is important because of its impact on plants. When VPD rises a certain amount, plants react by closing their stomata, the pores in their leaves, to prevent water loss. But this also shuts down the release of oxygen and the absorption of carbon dioxide—partially shutting down photosynthesis and slowing growth. In this new effort, the researchers wondered if there might be a connection between observed losses of vegetation worldwide and changes to VPD in some parts of the world.

To find out, the researchers obtained datasets that included observation information from across the globe going all the way back to the 1950s. When focusing on VPD, they found that prior to the 1990s, VPD increased only slightly. But after 1998, the VPD grew quite dramatically—by up to 17 times over the next several years in some places, and it remained at those levels. They also found that over half of all vegetated land on the planet experienced a rise in VPD. The researchers also found that the upswing in VPD occurred in lockstep with the rise in global temperatures and the decrease in worldwide vegetative cover. They suggest that global warming is pushing VPD ever higher, resulting in more loss of vegetation—and because the planet is growing hotter, they predict that VPD will continue to increase, as well, resulting in diminishing vegetative cover.


Fig. 1 Global mean vapor pressure deficit (VPD) anomalies of vegetated area over the growing season

Open Access: Wenping Yuan et al. Increased atmospheric vapor pressure deficit reduces global vegetation growth, Science Advances (2019).
« Last Edit: August 15, 2019, 03:29:22 PM by vox_mundi »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

SteveMDFP

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #113 on: August 18, 2019, 09:59:27 PM »
A new fungal pathogen now marching slowly around the world might (or might not) directly be a consequence of global warming.   But almost surely this process is facilitated by global trade, something that helps drive warming.

In this case, we may lose the common banana:

Our Favorite Banana May Be Doomed; Can New Varieties Replace It?


"...There's a deadly fungus that attacks banana plants. In the past century, an earlier version of this fungus wiped out commercial plantings of a banana variety called Gros Michel that once dominated the global banana trade.

Now history may be repeating itself. A new version of the fungus, called Tropical Race 4, is killing off the Cavendish variety.

Tropical Race 4 has marched across China and Southeast Asia, laying waste to banana plantations. It's killing bananas in Australia, and cases have been reported in southern Africa...."

Well, at least the extinction might result in less tropical foods being flown to northern cities.


kassy

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #114 on: August 18, 2019, 11:15:18 PM »
Our favorite banana is always a huge monoculture. It´s in many places but it is all the same which makes it vulnerable.

Long ago i stopped at a banana market in Sri Lanka or rather our guide did (they have cute tiny cars runnning on what seems like moped engines and huge drops next to the road sometimes). They had over 30 kinds of banana there and i tasted a couple of the snack ones. Other types were only for cooking and the really big ones were expensive because if you ate enough some parts of you grew.

There are many types but we go for the monoculture which always makes the food vulnerable and the land it is grown on one sided.

 
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nanning

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #115 on: August 19, 2019, 06:44:33 AM »
<snip>
Well, at least the extinction might result in less tropical foods being flown to northern cities.

Sorry to shoehorn this here to focus attention on personal carbon footprint and awareness of where your food comes from.

Stop those planes flying!  8)

By not buying anything from far away, preferably nothing from outside my country, the Netherlands, these planes don't have to transport my food all the way across the world.
I have not eaten a banana in years and I love eating them. They were my favourite fruit. You really get used to it and will adapt.
Same with apples and pears in june. Don't buy them if you're living in the NH.

@kassy
Thanks for mentioning your Sri Lanka experiences.
I guess what the article in SteveMDFP's post means is those varieties are not yet eligible for monoculture because they probably die when showered with the current biocides.
What do you think the reason is?
"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
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Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

vox_mundi

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #116 on: August 19, 2019, 02:15:03 PM »
Quote
... I guess what the article in SteveMDFP's post means is those varieties are not yet eligible for monoculture because they probably die when showered with the current biocides.

What do you think the reason is? 
The biggest issue for bananas is shipping and storage quality, productivity, size uniformity, and finally taste.

Shipping and storage is essential for a global food product. The produce at a local food market just wouldn't stand up.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #117 on: August 19, 2019, 03:24:23 PM »
Good nanning. I respect you more than those rich leftists who say I have to give up my lifestyle but they don’t.

TerryM

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #118 on: August 19, 2019, 04:15:06 PM »
Quote
... I guess what the article in SteveMDFP's post means is those varieties are not yet eligible for monoculture because they probably die when showered with the current biocides.

What do you think the reason is? 
The biggest issue for bananas is shipping and storage quality, productivity, size uniformity, and finally taste.

Shipping and storage is essential for a global food product. The produce at a local food market just wouldn't stand up.


Eat a banana in Hawaii, and discover what bananas really taste like. WoW!
Terry

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #119 on: August 19, 2019, 05:44:30 PM »
Red kites are a common sight in UK skies thanks to a reintroduction programme that means the raptor has gone from virtually extinct to more than 1,800 breeding pairs. It now appears a changing climate will mean its close cousin the black kite will be the latest species to populate our skies.
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/black-kites-breed-uk-climate-change-raptor-breeding-conservation-a9063046.html

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #120 on: August 23, 2019, 03:01:06 AM »
As Oceans Warm, Tropical Corals Seek Refuge in Cooler Waters
https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-oceans-warm-tropical-corals-seek-refuge-in-cooler-waters
Quote
Due to soaring temperatures, tropical coral reefs are facing a bleak future. But recent research shows that some of these corals are migrating to cooler subtropical seas, offering a measure of hope that these ecosystems can survive the existential threat of climate change.

