Deep Future
Page 34
See also trees
fossil fuels, 6–7
burning of, to avert future ice ages, 27–28, 234–35
carbon isotope content of, 88–97
end of burning of, 10, 34, 230
reducing consumption of, 236
See also carbon emissions scenarios
fossilization, 59–60
French Foreign Legion, 186
Froese, Duane, 65
future, deep, climate prediction for, 9–12, 23–26
future generations, acting on behalf of, 27–28, 234–35
fynbos plants, 204–6, 205
gamma ray bursts, and extinction threat, 43
genes, mutation of, 95–96
Genesis, on Noah’s Flood, 118
GENIE climate model, 32
geoengineering schemes, 116–17
geohistorical studies, 49–85, 121
geologic time, division into epochs, 3–4
geoscientists, effect of carbon pollution on work of, 86–101
glacial deposits, 14–16, 15
glaciation
cycles of, 13–14, 51
epochs marked by, 7
glaciers, coastal outlet, icebergs formed from, 124, 167
glaciers, tropical mountain
vanishing of, 192–96
as water source, 192–96, 201, 207
glaciology, 124
global cooling
cycles of, 24
in the distant future, 29, 178–79
effect on coastal ecosystems, 136
prevented by CO2 increase, 28
and sea level fall, 135–36
trend of, since the Eocene, 68
global positioning systems (GPS),
geographic measurement by, 121
global warming
activists with regard to, 240–41
cycles of, 24
doubters and deniers of, 216–18
feedback loops in, 75
past examples of, 50, 52–66, 68–85, 93, 153
Gore, Al, 1, 143
GRACE satellites, 165
Grahl-Nielsen, Otto, 151
granite, 39
Great Chain of Being, 8
greenhouse effect
and Arctic Ocean ice melt, 141
living in a planet experiencing, 47–48, 209
mechanism of, 30
vs. seasonal solar heating, 51
super-greenhouse conditions, 67–85
See also global warming
greenhouse gases
and climate change, 8–9, 65–66, 71
reality of, 238
sources of, 30, 75
Greenland, 162–80
climate models, 123, 166, 171
and Denmark, 164, 171–72, 176, 179–80
greening of, future, 172–74
mineral wealth, 173–74
native hunters of, 163
Norse colonists, 162–63, 172
present inhabitants of, 164
temperatures, 164–65
territorial claims, 157, 159
Greenland ice sheet
buildup of, 135
contribution to sea-level change, 166
ice core sampling from, 50–51
melting and breakup of, 128, 164–71, 174–77, 177
predicted loss of, 11, 35, 42, 123
size, 122, 164–66
slide-off event, possible, 140
survival of, in warm conditions, 65, 169–71
groundwater, extraction of, 137
Gulf Coast, 137
Gulf Stream, 17–21
Hadley cells, 189, 196–97
Hadley Center, 19
Haff, Peter, 240
Hall-Spencer, Jason, 115
Hamilton, Gordon, 168
Hans Island, 157–58
Hansen, James, 129–30
harbor seals, 148
Hearty, Paul, 56
Heinrich, Bernd, quoted, 139
Helheim glacier, 167
Himalayas, snow and ice retreat, 207
hindcasting, 222
Hodell, David, 89–90
Holland, floods, middle ages, 133–34
Holocene epoch, 3, 7, 9, 188
warming in, 141–42
hominids, migration out of Africa, 63–64
Homo sapiens. See humans
Hood, Darden, 97, 99–100
Hudson Bay, 145, 148, 157
Hudson River, 225
humans
adaptation to climate change, 121, 157, 185–86
anatomically modern, 64
evolution of, 8, 64, 232
future of (or possible extinction), 42–45, 48
impact on the Earth, 4–12, 65–66, 232. See also Anthropocene epoch
position in the natural world, 8
responsibility to the Earth, 232–33, 241–42
survival into the deep future, 12
threats to existence of, 43–45
hurricanes, 137, 197
hydrogen fuel, 236
hydrogen ions, 103–4
ice
physical structure of, 167
sublimation of, 195
ice ages
devastation of, 14–17, 26–27
effect in tropical lands, 187–88
preventing or postponing future ones, 11, 13–14, 25–28, 234–35
recent, 22–23, 51, 121–22, 141
start of, on northern landmasses, 22–23, 68
ice core sampling, 8, 23, 50–51, 55–56
ice sheets
buildup of, 22, 68, 69, 135, 139–40
disappearance of, on a warm planet, 35, 65, 76, 134, 169–71, 223–24
See also East Antarctic ice sheet; Greenland ice sheet; Laurentide ice sheet; West Antarctic ice sheet
Iceberg Bay Formation, 79
icebergs, 167
Iceland, 157, 162, 163
icequakes, 167
Ijsselmeer harbor, 133
Impact Effects Program (online website), 44–45
An Inconvenient Truth (film), 143
Indonesia, 197, 199
industrial revolution, 6, 8
industrial waste, and extinction threat, 43
information technology, loss of data to obsolescence, 93–94
