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https://theconversation.com/a-deeply-troubling-discovery-earth-may-have-already-passed-the-crucial-1-5-c-warming-limit-222601>
"Global temperatures have already exceeded 1.5°C warming and may pass 2°C later
this decade, according to a world-first study I led. The worrying findings,
based on temperature records contained in sea sponge skeletons, suggest global
climate change has progressed much further than previously thought.
Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming. Obtaining accurate
information about the extent of the warming is vital, because it helps us
understand if extreme weather events are more likely in the near future, and
whether the world is making progress in reducing emissions.
To date, estimates of upper ocean warming have been mainly based on sea-surface
temperature records, however these date back only about 180 years. We instead
studied 300 years of records preserved in the skeletons of long-lived sea
sponges from the Eastern Caribbean. In particular, we examined changes in the
amount of a chemical known as “strontium” in their skeletons, which reflects
variations in seawater temperatures over the organism’s life.
Keeping the average global temperature rise below 1.5°C since pre-industrial
times is a goal of the 2015 Paris climate deal. Our research, published in
Nature Climate Change, suggests that opportunity has passed. Earth may in
fact have already reached at least 1.7°C warming since pre-industrial times – a
deeply troubling discovery."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