Ancient tropical plants produce cones in UK for first time on record
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/22/uk/tropical-plant-uk-intl-scli-gbr/
Quote
Two cycads (cycas revoluta), a type of primitive plant that dominated the Earth's flora 280 million years ago, have produced cones on the cliffs of a botanic garden on the Isle of Wight, off England's south coast.
"This can be seen as further evidence from the plant kingdom of climate change in action. Certainly this sort of plant could formerly not be considered hardy in the UK; the recent heatwave has contributed to the individual cone growth," Ventnor Botanic Garden said in a statement.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2019, 03:15:33 AM by Tom_Mazanec »

Sigmetnow

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #121 on: August 26, 2019, 02:12:03 PM »
Environmental Groups Sue to Block Trump's Endangered Species Act Rule Changes
Those changes make it harder to take future risks from climate change into account and bring economics into the picture when determining protections for species.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21082019/lawsuit-endangered-species-act-trump-rule-changes-climate-change-earthjustice-sierra
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

vox_mundi

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #122 on: August 27, 2019, 06:16:10 PM »
Acid Oceans are Shrinking Plankton, Fueling Faster Climate Change
https://phys.org/news/2019-08-acid-oceans-plankton-fueling-faster.html

... The more acidic the seawater, the more the diatom communities were made up of smaller species, reducing the total amount of silica they produced. Less silica means the diatoms aren't heavy enough to sink quickly, reducing the rate at which they float down to the sea bed, safely storing carbon away from the atmosphere.

On examining individual cells, we found many of the species were highly sensitive to increased acidity, reducing their individual silicification rates by 35-80%. These results revealed not only are communities changing, but species that remain in the community are building less-dense cell walls.

Most alarming, many of the species were affected at ocean pH levels predicted for the end of this century, adding to a growing body of evidence showing significant ecological implications of climate change will take effect much sooner than previously anticipated.

These losses in silica production could have far reaching consequences for the biology and chemistry of our oceans.

Many species affected are also an important component of the diet of the Antarctic krill, which is central to the Antarctic marine food web.

Fewer diatoms sinking to the ocean floor mean significant changes in silicon cycling and carbon burial. In a time when carbon drawn down by our ocean is crucial to helping sustain our atmospheric systems, any loss from this process will exacerbate CO₂ pollution.


Single-celled silicification with increasing acid concentration [H+].

Katherina Petrou et al. Acidification diminishes diatom silica production in the Southern Ocean, Nature Climate Change (2019)

-------------------------

North Atlantic Ocean Productivity has Dropped 10 Percent During Industrial Era
http://news.mit.edu/2019/north-atlantic-phytoplankton-productivity-drop-0406

Virtually all marine life depends on the productivity of phytoplankton — microscopic organisms that work tirelessly at the ocean’s surface to absorb the carbon dioxide that gets dissolved into the upper ocean from the atmosphere.

Now, scientists at MIT, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and elsewhere have found evidence that phytoplankton’s productivity is declining steadily in the North Atlantic, one of the world’s most productive marine basins.

In a paper appearing today in Nature, the researchers report that phytoplankton’s productivity in this important region has gone down around 10 percent since the mid-19th century and the start of the Industrial era. This decline coincides with steadily rising surface temperatures over the same period of time.

Matthew Osman, the paper’s lead author and a graduate student in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, says there are indications that phytoplankton’s productivity may decline further as temperatures continue to rise as a result of human-induced climate change.

“It’s a significant enough decine that we should be concerned,” Osman says. “The amount of productivity in the oceans roughly scales with how much phytoplankton you have. So this translates to 10 percent of the marine food base in this region that’s been lost over the industrial era. If we have a growing population but a decreasing food base, at some point we’re likely going to feel the effects of that decline.”
« Last Edit: August 27, 2019, 06:41:31 PM by vox_mundi »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #123 on: August 29, 2019, 10:59:00 PM »
The Frightening Spread of Toxic Algae
https://newrepublic.com/article/154799/frightening-spread-toxic-algae
Quote
Climate change is accelerating the spread of lethal algal blooms in American waterways—with devastating results for humans and animals alike.

bligh8

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #124 on: August 30, 2019, 03:52:37 AM »
            Extended U.S. Tornado Outbreak During Late May 2019: A Forecast of Opportunity
                         Vittorio A. Gensini  David Gold  John T. Allen  Bradford S. Barrett
                  First published: 27 August 2019 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084470
          https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2019GL084470 - open access

                           some excerpts and figures .. more within the paper

Abstract
The second half of May 2019 was an unusually active period for tornadic thunderstorms across the U.S. Great Plains, Midwest, and lower Great Lakes. While this period typically coincides with the peak climatological frequency of tornadoes, preliminary reports of tornadoes were over triple the expected 30‐year average. Multiple‐day outbreaks of tornadoes are not unprecedented in the United States; however, this event was perhaps the first to be forecast at subseasonal lead times (3–4 weeks) by the Extended Range Tornado Activity Forecast team. This forecast of opportunity was driven, in part, by anomalous convective forcing in portions of the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans, causing subsequent changes in Northern Hemisphere atmospheric angular momentum. This manuscript analyzes the evolution of hemispheric‐scale circulation features leading up to the event, examines teleconnection processes known to influence U.S. tornadoes, and provides insights into the forecast process at subseasonal lead times.

