Originally posted by beet1e
- Man made carbon emissions greatly exacerbate the problem.
- I don't honestly know the ratio of responsibility between natural cycle and man made carbon emission, but...
- studies of arctic ice have determined that it contains more CO2 than at any time in the last 650,000 years.
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I dunno beet. Your posts entertain me, but sometimes I think you've read too much junk science... or selectively read it. Did you get your information from the UN World Meteorological Organization's recent report? We're 35% higher right? Well, not exactly. The report says we're at 377ppm, no arguing that. However, their baseline for the comparison can be interpreted however they see fit. 19th Century direct measurements (1810 & up) of atmospheric co2 ranged from 250ppm to 550ppm. Instead, current scientists use ice cores, which are less accurate than direct measurement, ranging from 160ppm to 700ppm, topping out at 2,450ppm. Since the higher estimates are politically incorrect, they haven't been mentioned in scientific literature since the mid-1980s. Ironically, this is about when the global warming crisis took root.
The rationale for ignoring the higher readings? Oh, they've been contaminated... but keep reading and you're realise this destroys the validity of all their ice core based measurements.
In order for ice core data to be considered reliable, the ice matrix must be a closed system – that is, once air is trapped in ice it should remain unchanged. A glacier however is an open system. Liquid water is present even in the coldest Antarctic ice (-73 degrees Centigrade). The composition of the air in the ice continues to change. The chemical processes don't just stop. Simply drilling down causes cracks in the ice, which deplete more gasses as various pressures, leading to a net loss of CO2 in the ice cores.
That is in exact opposition to the assertion that the higher readings are contaminated. In fact, it is more likely that the lower readings are contaminated instead.
My source is Dr. Zbigniew Jaworowski. He's been studying glaciers for the last 40 years, and gave testimony to the US Senate 2 years ago about this exact topic.
