Effects Global Warming Earth:
Is It Too Late For Humanity?

Every week, the effects global warming Earth race ahead of official IPCC predictions. How soon will climate crash?

The Climate Clock is ticking away relentlessly.

The whole phenomenon has really caught science by surprise... Until ice cores drilled in 2000 finally showed beyond doubt that climate can change abruptly, most scientists thought it would take at least a few centuries to melt ice caps, raise sea levels and radically change the climate system. effects global warming Earth

So, with all the dramatic climate developments making it into the news every week lately you might be wondering how much time we have left or, is it already too late to do anything to avoid catastrophic climate change?...

effects global warming Earth

Past Effects Global Warming Earth

Well, I hate to be the harbinger of doom but consider this: the last time that the atmosphere contained close to as much CO2 (carbon dioxide) as it does today, the world was 4.5-5.5 F (2.5-3 C) hotter overall, and sea level was 82 to 115 feet (25 to 35 meters) higher!

That was during the Middle Pliocene, about 3 million years ago. The only reason we aren't seeing that yet is that it takes a while for the extra heat of global warming to be taken up by the oceans.

But it's a sobering thought that in a single decade temperatures can jump by 8 C and sea level can rise by meters sea level can rise by meters as we now know actually happened at the end of the Younger Dryas period some 11,600 years ago.

And because the CO2 that’s up there already will be sticking around for about 100 years, even if we stopped burning fossil fuels and clearing forests today, we will be seeing escalating climate changes for years to come.

So, what should we do? Before we look at that, here’s a few more sobering facts on current effects global warming Earth.

Effects Global Warming Earth - Climate Tipping Point

Ice core evidence from 2000 proved that relatively small upsets could dramatically destabilize the climate system. However it was not until 2005 that the phrase ‘tipping point’ appeared in publications on climate, implying that it could change not only rapidly, but irreversibly..

Science now knows that it only takes a tiny push - whether it be natural climate change from volcanic activity or small changes in the Earth’s orbit, or human burning of fossil fuels - to set in motion a domino-effect of cascading feedbacks and amplifiers that multiply the effect on climate.

Effects Global Warming Earth – Amplifiers and Feedbacks Happening Now

These feedbacks amplify climate change, contributing to the warming that triggered them, and so dramatically accelerating global warming further. As such, they can tip the climate system into a new state very rapidly once a tipping point or threshold is breached.

• Albedo Effects Global Warming Earth of Melting Ice

Where global warming has caused a little of the ice on the planet to melt, this has set in motion further melting via the albedo effect.

Basically, ice is white so reflects most sunlight that falls on it back into outer space. When ice melts it exposes either soil or ocean to sunlight.

Since both are much darker colored than ice, they tend to absorb rather than reflect sunlight. This lead to further warming, which causes further melting, exposing more dark surfaces and so it spirals on.

Because of the Albedo Effect, the polar regions are the fastest warming parts of the planet. effects global warming Earth

The video below is a stunning animation from WWF International Polar Programme, showing the progressive melting of Artic sea ice since 1979.

The white is older ice - five years or more old - and the blues are progressively younger ice, with the shade closest to the ocean being fresh, or one year old, ice. The red dots are tracking buoys, showing how the ice is shifting further and faster as it melts.

• Effects Global Warming Earth - Thawing tundra

There is an estimated 400 billion tons of methane trapped in permafrost ice in the melting Arctic tundra. That’s enough methane – a greenhouse gas 22 times more potent than CO2 –to double global warming if it is released due to thawing.

And, thanks to the greater global warming that is taking place at the planet’s poles, much of this tundra has already begun to give up its methane.

A vast expanse of western Sibera is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that could dramatically increase the rate of global warming.

In 2005 researchers (Sergei Kirpotin at Tomsk State University in western Siberia and Judith Marquand at Oxford University) found that an area of permafrost spanning a million square kilometres - the size of France and Germany combined - had started to melt for the first time since it formed 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

This video provides a graphic portrayal of this phenomena.