1 Introduction
The period 17–29 May 2019 was among the most active periods of severe weather the United States has seen in years. While 2019 data are still preliminary, at least 374 tornadoes occurred during this 13‐day stretch, more than tripling the 1986–2018 average for this period of 107. In total, 757 tornado warnings were issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Weather Service, with seven fatalities reported (Figure 1). This late‐May period contributed significantly to the second highest monthly (E)F1+ tornado count (220) on record for May since reliable tornado counts began in the early 1950s, behind only May 2003.


The 757 tornado warnings (red polygons) issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service from 1200 UTC 17 May to 1200 UTC 30 May 2019. Seven fatalities were reported during this period (locations marked by red +).


3.1 Event Summary: Synoptic Pattern
One of the most active periods of severe storms in U.S. history began on 17 May 2019 as a shortwave trough approached the Great Plains from the Great Basin. From 17 May onward, repeated days of severe weather, including several tornado outbreaks (Verbout et al., 2006), occurred as upper‐tropospheric southwesterly flow remained persistent over the Great Plains (Figure 2a), with average 300‐hPa winds during the period greater than 40 m/s. At 500 hPa, the mean negative geopotential height anomaly for the period was greater than 125 m over a large area covering the western CONUS. A persistent warm sector over the plains was characterized by vertically deep (≥2 km above ground level), anomalously rich boundary layer moisture (Figure 2c) and warm temperatures, both of which contributed to moderate‐extreme levels of convective available potential energy. In addition, sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico for the 5‐week period leading up to this event were at or above normal, providing a source of boundary layer moisture (Molina & Allen, 2019). Another notable feature of this persistent period of tornado activity was multiple days with relatively weak capping inversions associated with below‐average elevated mixed layer temperatures. This promoted high spatial concentrations of severe storms that, given the favorable atmospheric parameters, were able to produce a substantial number of tornadoes.


For the period 17–29 May 2019, average (a) 300‐hPa wind (m/s) and 300‐hPa geopotential height (m), average (b) 500‐hPa geopotential height (m) and 500‐hPa geopotential height anomaly (m), and average (c) 925‐hPa specific humidity anomaly (g/kg) and 925‐hPa geopotential height (m) as computed from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research Reanalysis. Anomalies calculated from the 1980–2010 climatology.

A leading mode of subseasonal variability capable of giving rise to synoptic patterns favorable for enhanced tornadic activity is the MJO (Barrett & Gensini, 2013; Baggett et al., 2018; Thompson & Roundy, 2012; Tippett, 2018). As an MJO event evolves over a 40‐ to 60‐day cycle, tropical convection along the equator propagates eastward from the Indian Ocean toward the Pacific. Such propagation was clearly evident in outgoing longwave radiation anomalies (Figure 3) over the 4 weeks leading up to this event. Dynamically, latent heat release results in the formation of an anomalous anticyclone to the northwest of the convection, leading to an intensification of the upper‐tropospheric zonal winds to the anticyclone's north (Moore et al., 2010). As the MJO perturbation propagates eastward forcing convection, the net result is an extension of a strong upper‐tropospheric jet into the midlatitudes of the central Pacific. When a blocking anticyclone is in place over the eastern North Pacific ocean, this jet extension eventually leads to wave breaking over western North America. It is this wave breaking, and subsequent troughing over the U.S., that links the tropical MJO to U.S. tornado frequency (Barrett & Gensini, 2013; Baggett et al., 2018; Thompson & Roundy, 2012; Tippett, 2018). The predictability of the MJO convection as it moves east from the Indian Ocean across the Pacific Ocean (Lim et al., 2018) allows it to serve as a leading indicator of upcoming tornadic activity once the MJO convection moves into the eastern Pacific Ocean (Baggett et al., 2018).


Fig 3. Average 300‐hPa geopotential height (contours) and wind speed (color fill) for (a) 19–25 April, (b) 26 April to 2 May, (c) 3–9 May, (d) 10–16 May, (e) 17–23 May, and (f) 24–29 May 2019.

Multiple time and space scales contribute to subseasonal and low‐frequency variability, including El Niño and the MJO. The former was lingering from boreal autumn 2018, while the latter was becoming active from latter April into early May. While El Niño is known to be less favorable to tornado occurrence (Allen et al., 2015; Cook et al., 2017), its modulation of the large‐scale circulation is not necessarily unfavorable to tornadic potential. This paradox arises due to its role in the development of a subtropical jet stream over the central and eastern Pacific extending into the Americas. This influence, as illustrated by (Cook et al., 2017) for the later winter months, can be favorable to the development of tornado outbreaks, particularly over the southeastern United States. Indeed, this type of subtropical jet signature was evident in the 4 weeks leading up to the May 2019 event, and the subtropical jet merged with the North Pacific jet for the duration of the event (Figure 4), suggesting that ENSO contributed favorably to this anomalous period of tornado activity.


Average 300‐hPa geopotential height (contours) and wind speed (color fill) for (a) 19–25 April, (b) 26 April to 2 May, (c) 3–9 May, (d) 10–16 May, (e) 17–23 May, and (f) 24–29 May 2019.

