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Mass Extinction causes Global Climate Change by J. S. Pettingill, published 15 July 2007 page 5 Recent developments in Dust Levels and Solar Activity research Important quotes from source articles ...That's how Noel Brown, former head of the United Nations Environment Programme, refers to the oceans' supply of plankton, the tiny plant life that is the base of the ocean's food chain. It feeds most of the world's marine life and also removes half of the world's carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. ... ... Brown says plankton populations are beginning to starve because of a decrease in naturally occurring dust storms on land that deliver micronutrients of iron that plankton need to survive. In addition, research has shown that warming surface temperatures are keeping vital nutrients from the oceans' depths from reaching plankton populations. Brown says the potential loss of these avenues for iron to reach the plankton is an "impending crisis." ... http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-04-02-plankton_N.htm
Dust levels, how important they are, and how little we know about them. Dust, the Thermostat http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010929/bob9.asp
Ocean Wildlife is critical element in regulating the Earth's climate More on weather modifying plankton ... "Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center When Sun's Too Strong, Plankton Make Clouds Science Daily — People say size doesn't matter, and that may be true for tiny plankton, those free-floating ocean plants that make up the bottom of the marine food-chain. Little plankton may be able to change the weather, and longer term climate, in ways that serve them better. It's almost hard to believe, but new NASA-funded research confirms an old theory that plankton can indirectly create clouds that block some of the Sun's harmful rays. The study was conducted by Dierdre Toole of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and David Siegel of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The study finds that in summer when the Sun beats down on the top layer of ocean where plankton live, harmful rays in the form of ultraviolet (UV) radiation bother the little plants. When they are bothered, or stressed, plankton try to protect themselves by producing a compound called dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Though no one knows for sure, some scientists believe DMSP helps strengthen the plankton's cell walls. This chemical gets broken down in the water by bacteria, and it changes into another substance called dimethylsulfide (DMS). DMS then filters from the ocean into the air, where it reacts with oxygen, to form different sulfur compounds. Sulfur in the DMS sticks together in the air and creates tiny dust-like particles. These particles are just the right size for water to condense on, which is the beginning of how clouds are formed. So, indirectly, plankton help create more clouds, and more clouds mean less direct light reaches the ocean surface. This relieves the stress put on plankton by the Sun's harmful UV rays. ..." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/07/040713081108.htm Very little information is available on how Solar Activity affects our climate. With only a 400 year record of human observation, sunspot activity is one of the least understood elements of global climate. The early record is sparse and some of the data is questionable. There are 3 relatively recent events of significance. These are known as the Sporer (not shown) , Maunder, and Dalton Minimums, and occurred during the medieval mini-ice age. The Sporer and Dalton events come close to punctuating the beginning and end of the mini-ice age. The record is short, but we can already see indications that solar minimums probably have a cyclic nature. We have to ask ourselves, are we at the beginning of a series of Maunder type events, or at the tail-end? NASA links Solar Activity to Global Climate Change ...
*********************************** "Between 1650 and 1710, a period known as the Maunder Minimum, the Sun was relatively quiet, bombarding the Earth with fewer ultraviolet rays than normal. Decreases in the amount of ultraviolet energy hammering the Earth change the stratosphere by decreasing the amount of ozone that is produced. During the same period, paleoclimate data showed that Europe was colder than most other areas. Scientists estimated how much ozone levels would have decreased during the Maunder Minimum based on the decrease in ultraviolet energy from the Sun, and they plugged the information into global climate models. “A change in the stratosphere gave a change in the NAO,” Schmidt says." http://eobglossary.gsfc.nasa.gov/Study/Paleoclimatology_Understanding/
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