Melting of Ocean Floor Methane Clathrates

On ocean floors are an estimated 10,000 billion tons more methane. This methane is trapped in ice structures called clathrates that have been lying dormant for eons. If released this amount of methane would cause the equivalent of 50 times the global warming done by man.

The rapidly warming Artic seas are particularly rich in them. If current climate feedbacks and amplifiers triggered the thawing of these clathrates, the effect on climate would be catastrophic and rapid.

Eventually a temperature increase of merely a few degrees will cause these gases to volatilize and "burp" into the atmosphere, which would further raise temperatures, releasing yet more methane, heating the Earth and seas further, and so on.

Release of the 400 gigatons of methane locked in the frozen arctic tundra is enough to start this chain reaction. This itself could take a few decades. It could also take a long time for surface temperature changes to penetrate to the ocean floor where the clathrates are.

However, once triggered, this cycle could result in runaway global warming the likes of which even the most pessimistic doomsayers aren't talking about.

Similar Methane Effects Global Warming Earth Have Happened Before...

Strong geologic evidence suggests something similar has happened at least three times before in the Earth’s history.

The most recent of these catastrophes occurred about 55 million years ago in what geologists call the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), when methane burps caused rapid warming and massive die-offs, disrupting the climate for more than 100,000 years.

The granddaddy of these catastrophes occurred 251 million years ago, at the end of the Permian period, when a series of methane burps came close to wiping out all life on Earth.

More than 94 percent of the marine species present in the fossil record disappeared suddenly as oxygen levels plummeted and life teetered on the verge of extinction.

Over the ensuing 500,000 years, a few species struggled to gain a foothold in the hostile environment.

It took 20 million to 30 million years for even rudimentary coral reefs to re-establish themselves and for forests to regrow. In some areas, it took more than 100 million years for ecosystems to reach their former healthy diversity.

A similar large methane release triggered abrupt climate change 635 millions years ago.

Effects Global Warming Earth – What To Expect

The abrupt changes of the planet’s past may seem minor in comparison to what our stronger human climate forcings seem doomed to trigger.

Unfortunately we missed the opportunity to avert this crisis with minor tweeks to our lightbulbs, lifestyle and behavior.

The evidence shows we have already passed the tipping point, and this late in the day should be seriously preparing for the shocks ahead, because time is running out.

A report by the U.S. National Research Council first suggested in 2002 that abrupt and potentially catastrophic climate changes are not only possible but likely in the future.

• When Will Sea level Rise and By How Much?

While there has been extensive melting of ice shelves floating in Arctic and Antarctic seas and coastal fringes, these do not contribute to sea level rise.

Only the melting of on-land ice i.e. glaciers, and thermal expansion of a warming ocean does that.

But most of the glacial ice in the world is in Greenland and Antarctica - the fastest warming regions of the planet.

If all the glacial ice in Greenland melted the projected sea level rise global would be about 6 meters (18 feet). And Antarctica has 10 times as much ice as Greenland.

There is quite a long lag time between warming global temperatures, glacial melting and warming of our oceans, so it could take quite a while for sea level to reach its full extent due to climate change.

However, both regions are losing mass much faster than anyone expected.

In Antarctica, for example, ice loss in 2007 was 75 percent higher than in 2006!

Complete collapse of the ice shelf known as Larsen B on the Antarctic peninsular only took a stunning 33 days. More recently in March 2008 the nearby Wilkins Ice Sheet disintegrated just as dramatically.

This video explains the implications and how ice shelf collapse could be a trigger to sea level rise:

Their loss removes a critical brake and barrier to glacial movement so that now we are seeing greatly accelerated surging of glaciers toward the sea in both Greenland and Antarctica.

Melting on the glaciers’ surface also trickles down beneath them to further lubricate their increased dash to the ocean, as this video of Greenland research has found:

And there is another wild card in the pack – the instability of the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS).

The Precarious West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Scientists such as Michael Oppenheimer posit that the WAIS is becoming so unstable that the whole sheet could suddenly slide, en masse, into the sea.

It’s recent melting has been profound, as this video shows.