4 Summary and Discussion

The question of why some periods record anomalously above‐climatology tornado frequency has troubled many in the U.S. forecasting community for the past few decades (Barrett & Gensini, 2013; Lee et al., 2012; Marzban & Schaefer, 2001; Thompson & Roundy, 2012; Tippett et al., 2015). The period 17–29 May 2019 stands as one of the most active in history, and was characterized by more than three times the climatological number of tornadoes for that time of year, occurring over 13 days and encompassing a wide region of Great Plains and Midwestern CONUS. Here, we have illustrated that a persistent upper‐level synoptic trough over the western CONUS, with a downstream ridge aloft over the eastern CONUS, were the main synoptic features of interest. Attribution of such synoptic‐scale features to larger‐scale, and therefore more predictable signals (Grazzini & Vitart, 2015), remains challenging owing to the complex manner in which processes interact to produce coherent, and therefore potentially predictable, subseasonal evolutions. In the present case, time scales associated with the propagation of the MJO from the equatorial Indian Ocean to the central Pacific Ocean (∼20–30 days, or roughly half a cycle) helped create an anomalous North Pacific jet stream extension and retraction sequence that aligned favorably with a transition in AAM from a relatively high to a low state. Previous research indicates that such MJO and AAM/GWO events can lead to favorable atmospheric conditions for tornadic storms in the U.S. Here, with careful monitoring of such features as they emerged both diagnostically and in NWP‐derived RMM phase space, forecasters were able to use signals within both the MJO and AAM/GWO to anticipate the potential for an extended period of favorable severe weather conditions nearly four weeks in advance. While the forecast metric of above‐normal, normal, or below‐normal (tercile) levels of tornado activity over a subjective spatial region is among the more simple methods available (Klemm & McPherson, 2017; Hartmann et al., 2002), this is a unique example of how understanding tropical convection's role in modulating extratropical dynamic processes can be used to identify a forecast of opportunity for an extreme weather event. The event also offers a pathway for developing operational predictions of U.S. tornado activity across a portion of the subseasonal timescale. Finally, this manuscript represents a single case of a successful subseasonal tornado forecast. More cases, including potential null events, should be examined in future work.

Welcome to the Anthropocene!
« Last Edit: August 30, 2019, 03:58:01 AM by bligh8 »

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #125 on: September 01, 2019, 01:04:10 AM »
Outlook For The Great Barrier Reef Is Now ‘Very Poor,’ Australian Government Says
Climate change remains the greatest threat to the Australian natural treasure, and things are not looking good.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/great-barrier-reef-outlook-very-poor_n_5d68a900e4b02bc6bb372c4a?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000048
Quote
The report, published every five years by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, is the first time the government has listed the long-term prospects of the reef so bleakly. The findings directly point to runaway climate change spurred by greenhouse gas emissions as the prime threat to the structure, noting that the time to protect the reef’s “long-term future is now.”

nanning

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #126 on: September 01, 2019, 04:52:39 AM »
Outlook For The Great Barrier Reef Is Now ‘Very Poor,’ Australian Government Says
Climate change remains the greatest threat to the Australian natural treasure, and things are not looking good.
<snip>

Climate change Australian Government remains the greatest threat to the Australian natural treasure, and things are not looking good.
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Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #127 on: September 04, 2019, 06:49:43 PM »
Climate change causing migrating birds to change flight path, study finds
https://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/climate-change-causing-migrating-birds-to-change-flight-path-study-finds-1-4995638
Quote
Barnacle geese traditionally stopped off to fuel-up on food just south of the Arctic circle in Norway on their journey from the UK to nesting sites on Svalbard.

Now most of the flocks break their journey in northern Norway, far above the Arctic circle.

The findings also suggest geese are learning the new habits from each other

The findings are based on analysis of 45 years of observations by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, the University of St Andrews, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, BirdLife Norway and the British Waterfowl and Wetlands Trust.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #128 on: September 06, 2019, 11:00:46 PM »
Climate emergency to blame for heather crisis – National Trust
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/sep/05/climate-emergency-to-blame-for-heather-crisis-national-trust
Quote
The National Trust has flagged up that 75% of the plant has been lost or is struggling on some slopes that it manages in the west of England and blames the climate emergency for the problem.

Experts from the Heather Trust, which is based in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland, said it was seeing similar problems across moorland in Scotland, northern England and Wales.

Red abalone fights for survival amid climate change
https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/remembering-2-santa-monica-victims-of-the-california-boat-fire/red-abalone-fights-for-survival-amid-climate-change
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Abalone, specifically red abalone, has been a popular menu item in sushi and seafood restaurants in California. It’s a sea slug that’s about the size of a dinner plate. Despite a decades-old ban on commercial fishing of red abalone, they are disappearing and not bouncing back. The fate of this creature could be a sign of what’s in store for California’s coast.
Sea otters are my second favorite critters.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2019, 11:06:31 PM by Tom_Mazanec »

opensheart

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #129 on: September 11, 2019, 09:10:54 PM »
Washington post article "2C Beyond the Limit - Dangerous new hot zones are spreading around the world".   Some pretty nice graphics

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/climate-change-world/?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1


Quote
A Washington Post analysis of multiple temperature data sets found numerous locations around the globe that have warmed by at least 2 degrees Celsius over the past century.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #130 on: September 16, 2019, 06:01:32 PM »
Waters off the coast of Maine vulnerable to changing climate
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/09/15/the-gulf-of-maine-braces-for-the-next-big-ocean-heat-wave/
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Warming within the swirling ocean depths of the Gulf of Maine has implications for all life and livelihoods within the ecosystem. Scientists, fishermen and aquaculturists brace for challenges.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #131 on: September 18, 2019, 08:03:49 PM »
Climate Change Is Reducing Mating Behavior Among Some Birds
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/climate-change-is-reducing-mating-behavior-among-some-birds
Quote
Rising global temperatures are impacting the ability of grassland birds to mate, forcing some males to choose between high-energy mating displays or seeking shelter and saving energy to protect themselves from the heat, according to new research published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #132 on: September 24, 2019, 07:54:32 PM »
What Rising Temperatures In The Gulf Of Maine Mean For The State’s Lobster Industry
https://will.illinois.edu/news/story/what-rising-temperatures-in-the-gulf-of-maine-mean-for-the-states-lobster-industry
Quote
The Gulf of Maine is known for lobsters, which form the foundation of an industry critical to the state’s economy. Due to climate change, the waters off southern New England have become too warm for the temperature-sensitive crustaceans, leaving Maine as the “sweet spot” for fishing them. But the Gulf’s own rising temperatures mean the lobster boom may not last forever. Miles O’Brien reports.

