Arctic area, oceans lock up fourth of world’s carbon dioxide

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels as high as they are today, say scientists. Then "global temperatures were five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today, sea level was approximately 75 to 120 feet higher than today, there was no permanent sea ice cap in the Arctic and very little ice on Antarctica and Greenland," said Aradhna Tripathi, who led the study.

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, a scientist of Indian origin has determined that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels on Earth 15 million years ago were as high as they are today. The research was conducted by Aradhna Tripati, a UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) assistant professor in the department of Earth and space sciences and the department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and colleagues.

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the University of Leeds in the UK have proved that acid in the atmosphere breaks down large particles of iron found in dust into small and extremely soluble iron nanoparticles, which are more readily used by plankton in the world's oceans. This is an important finding because lack of iron can be a limiting factor for plankton growth in the ocean, especially in the southern oceans and parts of the eastern Pacific.

July 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have said that there is mounting evidence that human activity is changing the world's oceans in profound and damaging ways. The study was carried out by Professor Mike Kingsford of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University and colleague Dr Andrew Brierley of St Andrews University, Scotland.

July 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - An Indian-American physicist has devised a cleaner and more efficient way of capturing carbon dioxide from its polluting source, like coal-fired power plants. Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) researcher Amitesh Maiti has come up with a screening method that would use ionic liquids -- molten salt that becomes liquid under the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius) -- to separate carbon dioxide from its source.

July 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The accidental discovery of a bowl-shaped molecule that pulls carbon dioxide out of the air paves the way for exciting new possibilities to deal with global warming. These possibilities include genetically engineering microbes to manufacture those carbon dioxide "catchers", said J.A.

July 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle and its response to climate change. By analyzing samples of air taken from the stratosphere-the layer of Earth's atmosphere that sits between six and 30 miles above the surface-the team found a much higher concentration of 16O13C18O at high latitudes than expected.

July 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has estimated that the vast amount of carbon stored in the arctic and boreal regions of the world is more than double that previously estimated, which raises new concerns over the role of the northern regions as future sources of greenhouse gases. "We now estimate the deposits contain over 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon, about twice as much carbon as contained in the atmosphere," said Dr.

June 27th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, scientists have found that the ozone hole is responsible for the drop in carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption in the Southern Ocean, which is considered as a major carbon sink. In theory, oceans should absorb more CO2 as levels of the gas in the atmosphere rise.

June 25th, 2009 Surprise: Fish in acidic waters grow bigger earsWASHINGTON — Listen up! Carbon dioxide being absorbed by the oceans is having a puzzling effect on fish — their ears get bigger. Now, that doesn't mean you're going to reel in the Mr.

May 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has suggested that sediments deposited in the ocean by major Arctic rivers may hold clues to understand how Earth's climate will change in the next few decades. The study was carried out by geoscientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A and M University, US.

April 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has suggested that increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and decreasing oxygen in the oceans will make it harder for deep-sea animals to "breathe". The study, by marine chemists at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), US, suggests that low-oxygen "dead zones" in the ocean could expand significantly over the next century.

March 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the international Copenhagen Climate Change Conference have determined that the stabilizing influence that land and ocean carbon sinks have on rising greenhouse gas emissions is gradually weakening. "Forests, grasslands and oceans are absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere faster than ever but they are not keeping pace with rapidly rising emissions," said CSIRO scientist and co-Chair of the Global Carbon Project, Dr Mike Raupach.

March 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Carbon dioxide released from the Antartic Ocean due to shifting wind patterns may drastically increase global warming, say scientists. Many scientists think that the end of the last ice age was triggered by a change in earth's orbit that caused the northern part of the planet to warm.

February 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists hope to get a clearer picture of how the Earth reacts to carbon dioxide with the launch Tuesday of a new spacecraft designed to collect data on the climate-changing gas. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory is set for launch early Tuesday from California and will take about eight million measurements every 16 days for the next two years.