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Study: More CO2 Now Than Past 650K Years
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Nov 24, 2005 09:28pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Los Angeles Times |
| News Date | Friday, November 25, 2005 03:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | 3:01 PM PST, November 24, 2005
Latimes.com : National Politics
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than at any point during the last 650,000 years, says a major new study that let scientists peer back in time at "greenhouse gases" that can help fuel global warming.
By analyzing tiny air bubbles preserved in Antarctic ice for millennia, a team of European researchers highlights how people are dramatically influencing the buildup of these gases.
The remarkable research promises to spur "dramatically improved understanding" of climate change, said geosciences specialist Edward Brook of Oregon State University.
The study, by the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, is published Friday in the journal Science.
Today, scientists directly measure levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which accumulate in the atmosphere as a result of fuel-burning and other processes. Those gases help trap solar heat, like the greenhouses for which they are named, resulting in a gradual warming of the planet.
Those measurements are disturbing: Levels of carbon dioxide have climbed from 280 parts per million two centuries ago to 380 ppm today. Earth's average temperature, meanwhile, increased about 1 degree Fahrenheit in recent decades, a relatively rapid rise. Many climate specialists warn that continued warming could have severe impacts, such as rising sea levels and changing rainfall patterns. |
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