ArcticMelt2

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #133 on: December 07, 2019, 05:10:08 PM »
The disaster in the Chukchi Sea continues.



https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/06/dozens-of-polar-bears-descend-upon-russian-town-a68500

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Dozens of Polar Bears Descend Upon Russian Town
one day ago
   
An unusually large group of polar bears has converged around a village in Far East Russia, forcing residents into lockdown, the global conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Russia said Thursday.

Residents of Ryrkapiy, population 600, were said to have organized patrols and canceled all public gatherings, including New Year’s celebrations, to prevent the polar bears from coming into contact with locals. Polar bear sightings became increasingly common in Russia as climate change melts their sea-ice habitats and forces them to scavenge for food on land.

“Almost all the bears are thin,” said Tatyana Minenko, Ryrkapiy’s head of polar bear patrol in the Chukotka autonomous district.

“There are both adult and young animals, including cubs of different ages with their moms,” WWF quoted Minenko as saying.

The 56 polar bears descended near Ryrkapiy from the neighboring Cape Kozhevnikov in search of food after the walruses they fed on had left, WWF Russia said.

“Bears also like to visit villages to see how people live and search for food,” said Mikhail Stishov, WWF Russia’s Arctic biodiversity projects coordinator. “This raises the issue of food waste management.”

Scientists recently estimated that plastic makes up almost a quarter of the visiting polar bears’ diet.

According to Stishov, the polar bears’ mass migration south is the result of unusually warm weather caused by climate change, which has thinned ice coverage. Until ice coverage becomes thick enough again, the bears will remain on land and search for food along the shore, he said.

“Polar bear gatherings are becoming more frequent, and we have to adapt and find ways to avoid conflicts between people and animals,” Stishov said.

WWF Russia says the villagers are waiting for freezing weather to harden ice surfaces and allow the polar bears to return to their habitat on Cape Kozhevnikov.

This year, video showing polar bears were wandering into cities in Siberia and rummaging through garbage in the Russian Arctic garnered international attention.

Bruce Steele

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #134 on: December 30, 2019, 05:31:48 PM »
The California Channel Islands , my world. Warming conditions are leading to species shifting north.
Southern Calif. gaining some Baja species, losing some Northern Calif species. Nice pretty pictures and not  much for solid predictions.
https://www.independent.com/2019/12/11/the-changing-santa-barbara-channel/
 It is so much easier to document warming and species shifts than acidification effects or decreasing oxygen.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2019, 08:14:53 PM by Bruce Steele »

gerontocrat

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #135 on: January 06, 2020, 02:57:02 PM »
When discussing Global Heating, we often talk about tipping points, usually on a global scale.

But tipping points can be local and/or regional. So the question I ask is, are Australia's wildfires a tipping point as regards the biosphere for much of the continent?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/04/ecologists-warn-silent-death-australia-bushfires-endangered-species-extinction
'Silent death': Australia's bushfires push countless species to extinction

Millions of animals have been killed in the fires but the impact on flora and fauna is more grim even than individual deaths

Quote
Close to the Western River on Kangaroo Island, Pat Hodgens had set up cameras to snap the island’s rare dunnart – a tiny mouse-like marsupial that exists nowhere else on the planet.

Now, after two fires ripped through the site a few days ago, those cameras – and likely many of the Kangaroo Island dunnarts – are just charred hulks.

“It’s gone right through the under storey and that’s where these species live,” said Hodgens, an ecologist at Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife, a not-for-profit conservation group. “The habitat is decimated.”

On Friday afternoon word came through that three other Land for Wildlife sites protecting dunnarts and other endangered species, including the southern brown bandicoot, had also been consumed by fire on the island off the South Australian coast.

Prof Sarah Legge, of the Australian National University, said the prognosis for the Kangaroo Island dunnart was “not good” and its plight was symbolic of what was happening all across the east coast of Australia.

“Many dozens” of threatened species had been hit hard by the fires, she said. In some cases “almost their entire distribution has been burnt”.

So far, the Australian bushfire season has burned through about 5.8m hectares of bush, known across the world for its unique flora and fauna.

Ecologists say the months of intense and unprecedented fires will almost certainly push several species to extinction. The fires have pushed back conservation efforts by decades, they say, and, as climate heating grips, some species may never recover.

Climate scientists have long warned that rising greenhouse gases will spark a wave of extinctions.

Now ecologists fear the bushfires represent the catastrophic beginning of a bleak future for the country’s native flora and fauna.

“It feels like we have hit a turning point that we predicted was coming as a consequence of climate change,” Legge said. “We are now in uncharted territory.”

Bushfires don’t just burn animals to death but create starvation events. Birds lose their breeding trees and the fruits and invertebrates they feed on. Ground-dwelling mammals that do survive emerge to find an open landscape with nowhere to hide, which one ecologist said became a “hunting arena” for feral cats and foxes.

“It’s reasonable to infer that there will be dramatic consequences to very many species,” said Prof John Woinarski, of Charles Darwin University. “The fires are of such scale and extent that high proportions of many species, including threatened species, will have been killed off immediately.”

