Before climate science became ‘settled science’, there were various theories suggesting that because the amount of carbon dissolved in the Earth’s oceans exceeds that in the atmosphere by about a factor of 60, the atmospheric CO₂ content must be dictated by the chemical state of the oceans. We don’t hear so much any more about the massive storage of carbon in sedimentary rocks like limestone, and the role of oceans in facilitating carbonate formation via marine organisms. In fact, who would be such a heretic as so to suggest Earth has a low atmospheric C02 content because of all the hoarding in the oceans over the millennia. I am hoping to make this a topic for a future zoom webinar.
In the meantime, in just over 24 hours, the focus will be less on ocean storage and more about ocean degassing of C02. This discussion will be with Bud Bromley who actually lives in Hawaii, which is where atmospheric levels of C02 are measured and reported as the definitive global trend.
This is your last chance to register for this my fourth Zoom meeting/webinar in the new series Towards a New Theory of Climate Resilience, also variously titled How Climate Works. I am very grateful to the 62 individuals who have already registered. It is not too late if you want to be a part of this event that is at 2pm on Friday Brisbane time that is 6pm the day before/Thursday evening in Hawaii.
Click this link to register:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QrVa8XEzSPS_GvUWnXkX0Q
After that I am planning to pivot, at least briefly, to consider the actual framing of this concept of a New Theory of Climate Resilience. I am planning three sessions that will be more philosophical for Saturday 24th May, across three time zones. I will have links to register for all, or at least one of these webinars, in the next week or two.
I am grateful for the many conversations that I have had by email, and phone, since I first proposed a New Theory of Climate Resilience. I am particularly grateful for the thoughtful commentary from Christopher Game in which he has continued to caution about the use of language with a particular distain for the word ‘equilibrium’ as a ‘seductive lure to muddled thinking’ and a suggestion that we use the mathematics of dynamical systems theory including because it gives time scales for various processes and mechanisms. More recently in a blog thread Christopher has written, and I agree, that:
There are at least two ways of trying to describe such complex phenomena as the earth’s energy transport process. One way might be described as ‘curve fitting to past data’. Another way might be described as ‘modeling the dynamics of the process’. It seems that the present discussion is about modeling the dynamics of the process.
Given the importance of process and language, I suggest we even begin compiling a new dictionary of climate science, as opposed to climate-craft*. For sure there must also be some agreement in terms of what is meant by particular words and also time frames.
At some point it might also be useful to consider the concept of entropy versus balance, and even the relevance of these concepts, or not, to the Great Barrier Reef as the largest coral reef system to have ever existed on planet Earth and one, that I dare say is hoarding carbon.
All of this is perhaps more relevant for my planned fifth Zoom Webinar that will be on Saturday 24th May. For sure to get a notification do subscribe for my Tuesday e-news, link here: https://jennifermarohasy.com/subscribe/
In the meantime, to be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, don’t miss my discussion with Bud Bromley about ocean degassing of C02 that will be this Friday afternoon Brisbane time, and Thursday evening in Hawaii which is where Bud lives.
* Climate-craft is defined in a fun book, entitled ‘The Devil’s Dictionary of Climate Change: Wicked words to impress your friends and upset your enemies’ that you can still buy on Amazons and other places. Paperback – 19 June 2018 by Mr George Lexicon. And it includes a note on the backcover:
Of all the threats and dangers in our age of false facts, the most concerning is surely CLIMATE-CRAFT. Devised and driven by global warming and climate alarmists, this new black art has deceived many credulous minds and academies. It now has followers everywhere, from the highest office of the Vatican to the lowest carbon cowboy. CLIMATE-CRAFT is corrupting the language and integrity of enquiry that gave us real knowledge of the world for centuries. It is a master of obfuscation on a grand scale. It promulgates pernicious beliefs and apocalyptic prophecies. Yet the self-styled merchants of doom promoting it do not have infallible insight into the forces that control the Earth’s thermostat, weather or climate. Don’t be duped by the CLIMATE-CRAFT movement. Discover its shocking secrets, stratagems and much more in this sensational new dictionary.
And for anyone wondering about the relevance of the photograph at the very top of this note, well I like to mix things up and I might also be asking Bud how many sharks he has seen underwater. Bud Bromley is not only a chemist, interested in ocean chemistry, but he is also a keen scuba diver.
Oh, and the photograph just above the climate-craft note was taken at my local beach, Lammermoor Beach just the other day. I am into taking photographs of ocean foam at the moment, it reminds me of fizz and how Ivan Kennedy poured vinegar into his beer at the end of my second Zoom webinar, to make a point about acidification generally and ocean chemistry more specifically.
The science is settled by an overwhelming number of qualified scientists.