Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




CLIMATE SCIENCE
Differing patterns of climate change in the North and South
by Staff Writers
Seoul, Korea (SPX) Jun 25, 2014


Doctor Kyoung-nam Jo from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources is explaining his research details while watching the section of a stalagmite in the Baekryong Cave in Pyeongchang, Kangwon Province.

Korean research team revealed conflicting climate change patterns between the middle latitude areas of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in relation to glacial and interglacial cycles which have been puzzled for the past 60 years.

Doctor Kyoung-nam Jo from the Quaternary Geology Department of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources(KIGAM) revealed a clue for solving the riddle of past global climate change in his paper titled 'Mid-latitudinal interhemispheric hydrologic seesaw over the past 550,000 years' which was featured in the journal Nature.

This study collected samples from the stalagmites and flowstones in limestone caves which are called 'hard disks' containing the past climate change data and revealed how much they grew in which eras through isotope analysis and age dating, and traced the past climate changes by applying them to global climate change over 550,000 years.

For this study, Doctor Jo explored over 200 caves in Korea and collected 24 samples from stalagmites and flowstones in 15 limestone caves. As a result of analyzing the growth through U-series age dating, it was found that they grew well during interglacial eras when it was warm and moist, whereas their growth stagnated during glacial eras.

By comparing this data with existing external climate change data which were obtained from solar insolation, glaciers, and deep sea sediments, he found that the same climate change phenomena appeared in the same periods.

In particular, he and colleagues revealed the fact that climate changes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres showed opposite tendencies by analyzing the fact that stalagmites and flowstones in the temperate zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres had opposite growth periods.

This suggests for the first time that the so-called phenomenon of the interhemispheric hydrological seesaw that the precipitation changes in the tropical regions show opposing tendencies between Northern and Southern Hemispheres had been spread to the temperate region in which the Korean peninsula was located at least for the last 550,000 years.

Due to the interhemispheric hydrological seesaw, when it rains frequently in a region that belongs to the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), it accelerates the growth of plants and increases the temperature, whereas other areas exhibit cold dry weather. This theory has been applied only to the tropical region and had not been significance in global climate change.

However, if it is expanded to the temperate regions by the study of Doctor Jo, the seesaw phenomenon may be regarded as another key factor besides the insolation change which has been regarded as the most powerful factor in the glacial and interglacial cycles.

The findings of this study are attracting very keen interest from academic circles because they can be used to explain past climate change and predict future climate change. In particular, as the different climate change mechanisms by region were revealed, it is expected that a more accurate global climate change model could be created.

Doctor Jo said, "Geology research such as ancient climate research is usually regarded as something that is distant from our daily lives, but it is the only way to understand the effects of large-scale climate changes that actually happened in the past. In order to more accurately assess serious climate change events and the impacts that human beings will experience, it is essential to continuously discuss with domestic scholars as well as to participate in large-scale international joint research programs such as the IODP(International Ocean Discovery Program).

Doctor Kyoung-nam Jo is a specialist on the research of ancient climates using cave products. After graduating from the department of geology of Kangwon National University, he received master and doctorate degrees in the graduate school of the same university. Now he is conducting research in the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources.

.


Related Links
Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources(KIGAM)
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

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








CLIMATE SCIENCE
Report sees hefty cost of climate change on US economy
New York (AFP) June 24, 2014
The US faces huge economic costs from climate change, including massive property loss from sea-level rise and major declines in some crop yields, according to a bipartisan report released Tuesday. The report, titled "Risky Business" and backed by former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin and others, said the price of continued US policy foot-dragging on climate change will ... read more


CLIMATE SCIENCE
NASA LRO's Moon As Art Collection Is Revealed

Solar photons drive water off the moon

55-year old dark side of the moon mystery solved

New evidence supporting moon formation via collision of 2 planets

CLIMATE SCIENCE
NASA Invites Comment on Mars 2020 Environmental Impact Statement

Opportunity is exploring the west rim of Endeavour Crater

Discovery of Earth's Northernmost Perennial Spring

US Congress and Obama administration face obstacles in Mars 2030 project

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Elon Musk plans to take people to Mars within 10 years

Moon to see first tourists by 2017, single roundtrip ticket costs $150 mln

NASA Turns Down the Volume on Rocket Noise

Duo Tries on Spacesuits While Advanced Microgravity Science Continues

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Chinese lunar rover alive but weak

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover 'alive but struggling'

Chinese space team survives on worm diet for 105 days

Moon rover Yutu comes closer to public

CLIMATE SCIENCE
A Laser Message from Space

D-Day for the International Space Station

US expects to continue partnership with Russia on ISS after 2020

Station Crew Wraps Up Week With Medical Research

CLIMATE SCIENCE
SpaceX to launch six satellites all at once

Arianespace A World Leader In The Satellite Launch Market

Airbus Group and Safran To Join Forces in Launcher Activities

European satellite chief says industry faces challenges

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Mega-Earth in Draco Smashes Notions of Planetary Formation

Kepler space telescope ready to start new hunt for exoplanets

Astronomers Confounded By Massive Rocky World

Two planets orbit nearby ancient star

CLIMATE SCIENCE
A breakthrough in creating invisibility cloaks, stealth technology

Oracle adds Micros for $5.3 bn to boost cloud effort

Ghost writing the whip

NASA's Science Mission Directorate Cubesat Initiative




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - 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. 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. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.