He said footage of kangaroos and flocks of birds fleeing fires was no evidence of their survival. With fires extending so widely, they run out of places to escape.

“We know that the species that can’t fly away – like koalas and greater gliders – are gone in burnt areas. Wombats may survive as they’re underground but, even if they do escape the immediate fire front, there’s essentially no food for them in a burnt landscape.” Woinarski said the critically endangered long-footed potoroo was restricted almost entirely to East Gippsland, which has been devastated by this year’s fires.

In southern Queensland, much of the known range of the silver-headed antechinus “has been obliterated by fires”, he said.

He said fires had always been a feature of the Australian landscape but in normal circumstances extensive patches of unburnt areas were left, which helped species survive. “There are no winners in fires like this,” he said. “These fires are homogenising the landscape. They benefit no species.

“This is a harbinger of a bleak future for our wildlife. They have set back conservation in Australia for a very long period, but [the fires] are a sign of an even more bleak future ahead. Because of climate change, they will become more frequent and more severe. It’s a sad time for conservation in Australia.”

He said it was “quite likely” the fires would have caused some extinctions but “we won’t know until after this summer ends”.

Much of the known range of the endangered brush-tailed rock wallaby – a species already “right on the edge of extinction” – had also been burned, he said.

Three-quarters of threatened species in Australia are plants, many of which exist in only small pockets, such as the dark-bract banksia and the blue-top sun orchid.

“You can lose the lot in one big fire,” Wintle said. “If the timing is wrong, or the fire is too hot, you can also lose the seed bank and that’s then another species on the extinction list.”

Prof Richard Kingsford, director of the University of New South Wales Centre for Ecosystem Science, said the fires would rob many bird species of vital old-growth trees they need to breed. Fire had taken away the invertebrate bugs the birds feed on, and that food source would not return until there was significant rain.

“There are a whole lot of things that are ecologically off the scale,” he said.

“We won’t really know how much of a tipping point these fires have been, but the scale in terms of extent and severity I think will be a serious problem for many, many species. It will set back biodiversity in our forests for decades.

“You have these incredibly savage blows and these animals have not evolved to cope with it. These fires are not, in the scheme of things, natural.

“We don’t see these smaller animals being incinerated. There is a silent death going on.”
« Last Edit: January 06, 2020, 03:25:04 PM by gerontocrat »
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #136 on: January 16, 2020, 10:30:05 PM »
UN Proposes Protecting 30% of Earth to Slow Extinctions and Climate Change
Quote
The draft update to a global biodiversity treaty aims to solve two global challenges at once by protecting critical wildlife habitat and carbon sinks.

A new United Nations proposal calls for national parks, marine sanctuaries and other protected areas to cover nearly one-third or more of the planet by 2030 as part of an effort to stop a sixth mass extinction and slow global warming.

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity released the proposed targets on Monday in a first draft of what is expected to become an update to the global treaty on biodiversity later this year. It aims to halt species extinctions and also limit climate change by protecting critical wildlife habitat and conserving forests, grasslands and other carbon sinks.

Ecologists hailed the plan as a good starting point, while simultaneously urging that more needs to be done. ...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14012020/biodiversity-treaty-climate-change-marine-sanctuary-conservation-protected-areas-wildlife-habitat-forests
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Phil42

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #137 on: January 17, 2020, 10:45:08 AM »
The linked article describes one element in the chain of biosphere disruption that a changing and warming climate brings with it. I'd like to point out the chain reaction that happened and is still happening in Australia, and to a certain extent in pretty much every part of the planet:
To oversimplify it, climate change contributed to the long-term weather pattern that lead to a big drought on parts of the continent, which then lead to the precarious fire situation and huge bushfires. The bushfires in turn lead to air and ground pollution through smoke and ash emissions. The rain happening now causes the river level to rise and washes the ash into the water, causing massive fish die-offs. While it is the ash and oxygen deprivation that ultimately killed the fish, I would argue that climate change is to blame for it, even if it only played an indirect role.

This chain will continue due to the disruption in the biosphere and affect other species. Similar and other climate change related biosphere distruption chains will happen in other regions.

Hundreds of thousands of fish dead in NSW as bushfire ash washed into river
Quote
The statement said: “The suspected cause of the incident is poor water quality leading to low dissolved oxygen. Rainfall events are adding ash from the extensive bushfires throughout the region into local catchments, as well as other organic matter and sediment. This can cause rapid drops to oxygen levels in the water.
Quote
He said there was a precedent for understanding the long-term impacts of an event such as this: major bushfires in 1939 had caused ash to run into the Lachlan River, and “the fish never recovered”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/17/hundreds-of-thousands-of-fish-dead-in-nsw-as-bushfire-ash-washed-into-river


gerontocrat

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #138 on: January 25, 2020, 06:25:26 PM »
After doing its best to screw the land surface, humanity now seeks to industrialise the oceans

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/25/race-for-seabed-threat-to-oceans
Race to exploit the world’s seabed set to wreak havoc on marine life
New research warns that ‘blue acceleration’ – a global goldrush to claim the ocean floor – is already impacting on the environment.

Quote
The scaly-foot snail is one of Earth’s strangest creatures. It lives more than 2,300 metres below the surface of the sea on a trio of deep-sea hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Here it has evolved a remarkable form of protection against the crushing, grim conditions found at these Stygian depths. It grows a shell made of iron.

