Reader's View: Don't forget oceans' influence on climate - Duluth News Tribune

Reader's View: Don’t forget oceans’ influence on climate - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota

Reader's View: Don’t forget oceans’ influence on climate

Heat up the earth’s oceans, and atmospheric CO2 content rises.

The May 30 letter, “ Evidence of climate change is plentiful,” implied that man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) is a small component of the global carbon cycle but is cumulative. True, man-made CO2 is only 4% of atmospheric CO2 and about 0.08% of oceanic CO2, but we really can’t say it’s cumulative because the oceans regulate a vast reservoir of heat and carbon, thereby playing a major role in driving global climate. Oceans and even the rocks in mountains absorb and release CO2, as science.org reported on March 8. Man’s micro portion of CO2 could easily be lost under oceanic and terrestrial conditions.

A letter I wrote, published March 22 in the News Tribune, mentioned volcanoes. The May 30 letter seemed to assume I was talking about volcanic CO2 emissions. Not really. It’s mainly the ejection of volcanic sulfates into the atmosphere that can cool the planet.

The May 30 letter stated, “Although water (vapor) is a greenhouse gas, its influence on temperature varies all the time.” True, its portion can vary from 1% to 3% of total atmospheric gasses. Man’s CO2 portion is only 0.0016% of the atmospheric total. The only place water vapor doesn’t vary much is in the stratosphere, where it acts as a stable greenhouse gas, as science.org reported March 1.

The NOAA annual mean growth rate of CO2, charted at its Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, drops to .31 and .49 ppm for years 1964 and 1992. Did people suddenly burn less coal and oil those years? No, it was Mount Agung in Indonesia (1963-’64) and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines (1991-’92) blasting ash into the air. This caused a shading/cooling effect on the ocean, and the ocean then expelled less CO2.

It’s simple: Heat up a can of soda, and the fizz (CO2) goes out. Heat up the earth’s oceans, and atmospheric CO2 content rises.

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Phil Drietz

Delhi, Minnesota

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