. 24/7 Space News .
WATER WORLD
Small ponds have outsized impact on global warming: study
By Marlowe HOOD
Paris (AFP) Feb 20, 2017


Tiny natural ponds pose an overlooked danger for speeding up global warming, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

In experiments designed to simulate moderate future warming, scientists in Britain found that such ponds -- a metre (three feet) across -- gradually lose the capacity to soak up one kind of greenhouse gas and give off even more of another.

After seven years at higher-than-ambient temperatures, "the ability of the ponds to absorb carbon dioxide was reduced by almost half, while methane release nearly doubled," said lead-author Gabriel Yvon-Durocher, a professor at the University of Exeter.

"Both those trends became amplified over time," he told AFP.

With soil, by contrast, warming initially stimulates CO2 output but then causes it to taper off.

The new findings matter because small ponds play an outsized role in the planet's carbon cycle -- the balance between input and output of greenhouse gases.

While covering only a tiny fraction of Earth's surface area, they are responsible for about 40 percent of methane emissions from inland waters, earlier research has shown.

- Amplification effect -

Methane is about 28 times more effective in trapping the sun's radiation in our atmosphere than carbon dioxide, the dominant greenhouse gas.

"Our findings show that warming can fundamentally alter the carbon balance of small ponds over a number years," Yvon-Durocher said.

"This could ultimately accelerate climate change."

Scientists working on the next major UN scientific report on climate change -- scheduled for 2020 -- should take note, he added.

"Up to now, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models do not take into account the amplification effects of warming on these aquatic ecosystems."

The main source of man-made carbon pollution is the burning of fossil fuels, accounting for more than 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The rest comes from deforestation, the livestock industry, and agriculture.

In the experiments, scientists warmed artificial ponds four degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit), corresponding to the projected increase in global average temperatures by 2100 in temperate zones under a "moderate" climate change scenario.

In the Paris Agreement climate treaty, the world's nations have vowed to hold global warming to under 2 C (3.6 F), a goal that some scientists say may be out of reach.


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WATER WORLD
Cash-strapped Rio de Janeiro to privatize water utility
Rio De Janeiro (AFP) Feb 20, 2017
Legislators for financially strapped Rio de Janeiro state voted Monday to approve privatization of the public water utility despite a strike by workers and threats of protests. The state assembly passed the authorization to put the water and sewage company, known as Cedae, up for sale by 41 to 28 votes. For Rio, which six months after hosting the Olympics is unable even to pay public sal ... read more


WATER WORLD
Endurance athletes: Swig mouthwash for improved performance

NASA to develop oxygen recovery technologies for future deep space missions

Russia's first private space tourism craft flight test set for 2020

Looking to the future: Russia, US mull post-ISS cooperation in space

WATER WORLD
SpaceX aborts launch after 'odd' rocket engine behavior

Airbus Safran Launchers: 77th consecutive successful launch for Ariane 5

India puts record 104 satellites into orbit

Airbus Safran Launchers: 77th consecutive successful launch for Ariane 5

WATER WORLD
Scientists say Mars valley was flooded with water not long ago

Opportunity passes 44 kilometers of surface travel after 13 years

Scientists shortlist three landing sites for Mars 2020

ISRO saves its Mars mission spacecraft from eclipse

WATER WORLD
Chinese cargo spacecraft set for liftoff in April

China looks to Mars, Jupiter exploration

China's first cargo spacecraft to leave factory

China launches commercial rocket mission Kuaizhou-1A

WATER WORLD
Italy, Russia working closely on Mars exploration, Earth monitoring satellites

NASA seeks partnerships with US companies to advance commercial space technologies

A New Space Paradigm

Why it's time for Australia to launch its own space agency

WATER WORLD
Penn engineers overcome a hurdle in growing a revolutionary optical metamaterial

Scientists look to tick 'cement' as potential medical adhesive

Researchers engineer thubber a stretchable rubber that packs a thermal conductive punch

Breakthrough with a chain of gold atoms

WATER WORLD
60,000-year-old microbes found in Mexican mine: NASA scientist

Possibility of Silicon-Based Life Grows

The heart of a far-off star beats for its planet

Astronomy team finds more than 100 exoplanet candidates

WATER WORLD
NASA receives science report on Europa lander concept

New Horizons Refines Course for Next Flyby

It's Never 'Groundhog Day' at Jupiter

Public to Choose Jupiter Picture Sites for NASA Juno









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.