Inman, Mason, quoted, 29
insolation. See sunlight
interglacial periods, 14, 52–66
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), 20, 33, 39–42, 125, 129, 183–84
International Day of Climate Action, 233
intertidal mudflats, 136
intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), 189–90, 196–97
interventionists, humanitarian, 182–83
Inuit, 155, 157, 174
Inuvialuit Game Counci, 157
invasive species, 226, 231–32
irrigation, 191–96
Isle Royale National Park, 98–99
Jackson, Steve, 48
Jakobshavn ice stream, 167
Jefferson, Thomas, 218
jellyfish, 153
Katrina hurricane, 137
Kaufman, Darrell, 141
Kazantsevo (Eemian) interglacial, 54
Kennett, James, 72, 73
Kenya, 181, 188, 197, 198, 199
Kerr, Richard, 21
Klasies River, 64
Kleypas, Joan, 111
Kling, George, 46
Kolbert, Elizabeth, 117
Labrador, 170
Lake Barombi Mbo, 46
Lake Chad, 188
Lake Challa, 188
Lake Champlain, 178, 217–18
Lake Cheshi, 187
Lake Erie, 89
Lake George, 218
Lake Malawi, 91
Lake Naivasha, 188
Lake Nyos disaster, 45–47
Lake Placid, 212
Lake Tanganyika, 90–92, 187
Lake Turkana, 181–82
Lake Victoria, 91, 187, 188, 202
lakes
African, 187–88
/>
Arctic, 154
landmasses, ice accumulation on, 22–23
Laptev Sea, 158
Laurentide ice sheet, 142, 170
leaf-margin index, and CO2 concentration, 78
lemmings, 225
Lennon, John, 233
life
evolution of, 5–6
survival of, in tropical heat, 185–86
See also animals; plants
limestone, 36–38, 104
Little Ice Age, 163, 188
Livingstone, Dan, 46, 187
local climate, unpredictableness of, 208, 212–15, 222–23
Lomborg, Bjørn, 143
Lomonosov Ridge, 158–59
Loutre, Marie-France, 24–25
LOVECLIM climate model, 32
Luthcke, Scott, 165
malaria, 225
mammals
Cenozoic, 80–83
large African, survival of, 64
large Northern, exterminated in the Stone Age, 9, 59, 62–63
mammoths, 59, 62, 81
mangrove forests, 136
marine calcifiers (shellfish, etc.), 105–6
Marine Isotope Substage 5e, 54
marine life
deep-living, 108–10
defenses against acidification, 111–13
loss of species, from CO2 pollution, 10
migratory movements of, 150–51
Marra, Maureen, 61
Mars, climate of, 21
Martin, Mike, 211–13
Mauritania, 188
Mayewski, Paul, 22
McKibben, Bill, 1, 209–10, 213, 220, 238
McNulty, Stacy, 219
Mead, Margaret, quoted, 228
Meadows, Mike, 207
Medieval Warm Period, 162–63, 172
Mediterranean region, climate changes expected for, 207, 223, 226
Mediterranean Sea
ancient, 59, 188
breakthrough into Black Sea (8000 years ago), 126
studies of, 112, 115
meltwater
coastal glacial, 122
mountain glacial, 195–96, 207
meltwater lakes, Greenland, 165, 168
Melville, Herman, quoted, 102
meridional overturning circulation (MOC), 17–21
meteorologists, public’s distrust of, 200–201
methane
and greenhouse effect, 30
massive release from deposits, 73–74
methane concentration, 8–9
during ice ages, 51
methane ice (clathrates), 73–74
Middle Stone Age, 64
Milankovitch, Milutin, 23
Miocene epoch, 3
Mirror Lake, 217
Mississippi Delta, 137
mollusks, 77
Monash University, 237
monsoons, 60, 190, 197
Mount Coropuna, 193–95
Mount Kilimanjaro, 195–96
Mount Marcy, 208
Mount Moulton, 55–56
Muller, Ernest, 211
Murmansk, 157
Muscongus Bay, 124–25, 125
mussels, 224
mutations, 95–96
NASA, climate change mitigation advocacy at, 129
NASA Goddard Flight Center, 165
National Climate Data Center, 211, 213
National Science Foundation, 188
native settlements, Arctic, threatened by sea ice melt and coastal collapse, 156
natural world
end of, as distinct from humanity, 1, 8
humans’ position in, 8
naturalists, amateur, observations of, 218–20
Nature magazine, quoted, 203
Neanderthals, 63–64
New England Regional Assessment (NERA), 210
New Orleans, 137
New York City, climate changes expected for, 224
New York Harbor, 224–25
New York state
upstate, climate changes expected for, 208–22
weather records, 216
New Zealand, ancient, 62
Nile River, 188, 197
nitrogen, 88, 95, 237
nitrogen fertilizer, extent of use, 4
Noah’s Flood, 118, 126
Norsemen, 162–63, 172
North America
ancient, 60, 62, 239
climate changes expected for, 223
North Atlantic
deep coral reefs, 109–10
lava rifts in, during Cenozoic, 73
North Atlantic Oscillation, 25
north polar cap
ice-free future, 139, 142
life on and under, 143–53
