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The Earth periodically cools and warms on a large time scale. What causes this fluctuation?
The clathrate he refers to is methane clathrate, a form of water ice that contains a large amount of methane within its crystal structure (a clathrate hydrate).It’s the Storegga landslide here off the coast of Norway, that has ultimately caused the extinction of the Mammoths on the Eurasian continent.
It will be proven that the extensive megafauna steppe in Eurasia was destroyed by the clathrate gun of the Storegga slide, causing massive rainfall, which turned the area into swamps, peat bogs and forests.
We will demonstrate that this wet event co-dates with the end of the Younger Dryas, a brief period known for a temporary return to glacial conditions in an otherwise warming world at the end of the Pleistocene. It will be made clear how the Clathrate gun could have been the sole cause of all of these events.
Andre said:Exactly! The clathrate went first, destabilizing the sediments, which ultimately led to the collapse into the landslide. Jürgen Mienert found the smoking gun and gave us the vital golden lead that justified the accusation:
Quote:
…..Paleo-bottom water temperatures show a relatively fast increase at approximately 12.5–10 ka (calendar years) following the Younger Dryas while stable warm water conditions have prevailed since then….
Despite sea level rise, this warm-water inflow caused a major reduction in the thickness of the gas hydrate stability zone along the upper slope of the mid-Norwegian margin….
Although the major phase of hydrate melting predates the Storegga slide event, dated at 8.2 ka (calendar years), reduced hydrate stability conditions could have facilitated or contributed to sub-marine slope failure
Jürgen Mienert et al (2005) Ocean warming and gas hydrate stability on the mid-Norwegian margin at the Storegga Slide Marine and Petroleum Geology Volume 22, Issues 1-2 , January-February 2005, Pages 233-244
We predict that narrowing down dating of "12.5–10 ka (calendar years)" will get us to 11,670 calendar years, the almost exact border of the Younger Dryas with the Preboreal
What would be the direct effect of an roiling sea loaded with methane with the size of a small country for hundreds, perhaps thousends of years? Releasing perhaps rough order of magnetude of 1000km^2 worth of clathrate that expands 150 fould or something like that.
- Forced unnatural ocean flows (check the effect of the bubble stream in the fish tank), hey didn't the Thermahaline current shut down in that period or behaved it erratic?
- Consequently, sea surface temperatures are not what they should be, sending warm surface water north and cool water south
- How about effective increase of water surface enhancing evaporation, including the splash water.
And of course the local strong enhanced concentration of methane as greenhouse gas.
So a climate change and overnight is likely and with all that forced evaporation going on I would vote for a dramatic large scale increase in precipitation.
Astronuc said:(snip)Could this be partly responsible for melting of the Arctic Ocean?
All good questions, but from I have seen there is some speculation that the Atlantic conveyor would have a stronger influence, but the questions are then, is it stronger than normal? Is the temperature increase of the Atlantic conveyor system sufficient to cause melting of Arctic Ice? And is the increase in the temperature of the Atlantic conveyor natural or an influence of man's contribution of energy from power plants and fossil fuels/greenhouse gases?Bystander said:What is the width of the Bering Strait? What is the depth of the Bering Strait? What is the direction of water movement in the Bering Strait? What is the temperature of the water in the Bering Strait relative to that of the Arctic Ocean? What has been the change in annual water volume through the Bering Strait over the past century?
It would appear that the currents through the Bering Strait is more constricted (depth about 50 m), whereas the conveyor is open ocean (depth 100's-1000's m).Bystander said:Which of the two circulations (conveyor, Bering Strait) is more constricted? Which is more sensitive to sea level?
Astronuc said:Volcanic Activity or Magmaticity -
http://www.everything-science.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,82/topic,6710.0
Scientists underestimated the volcanic activity in this region. There is apparently a fair amount of geothermal/hydrothermal activity associated with magma in this region. Could this be partly responsible for melting of the Arctic Ocean?
Andre said:And not only the Milankovitch cycles. There are problems as well with the ice core isotope being paleo thermometers:
http://www.phys.uu.nl/~helsen/PDF/thesis.pdf
(big file)
In a nutshell: measurements reveal that when it snows in Antartica the temperatures are above average. Which means that the ice cores, that "measure" the temperature of the snowfall intrinsically "measure" too high. But when it's warmer and it's not snowing the paleo thermometer doesn't work. And then we see an awfull tight correlation between snowfall and isotopes http://home.wanadoo.nl/bijkerk/Vostokcor.GIF
Astronuc said:Volcanic Activity or Magmaticity -
http://www.everything-science.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,82/topic,6710.0
Scientists underestimated the volcanic activity in this region. There is apparently a fair amount of geothermal/hydrothermal activity associated with magma in this region. Could this be partly responsible for melting of the Arctic Ocean?
Andre said:Finished another paper on the clathrate today:
The abstract:
Dramatic climate changes occurred in the Northern hemisphere at the end of the Pleistocene. Geologic proxies as well as Greenland ice cores suggest that a more relevant change appears to be a widespread increase in precipitation that turned the cold steppe--the Mammoth megafauna habitat--into swamps and marshes in many places, especially Eurasia. Considering the rapid and radical nature of these climate changes, it cannot be attributed entirely to the warming associated with the variation in insolation that is held responsible for stadials and interglacials.
We propose that these events were caused by a massive oceanic clathrate (methane hydrate) destabilization event associated with oceanic continental slope failures of the Amazon Fan causing the excursions of many proxies during the Bolling Allerod interstadial. The destabilization in the Ormen Lange gas field area, preceding the Storegga slide, appears to have caused the excursions in the proxies that are associated with the onset of the Preboreal.
Although the amount of released methane may be limited, if not negligible, as Sowers proposes ( Science Vol 311, 10 Feb 2006 ), the physical effects of gas bubble streams are less clear. Although the released methane may dissolve and oxidize during ascent in the ocean, it may have caused turbulent water flows, disturbing the normal oceanic flow patterns. These effects have not yet been investigated and modeled. We suggest effects such as surface water with unusual temperatures flowing to abnormal areas, causing an increase of effective water surface for evaporation. These changes could have led to abnormal weather patterns generally with an increased moisture content in the atmosphere and ultimately to a substantial increase of precipitation which contributed significantly to the demise of the mammoth megafauna.
We demonstrate that the spikes of many geologic proxies, including oceanic events, appear to support this hypothesis
Global climate change refers to the long-term changes in Earth's climate patterns, including temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns, that occur on a global scale. These changes are primarily caused by the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which trap heat and lead to a warming of the planet.
The primary cause of global climate change is the increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. These gases are mainly produced by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes.
Global climate change can have a significant impact on non-human species, as they are highly sensitive to changes in their environment. Some of the effects of climate change on non-human species include changes in migration patterns, loss of habitat, and increased risk of extinction.
The consequences of global climate change are far-reaching and can have significant impacts on human societies and the environment. These consequences include rising sea levels, more frequent and severe natural disasters, food and water shortages, and the spread of diseases.
To address global climate change, individuals, governments, and businesses must take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This can include transitioning to renewable energy sources, implementing sustainable agriculture practices, and promoting conservation and reforestation efforts. Additionally, individuals can make small changes in their daily lives, such as reducing energy consumption and supporting environmentally-friendly policies and initiatives.