. | . |
Study: Models underestimate amount of carbon absorbed by Earth's oceans by Brooks Hays Washington DC (UPI) Sep 04, 2020 Some parts of the ocean are absorbing carbon at the twice the rate predicted by current climate models, according to a new study published Friday in the journal Nature Communications. The movement of carbon between ocean and atmosphere is called carbon flux. New research suggests models designed to predict carbon flux have ignored the influence of small temperature differences between the ocean surface and a few feet below. "Those differences are important because carbon dioxide solubility depends very strongly on temperature," lead study author Andrew Watson said in a news release. For the past few decades, researchers have been collecting a massive database of near-surface carbon dioxide measurements across the planet's oceans, the so-called Surface Ocean Carbon Atlas. The measurements can be used to calculate carbon flux, but until now, scientists have been incorrectly ignoring surface and near-surface temperatures. "We used satellite data to correct for these temperature differences, and when we do that it makes a big difference -- we get a substantially larger flux going into the ocean," said Watson, a professor at the University of Exeter's Global Systems Institute. "The difference in ocean uptake we calculate amounts to about 10 percent of global fossil fuel emissions." When researchers accounted for surface and near-surface temperatures, they found their carbon flux predictions aligned more closely with the results of an independent method of calculating carbon uptake in Earth's oceans. "That method makes use of a global ocean survey by research ships over decades, to calculate how the inventory of carbon in the ocean has increased," said co-author Jamie Shutler, researcher at Exeter's Center for Geography. "These two 'big data' estimates of the ocean sink for CO2 now agree pretty well, which gives us added confidence in them." While carbon uptake by the planet's oceans can help slow the greenhouse gas effect, excess carbon has a variety of negative consequences for marine ecosystems. As CO2 levels in the ocean increase, ocean water becomes more acidic. Ocean acidification is a serious threat to species that built calcium carbonate skeletons and shells, including mollusks, sea urchins, starfish and corals. Recent studies suggest the problem is likely to get worse in the coming decades.
No limit yet for carbon nanotube fibers Houston TX (SPX) Aug 18, 2020 Carbon nanotube fibers made at Rice University are now stronger than Kevlar and are inching up on the conductivity of copper. The Rice lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali reported in Carbon it has developed its strongest and most conductive fibers yet, made of long carbon nanotubes through a wet spinning process. In the new study led by Rice graduate students Lauren Taylor and Oliver Dewey, the researchers noted that wet-spun carbon nanotube fibers, which could lead to ... read more
|
|
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. |