Understanding our planet’s past and the climate changes that are responsible for where we are today is essential in order to map the path forward. In a world where growing temperatures and global warming effects are the biggest concern, the study of ice age and the factors that led to a change in the planet’s landscape could be crucial to learn how we could create a future where worldwide temperatures are kept under control.
Researchers like Dr. Jochen Schmitt and Prof. Hubertus Fischer have recently found out an important missing link in their quest to understand the increase in atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels since the end of the ice age. While past studies have confirmed that our planet had seen volumes of CO2 added to its atmosphere, the exact reason for this and the place it came from where, still remains a mystery. But, the latest findings have shown that the world’s oceans had stored this excess CO2 and had stored them in their depths thanks to ocean currents and temperature patterns.
Most of the missing atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Ice Age resurfaced once the planet started heating up again and the new ocean current patterns brought it from its dark depths, back to the surface. It was always known that the oceans were the biggest sink to carbon emissions and that as they got warmer, their ability to absorb CO2 diminished. This cycle of events led to the influx of greater carbon gases into the atmosphere as earth started getting considerably warmer some 20,000 years ago.
Research has helped us understand how the world’s oceans can regulate global temperatures ,and, how by keeping them clean and rich in oxygen content, we can turn them into better carbon sinks.
Via: awi
