[Coral-List] Sea Level rise
sealab at earthlink.net
sealab at earthlink.net
Mon Mar 7 21:55:14 UTC 2022
Dear Gene,
You are right, we need to remove politics from the equation to arrive at the correct answer. The science is quite clear.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/scientists-looked-at-sea-levels-125-000-years-in-the-past-and-the-results-are-terrifying/2fvlasudj
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/current-warming-is-unparalleled-in-the-past-2-000-years/
Regards,
Steve
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On 3/4/22, 1:05 PM, Eugene Shinn via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
Dear Listers, What always bothers me about the relation between CO2 and
temperature is how can we be sure anthropogenic CO2 is the cause of
rising temperature and sea level rise. Ice cores are not my field of
study but I know that abundant data from ice cores, such as the Vostok
core, indicate a relationship between temperature and CO2. Clearly the
CO2 associated with temperature increases in the past were not caused by
burning fossil fuels. The ice cores show 4-distinct evenly spaced
temperature rises during the Pleistocene. In addition, the rise in CO2
usually peaks a few hundred years after the peak temperature. I suppose
that can be explained by CO2 expelled from the oceans due to increasing
warmth. But what caused the temperature increase in the first place?
Cores of the Pleistocene limestone that built the Florida Keys also show
3 to 4 periods of climate temperature change. The changes are marked by
iron rich red/brown soil layers caping each sedimentary unit. These
layers are identical to the well-studied soil stone layers presently
forming on the surface of Florida Keys limestone. It is clear the
Pleistocene layers represent periods of limestone exposure and thus
indicate lowered sea level. I am guessing these sea level fluctuations
are analogous to the fluctuations indicated in ice cores. I think we can
safely conclude the red/brown layers in the Pleistocene Keys limestone
indicate sea level fluctuations caused by something other than burning
fossil fuel.
How much sea level fluctuation the Pleistocene ice core temperature
changes represent is not generally known, but there is good geological
evidence that the last one, the 125,000 year-old temperature increase
(known as isotope stage 5 e) raised sea level around 27 ft above
present. I live on land formed at that time as are people living in the
Florida Keys. That the land formed when sea level was around 27 ft
higher than today could not have been caused by humans burning fossil
fuel. This may suggest the present sea level rise might also go as high
as it did 125,000 years ago. So how do we explain all this. Presumably
the Carbon isotopes in the present atmospheres CO2 identify some as the
result of burning fossil fuel. Can we identify those same isotopes in
the 125,000 year old temperature rise? I suspect the answer is no. There
were not enough people back then to create excess CO2. This suggests we
still do not know what caused stage 5 e. What ever caused sea level rise
back then may also be the cause of the present sea level rise. Or maybe
rising CO2 is not what is causing the present rise. I am just asking the
question? I think we have a long way to go before we truly know what is
causing the present sea level rise? And, will it rise as high as it did
during stage 5 e? Possibly we need to remove politics from the question
before we have the correct answer? Gene
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