[ExI] Phil Jones acknowledging that climate science isn'tsettled

[Alfio Puglisi]

2010/3/3 Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com>

> 2010/3/3 Alfio Puglisi <alfio.puglisi at gmail.com>
>
> In human history, no, because the current CO2 levels are unprecedented in
>> the last dozen million years or so.
>>
>
> Is this also true for temperature levels?
>

Not yet, the temperatures takes a much longer time to raise because of the
thermal capacity of the oceans. Current temperatures are still within
"normal" ranges for interglacial periods.


>
> One wonders, because Greenland seems far from having become green again...
>

Greenland is out of equilibrium and is slowly melting. Actually, Greenland
is a leftover of the last ice age and would not form at the present
temperature, even at pre-industrial levels as far as I know...  Anyway,
given its mass, It will take a much longer time than Arctic ice to melt.
Antarctic ice will take even longer.


>
> In more ancient times, the PETM event (
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleocene%E2%80%93Eocene_Thermal_Maximum )
>> might be a good example. It was a period of "sudden" global warming (6 °C
>> over 20,000 years) associated with major changes in marine and terrestrial
>> life.
>>
>
> The Wikipedia entry however suggests that such change led to an *increased*
> biological production "assisted by higher global temperatures and CO2levels, as well as an increased nutrient supply (which would result from
> higher continental weathering due to higher temperatures and rainfall;
> volcanics may have provided further nutrients)". :-/
>

Glorious times ahead! :-) One thing that I noticed is that at the PETM time,
the ice age/interglacial cycle hadn't started yet, while the current global
warming may have the possibility of breaking the cycle. Now, what would
happen in that case, if good or bad, I haven't the foggiest idea...

Alfio
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