Science points to a new global warming source: the sea

Agence France-Presse

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Oceans that grow more acidic through Man's fossil fuel burning emissions, can amplify global warming by releasing less of a gas that helps shield Earth from radiation

ICY NORTH. An aerial view of the research ship 'Polarstern' (North Star) sailing on the Artic Ocean at the North Pole, October 6, 2011. Photo by EPA/Stefan Hendriks / Alred Wegener Institute handout

PARIS, France – Oceans that grow more acidic through Man’s fossil fuel burning emissions, can amplify global warming by releasing less of a gas that helps shield Earth from radiation, a study said Sunday, August 25.

And the authors warned the potentially vast effect they uncovered is not currently factored into climate change projections.

Scientists say that Man’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions contribute to planetary warming by letting the Sun’s heat through the atmosphere but trapping heat energy reflected back from Earth, so creating a greenhouse effect.

They also lower the pH balance of the world’s oceans, making them more acidic, and hamper production of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a sulphur compound, by plankton, said the study.

DMS released into the atmosphere helps reflect incoming radiation from the Sun, reducing surface temperatures on Earth.

Using climate simulations, the team said an 18% decline in DMS emissions by 2100 could contribute as much as 0.48°C (0.9°F) to the global temperature.

“To our knowledge, we are the first to highlight the potential climate impact due to changes in the global sulphur cycle triggered by ocean acidification,” the authors wrote.

“Our result emphasizes that this potential climate impact mechanism of ocean acidification should be considered in projections of future climate change.”

They warned that ocean acidification may also have other, yet unseen, impacts on marine biology that may provoke further declines in DMS emissions. – Rappler.com

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