Thursday, October 30, 2014
We Know the Drill
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin in madison have been drilling through glaciers to collect ice cores. This is a very important job because it allows us to see what the air was like tens of thousands of years ago. Scientist want to know what ancient air was like so that they can see how much CO2 was in it. Finding this out tells us how much CO2 in the air has increased since industrialisation. According to recent ice core samples, scientists have concluded that Carbon dioxide is increasing at 2 parts per million per year, 20 times faster than pre industrial times. Taking ice cores has been an integral part of knowing how and at what rate global warming is increasing.
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Why do you think it's important to keep track of the increasing rate of CO2? How does it relate to us, everyday people?
ReplyDeleteWhy does the CO2 stay in the ice? Does it have any chemical effect on the ice?
ReplyDeleteCo2 stays in the ice because it is part of the air that is trapped in air bubbles formed thousands of years ago as the glaciers were forming. It does not affect the ice chemically, because Co2 doesn't do that
DeleteIs this rate of CO2 growth dangerous? What else can we lean about our past Earth from this?
ReplyDelete