Discovered in 1999, the multi-layered iron sulphide armour of Chrysomallon squamiferum – which measures a few centimetres in diameter – has already attracted the interest of the US defence department, whose scientists are now studying its genes in a bid to discover how it grows its own metal armour.

The researchers will have to move quickly, however, for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has just added the snail to its list of threatened species. German and Chinese industrial groups have revealed plans to explore the seabed around two of the three vents that provide homes for scaly-foot snails. Should they proceed, and mine the seabed’s veins of metals and minerals, a large chunk of the snail’s home base will be destroyed and the existence of this remarkable little creature will be threatened.
This threat comes not just from seabed mining – which is set to expand dramatically in coming years – but from fish farming, desalination plant construction, shipping, submarine cable laying, cruise tourism and the building of offshore wind farms.

This is “blue acceleration”, the term that is used by Jouffray and his co-authors to describe the recent rapid rise in marine industrialisation, a trend that has brought increasing ocean acidification, marine heating, coral reef destruction, and plastic pollution in its wake. As they state in their paper: “From the shoreline to the deep sea, the blue acceleration is already having major social and ecological consequences”.

Another illustration of blue acceleration is provided by seabed grabbing, state the authors. Article 76 of the UN convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS) allows countries to claim seabed that lies beyond the 200 miles of a nation’s exclusive economic zone. Since the first claim under Article 76 was made in 2001, 83 countries have made submissions. Put together, these claims account for more than 37 million sq km of seabed, an area more than twice the size of Russia.

Many seabed grabbers include small island states that are trying to become large ocean states in the process. For example, the Cook islands in the South Pacific has claimed an area of seabed that is 1,700 times its land surface. “The extension of the continental shelf is therefore not only transforming the geopoltical landscape, it is also substantially shrinking the area designated as the common heritage of humankind,” states the report.
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nanning

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #139 on: January 26, 2020, 06:57:11 AM »
^^
A corrected first sentence:
"After doing its best to screw the land surface, humanity civilisation now seeks to industrialise the oceans"

Screwing the land surface, emptying and heavily polluting the seas, bottom trawling desertification of continental shelves, digging up 10000's of enormous pits in the Earth, sucking fluidic nasty hydrocarbons from deep underground.

Is the ocean floor the last unexploited and undestroyed part of the Earth? For greed and high tech. This is not for food.
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TerryM

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #140 on: January 26, 2020, 10:58:09 AM »
^^
<snipped>
Is the ocean floor the last unexploited and undestroyed part of the Earth? For greed and high tech. This is not for food.
An example of food harvesting.
As the scallop dredgers were returning to port in Nova Scotia a local explained the process.


"If every time you wanted a steak you blindly raced out across the range in a bulldozer cutting a few inches of topsoil until you'd bagged your limit of bovines, some might view this as unsustainable. If you do the same when you've a taste for scallops, it's called a commercial success."


And that ongoing process of rampant destruction brings those delicious scallops to a supermarket near you!
Terry


nanning

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #141 on: January 26, 2020, 03:09:02 PM »
You mean the continental shelves, the seas, where the scallops are raked up by some sort of bottom trawler. This bottom trawling destruction has been going since the late middle ages. I've read that in "The Unnatural History of The Sea" by Callum Roberts.

I think there's no food to bottom trawl from the ocean floor, even if you could reach there.

Going mining in the ocean floor at >2Km depth gives a multitude of problems. I wish they will not succeed. The total destruction has to stop.

Another disadvantage of having robots: More destruction more efficiently.
"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
"It is preoccupation with what other people from your groups think of you, that prevents you from living freely and nobly" - Nanning
Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

TerryM

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #142 on: January 26, 2020, 05:15:59 PM »

^^

I don't doubt that it's been ongoing since the age of sail, it's just an increase in scale.


I've done enough recreational diving to realize how beautiful the coastal seas can be. I've never been very deep, but I have seen the videos.


I've never been able to shake the vision of a demented rancher tearing up the prairie in a crazed quest for a cow to eat. Damn near sated my lust for BBQed scallops drizzled with butter & a squeeze of lime.


In reality it's no worse than the local pioneers that chopped down forests of Walnut and Maple Trees to allow the planting of potatoes and carrots.


My building felled two aged black walnuts last week. No explanation given. The nuts just went to landfill, but ...
Terry




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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #143 on: January 26, 2020, 07:09:11 PM »
^^
Perhaps your building thought that with your person, there are enough nuts around. ;)
I'm not serious
"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
"It is preoccupation with what other people from your groups think of you, that prevents you from living freely and nobly" - Nanning
Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

Archimid

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #144 on: January 27, 2020, 03:33:45 AM »
Yep, its a scale problem. This practice has been growing since it was invented. In a big graph, it would look linear at first and as it approaches the 21st century it goes exponential. Hockey sticks everywhere.
I am an energy reservoir seemingly intent on lowering entropy for self preservation.

Bruce Steele

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #145 on: January 27, 2020, 04:08:19 AM »
There has been a small number of bottom trawlers in Santa Barbara as long as I have been fishing there. They are only allowed to fish a narrow band of sand from 1 mile out to three miles. There are reserves within those depths also. Their catch is halibut or sea cucumbers. As in many things resource related good management can allow for limited resource extraction without depleting stocks. With fisheries management a stock is depleted( overfished) if its numbers drop below 25% of virgin biomass. Stocks that drop lower are closed and put into a rebuilding plan. If terrestrial species were held to the same 25% of biomass maybe there would be healthier stocks of buffalo , prairie dogs, black footed ferrets, elk, mountain sheep,and many others. There are zero fish stocks driven to extinction by fishing. Grizzlies, wolf, and a whole host of predators past are part of our preferred route for dealing with nature.
 You terrestrial critics really don’t have a foot to stand on. I  sent letters to protect white sharks when those letters mattered. I would reintroduce grizzlies if I had the power to do so ! The John Muir trail would be a different experience.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2020, 06:48:01 AM by Bruce Steele »

TerryM

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #146 on: January 27, 2020, 12:28:14 PM »
^^
Perhaps your building thought that with your person, there are enough nuts around. ;)
I'm not serious


My wife is the one that holds the owners nuts to the fire. She heads the Tenant's Committee, edits a Tenant Newsletter & hosts the building's Xmas Festival.