Volcanic and seismic activity under the WAIS have increased dramatically in recent years (see below) and could exacerbate the effects of global warming Earth to further destabilize it.

What about sea level effects global warming Earth – how high might they get, and how soon?

Because of their proven tendency to be woefully understated, I tend to take official latest predictions on sea level rise with a grain of salt.

If you want to bet your welfare on sea levels only rising by a half inch a decade go right ahead!

Further, climate change triggered seismic activity (see below) is sure to increase the frequency of tsunamis - so low lying coastal areas are at risk anyway.

Back to sea level....

Sea level rise from collapse of the entire WAIS ice shelf would be a sudden 6 meters. If all of Greenland's ice melted the impact would also be about a 6 meter sea level rise, but it would happen gradually.

No one really knows how quickly or even if scenarios such as these will play out...

But could they even be conservative?

Atmospheric carbon levels today are approaching what they were during the high levels of the middle Pliocene period 3 million years ago.

Once global temperatures and sea level rise to adjust to this high concentration of greenhouse gases, the coastlines of the world could be transformed.

If sea levels returned to middle Pliocene values, it is estimated the sea level trend for future would rise to between 35 to 60 meters higher than now.

While this may take decades or even centuries to eventuate (no-one really knows) it would inundate many major world cities and areas supporting key food production and dense populations.

Would you like to see maps showing sea level rise for this scenario?

You can download a free copy of “Projected World Sea Level Map: Where Our Coastlines Might Be In a Warmer World” by subscribing here.

• Effects Global Warming Earth - Seismic Activity

The Earth is experiencing a rising incidence of volcanic and other seismic activity. A mapped list of recent earthquakes is available here. Could this be one of the effects global warming Earth?

At first glance, there doesn’t seem like there could be any connection between global warming and seismic activity. After all, why would the Earth become less stable just because it’s a little warmer?

Well, when you consider how earthquakes happen, it becomes obvious how they are connected.

Earthquakes are caused by movements of the earth’s crust, which is a lot more sensitive than you might think. There are well documented cases of even the load of water in a new dam triggering earthquakes in the local area.

A number of geologists say glacial melting, in particular, will unleash pent-up pressures in the Earth's crust, causing extreme geological events such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

Consider this: a cubic meter of ice weighs nearly a ton and some glaciers are kilometers thick.

This prodigious weight acts to suppress tectonic movements in the underlying crust, and plug cracks where volcanic magma might otherwise escape to the surface. When the weight is removed through melting, the suppressed strains and stresses of the underlying rock are free to come to life.

As reported in 2006, Harvard seismologist Göran Ekström found a striking increase in the frequency of glacial quakes, particularly in Greenland, but also in Alaska and Antarctica.

Greenland Effects Global Warming Earth

Greenland quakes have risen from 6 to 15 a year between 1993 and 2002, to 30 in 2003, 23 in 2004 and 32 in the first 10 months of 2005, closely matching the rise in Greenland's temperatures over the same period.

Their source was traced to surges and slips within ice sheets, where rapid melting is causing water to collect under glaciers, making them glide faster into the sea, triggering quakes.

Similarly, retreating glaciers in southern Alaska are likely to open the way for future Alaska earthquakes to emerge as one of the effects global warming Earth.

Seismic activity in Alaska has a history of extremism – in 1962 the largest geological uplift (14.4 m) was in Alaska, and in 1958 the highest tsunami (200m) ever seen occurred in its Latoya Bay.

Antarctic Effects Global Warming Earth

And in Antarctica already, as the ice melts, we are seeing evidence of new volcanic activity.

A new, previously unknown volcano has appeared on the sea bottom in waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, in an area with no previous record of volcanic activity.

Investigations into a large area of surface slumping on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet revealed a huge accumulation of water underneath that has now been shown to be due to an active volcano erupting under the sheet.

Global Seismic Effects Global Warming Earth

Glacial melting has a less direct but just as unsettling additional impact on global seismic activity.

The reliquified water released raises sea levels and increases the weight on the ocean floor, unbalancing tectonic forces deep below the surface.