recovery of, in future global cooling, 160–61
North Sea, 133
“Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment” (NECIA), 215, 222
Northeast U.S., climate models, 221–22
northern Europe, climate changes expected for, 223
Northern Hemisphere, ice ages in, 22–23
Northwest Passage, modern opening of, 142, 158
Northwest Territories, 146–47, 159
Norway, 163, 181
territorial claims, 158, 164
Nova Zemlya, 176
nuclear testing in the atmosphere, 98
Ny Fjord (of future Greenland), 176–79
Nyanza Project, 90
observers, naturalist, 218–20
ocean currents, 17–21
ocean sequestration of carbon, 117
oceans
acidification of, by CO2, 10, 34, 40, 72–73, 77, 102–17, 152
deep, temperature of, 76–77
food webs, 107–8, 114–16
recovery process, length of time required, 106
uptake of carbon dioxide by, 36, 103, 115
upwelling zones, 115–16
See also coasts; sea level
Oerlemans, Johannes, 141
Oligocene epoch, 3
Opdyke, Neil, 151
orcas, 150
O’Reilly, Catherine, 91–92
Overpeck, John, 127
oxygen, 237–38
primordial release into the atmosphere, 5–6
oxygen-18 dating, 69
oysters, 58, 77
ozone, 6
Pagani, Mark, 70–71
Pakistan, 197
Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) abrupt onset of, 83–84
as model of future global warming, 68–85, 93, 153
survival of species during, 84–85, 113–14
weather system of, 190
Paleocene epoch, 3, 68
paleoclimatology, 209
paleoecology, 2, 231
Panama Canal, 158
Patagonia, climate changes expected for, 223, 226
Paul Smith’s College, 208, 218
Penn State, 237
permafrost, 65, 156
Peru, 191–96, 201
Peruvian desert, 191–96
Pfeffer, Tad, 130, 135
pH (potentia hydrogenii), 104
phosphorus pollution, 89
photosynthesis, 5–6, 54, 78
alternative energy from, 236–37
oxygen from, 237–38
phytoplankton, 152
plankton, 106–7
plants
alien, invasive, 231
Cenozoic, 78–80
leaves of, stomatal index data indicating CO2 concentration, 54
low nutritional value of, from excess CO2, 81–82
material of, extracted from carbon dioxide, 6
selective uptake of carbon-12, 88
See also trees
Pleistocene epoch, 3, 7
Pliocene epoch, 3
Pokiak, Frank, 157
polar bears, 142–49
current population of, 147–48
drowning-at-sea photographs, 143
evolution of, 146
grim future of, 147–49, 176
polar-grizz hybrids, 146–47
walking
on sea ice, 144
polar ice caps
melting of, popular fear, 139
See also north polar cap; South Pole
polar regions of oceans
acidification in, 106–9
downwelling zones, 108–9
population displacement, 125, 131–35
precipitation
climate change and, 224
predicting, 222
tropical, 196–99
pro-native gardeners, 231
produce, radiocarbon-free, 96
protozoans, 6
pteropods, 107
Quebec, 170
Queensland, 199
Rademaker, Kurt, 193, 194
radioactivity, 88, 94–96 in human bodies, 94–96
radiocarbon dating, 93–101
Ragnarøk (Norse end-of-the-world myth), 163
rain
acid, 37
predicting, 222
tropical, 196–99
Ramaswamy, Venkatachalam, 184
rebounding, of bedrock, 131, 169, 177–79
reflectivity of snow and ice, 140
regional assessments (climate), 209
Ridley, Jeff, 174–75
Rift Valley fever, 198
ringed seals, 144–47, 149, 176
Rio Santa, 191
Ross Sea, 107
Rottnest Island, 57
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), 184
Royal Society (2005 paper), 106–11, 116
Ruddiman, Bill, 8–9
Rundgren, Mats, 54
Russia
Arctic Ocean fishing, 152
fossil fuel resources, 160
territorial claims, 158–59
Rutgers University, 237
Saga Rauda (Eirik’s saga), 162
Sahara, 190
ancient, 188
Saint Lawrence River, 178
Saint Regis Mountain, N.Y., 14–15
salt marshes, 135–36
Sandweiss, Dan, 191–93
Sangamon (Eemian) interglacial, 54
Santa Claus, home of, 176
satellite systems, geographic measurement by, 120–21
“Save the Carbon” slogan, 235
Schelske, Claire, 89–90
Schiermeier, Quirin, 157, 223
Schmittner, Andreas, 41
Schmitz, Matt, 195
scientists
climate activists among, aggressive stance of, 240–41
popular distrust of, 230, 241
skeptical mindset of, 130, 216
sea ice, thickening of, 139
sea level
23 foot rise (moderate scenario), 40–42
230 foot rise (extreme scenario), 34–35, 123
Britain’s brass sea-level benchmark, 119–20
defining and measuring, 118–21
duration of rise, 134–35
fall of, from global cooling, 121–22, 135–36
during interglacials, 56–59
during last ice age (400 feet below present), 121–22