accelerated

Beware of the blob

June 20, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

For the past 10 years, there have been several occurrences of a vast expanse of ocean stretching from Alaska to California in which water temperatures are as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal. Known jocularly as “the Blob,” the phenomenon can last for several years and decimates fish stocks, starves seabirds, creates blooms of toxic algae, prevents salmon from returning to rivers, and displaces sea lions and whales.

Until recently, there was no accepted explanation for this abrupt ocean heating. Climate change, even combined with natural cycles like El Niños, is not enough to account for it.

In depth analysis by an international team of researchers has found that the extraordinary heating is the result of a dramatic cleanup of Chinese air pollution. The decline of smog particles, which to some extent shield the planet from the sun’s rays, has accelerated warming and set off a chain of atmospheric events across the Pacific, essentially cooking the ocean.

This is an example of what can be called the pollution paradox in which global warming is actually increased when air pollution is reduced. Reduced air pollution on the US West Coast has even been identified as a factor contributing to increased wildfires. However, air pollution causes more than 4 million premature deaths from cancers and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases each year.

Nobody thinks that we should stop cleaning up the air to slow down global warming. The only viable solution is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible.

**********

Web Links

Pollution Paradox: How Cleaning Up Smog Drives Ocean Warming

Photo, posted December 18, 2017, courtesy of SGUP via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Hudson River Tidal Marshes And Sea Level Rise | Earth Wise

January 29, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study at the University of Massachusetts Amherst looked at the resilience of Hudson River Estuary marshes to rising sea levels. They observed that these marshes are growing upward at a rate two or three times faster than sea level rise, suggesting that they should be resilient to accelerated sea level rise in the future.

The study documented the fact that more than half of Hudson River tidal marshes actually formed since 1850. In that year, the river channel was straightened, and a riverside railroad, berms, jetties and human-made islands of dredged soil were built. All of these human-made features trapped sediment and created backwaters that often turned into marshes.

The research centered on seven sites spanning more than 100 miles of the Hudson Estuary from Wall Street up to Albany. Although these marshes were an unintended result of early industrial development, they serve to protect the shoreline and provide rich ecosystems in terms of direct ecological and human benefits. Marshes are a first line of defense against coastal flooding, provide an essential habitat for juvenile commercial fish species, store huge amounts of carbon that mitigates climate change, provide habitat for migratory birds, and filter nutrients coming off the land.

The study determined that such marches form relatively quickly. When sediment is readily available, freshwater tidal wetlands can develop rapidly in sheltered settings. There is concern that marshes globally will be drowned by rising sea levels, but this Hudson River case study shows how marshes may be able to resist the rising seas. The research will help guide future land acquisition and land conservation strategies for areas adjacent to the river.

**********

Web Links

New Study Finds More than Half of Hudson River Tidal Marshes were Created Accidentally by Humans; Resilient Against Sea Level Rise

Photo, posted December 4, 2008, courtesy of Daina Dajevskis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Increasing Antarctic Ice Loss

July 31, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Antarctica’s ice sheets contain enough frozen water to raise sea levels globally about 190 feet. Ice in the Antarctic is melting at a record-breaking rate and subsequent sea rises could have catastrophic consequences around the world. So, it is no surprise that scientists have been closely tracking ice loss in recent decades to understand both the current and future impacts of climate change.