Don't mess with my Mrs :(
Terry

TerryM

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #147 on: January 27, 2020, 02:53:44 PM »
Bruce
I think that part of the difference between terrestrial and ocean habitants is that it's hard to hide a clearcut forest and hard to visualize the demise of a kelp forest. (your pictures help, but few witnessed the kelp ecosystem when it was extant.)


If Halifax's cod were any where near 10% of their historic levels I don't think the Jellys could have invaded Bras d'Or. Not extinction, but a fundamental ecological disruption caused by overfishing.
Whales aren't fish, and they aren't extinct, but they're no longer herded, killed, and fed to captive mink, breed to beautify New York's 5th Avenue doyens in the colder months.


The last of the Stellar Manatees probably died at the hands of whalers, not a fish & not killed by fishermen, but aquatic creatures exterminated by those hunting aquatic creatures.


Grizzlies are alive and well in the Canadian Rockies. We could probably be talked into sending a breeding pair or two, if California would pledge not to engage in bear baiting extravaganzas.


We did donate a lot of beaver to take the place of those exterminated in the brutal quest for better quality top hats, but I haven't heard of how they are faring, or how they'd re-sculpted the riparian  wetlands.


Fishermen, farmers and herdsmen all share in the common goal of producing more food than they consume, but only farmers and shore bound fishermen see the destruction of their land / their bay as affecting their livelihood. The Santa Barbara trawlers, facing restrictions on a single sandy strand soon stray north, south or west until they find greener pastures with fewer regulations in which to practice their trade.
Newfoundland once famously chased a poacher across the ocean and back to her (well regulated) Spanish waters.


In the "Commons" it's the first and the fiercest that profit. The "Commons" are underwater now, and it's there that covert destruction can flourish.


Terry

sidd

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #148 on: January 28, 2020, 07:47:33 AM »
There's a lot more fishing going on than we know about. Here is a tour de force using a famous bird by Weimerskirch et al. :

"Albatrosses fitted with loggers detecting and locating the presence of vessels and transmitting the information immediately to authorities allowed an estimation of the proportion of nondeclared fishing vessels operating in national and international waters of the Southern Ocean. We found that in international waters, more than one-third of vessels had no Automatic Identification System operating"

"at any time, AISs can be switched off, which is likely to be particular common by illegal fisheries ... in many oceanic sectors, nondeclared and illegal fisheries are negatively affecting ecosystems through overexploitation and by catch of nontarget species (11, 12). Among these species, bycatch of albatrosses and petrels is very high, and these are among the most threatened bird species, with hundreds of thousands killed by long- line fisheries every year (13)."

"Since all boats at sea use radar for safety and operational reasons, the ability to detect radar emissions from geolocating loggers provides accurate information on the location of boats. We have developed, with Sextant Technology, and tested between 2015 and 2017, a logger (XGPS) that provides the global positioning system (GPS) location of the fitted animal and simultaneously detects radar emissions (25)."

"Among the 353 detections of vessels, 71.8% had a corresponding AIS signal, but 28.2% had no AIS signal within 30 km. The situation differed between EEZs and international waters. In EEZs, 74.2% of radar events had a corresponding AIS signal within 30 km; i.e., 25.8% of boats detected in EEZ had no associated AIS identification. In international waters, this percentage increased to 36.9%"

"During the study period, no nondeclared fishing vessel was detected in the EEZs of Crozet and Kerguelen, two were detected in the EEZ around Amsterdam, and all detections in the EEZ around the Prince Edward Islands had no AIS. In addition, several vessels were detected with no AIS at the edges of the Kerguelen–Heard EEZ and of the Crozet and Prince Edward EEZ. For at least two cases, some boats had their AIS regularly switched off for long periods. In the EEZ around Crozet and Kerguelen, the fishery is strictly controlled today by authorities using mitigation measure to reduce seabird mortality to very low numbers (30, 31)"

"In the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) zone and in international waters, at least half of the radar detections over several hours, correspondingto typical vessels in fishing operation, had no AIS associated. Most detections occurred in subtropical waters, where large Asiatic fisheries operate targeting tuna (32). Typically, the fleets are located through clusters of vessels with AIS, but with irregular AIS transmissions and incomplete information on the identity of vessels. It is in these areas of tuna fisheries where AISs are often not transmitted that a significant number of radar detection occurred with no AIS (Fig. 5)."

" In our case, adult wandering albatrosses appear to be excellent sentinel species, since they are very attracted by fishing vessels and can detect them at 30-km distance."

doi: 10.1073/pnas.1915499117

Read and weep. I attach fig 5. And some extracts from a famous poem.

"At length did cross an Albatross,
Thorough the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's name."

"'God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!—
Why look'st thou so?'—With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross. "

"Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung."

sidd

sidd

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Re: Effects of Climate Change on the biosphere
« Reply #149 on: January 28, 2020, 09:36:25 AM »