Underwater quakes and therefore tsunamis could thus become more frequent.

Dramatic climate shifts of the past have also been associated with spectacular seismic activity.

During the late glacial and early Holocene periods when climate was see-sawing from one extreme to another in the interval known as the Younger Dryas, submarine landslips were widespread.

For example, 8,200 years ago an enormous slip in the Norwegian Sea involving over 3000 cubic kilometers of material set off a massive tsunami more than 20 meters high.

At about the same time mega-earthquakes ruptured the crust and lifted Scandinavia’s mountain backbone by 5 to 15 meters.

In accord with scientific predictions it is entirely possible that, as redistribution of the Earth’s mass - induced by global warming - disturbs the relative equilibrium of its crust, monumental forces in the form of increasing earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity will be unleashed.

And the forecasts from some quarters are dramatic - – not only will the earth shake, it will spit fire.

• Effects Global Warming Earth - Shutdown of the Ocean Conveyor Current

Melting in the Arctic is threatening to shut down the pumping action of ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, affecting climate around the world. Paleoclimatic history has shown that this has happened repeatedly in the past and can occur suddenly.

Most recently, 1300 to 1850, it slowed significantly, heralding a 550 year cool period known as The Little Ice Age: No one is sure what caused it. Perhaps volcanic activity, perhaps changes to the output of radiation from the sun.

Whatever the cause, the Little Ice Age plunged Europe into sudden and highly disruptive climatic shifts with severe winters, and profound agricultural, economic, and political impacts.

From the mid 1300s, the weakened population succumbed to severe outbreaks of epidemics across Europe, the Middle East and large portions of Asia, including the Black Death which killed over 75 million people.

About 8,200 years ago, the ocean conveyor collapsed, this time for 100 years. Europe experienced severe winters, with lower agricultural production, frozen rivers and glacier advance. The climate of Europe became more like Siberia’s with cold, dry conditions and strong winds.

It would have had a profound effect on humanity and may have stimulated the initiation of agriculture and urban civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Europe.

Around 12,700 years ago, with the onset of a period known as the Younger Dryas, it shut down again. Temperatures abruptly plummeted by more than 15 C (27˚ F) in the North Atlantic. The severe cold snap progressed in 10 yr drops of 3 C (5˚ F), and brought very cold, dry weather that persisted for 1,300 years.

If the conveyor collapsed again today, and it could, at any time, it would cause severe shortages of food and water for a large sector of the world’s population.

• Effects Global Warming Earth - Famine

Global warming is disrupting seasonal climate patterns which are in turn leading to crop failures in many important agricultural regions of the world.

This, coupled with the effects of peak oil are already causing increased food prices and outright food shortages in dozens of countries around the world.

• Effects Global Warming Earth - Disease

As occurred during the “Little Ice Age” (see “Shutdown of the Ocean Conveyor Current” above) climate change and plague go hand in hand. As the climate changes, many disease causing agents are able to extend their range into newly warmer regions e.g. malaria. At the same time, the health of existing biological systems is weakened, allowing diseases to proliferate.

Concurrently, antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria are becoming more prevalent. In recent times we have seen the emergence of new pandemics such as HIV, Bird Flu and Ebola that are but a mutation away from being able to rage through the world’s population.

The real question is what do the effects global warming Earth mean for our future?

Runaway climate change and simultaneous tightening of global oil supplies, confront humanity with undoubtedly the biggest challenge of our history. We seriously need to rethink the way we live our lives if we want to have any future at all.

With tightening water resources and widespread failure of food crops we will be forced to rethink the way we use… and waste… many essential resources that we have, until now, taken for granted.

Most of us will need to make some big adjustments to the way we live to cope with all this.

My advice?

* Head for the hills!

* Learn how to grow your own food organically.

* Develop relationships with other conscious folks in your district.

We've already headed for the hills. Now we're learning to live more with less, and developing local self-sufficiency through our node of the Post Carbon Institute's relocalize network.

As a result, my greenhouse emissions will be slashed!

Ironic, isn't it?effects global warming Earth effects global warming Earth

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