Global warming has been one of the most controversial topics in Science. However, there are a lot of information that are not proven evidently in order to tell the true causes and effects of global warming. According to the article, We just broke the record for hottest year, nine straight times, written by Dana Nuccitelli, from The Guardian, 2016, “2014 and 2015 each set the record for hottest calendar year … over 150 years ago … 2016 is almost certain to break the record once again … the … three consecutive record-breaking hot years” (Nuccitelli, 2016). Nuccitelli illustrated a graph about the 12-Month Running Average Global Surface Temperature, which shows that the prediction of the Global Surface Temperature will have a trend of rising from now to the year of 2020, which is only four years from now. It is to believe that the global warming matter does not have direct impact from the rise of Global Surface Temperatures. A study indicated that “… while September 1997-August 1998 was the hottest 12-month period on the record at the time; it’s now in 60th place. It’s been surpassed by yearlong periods … [that] many of those years weren’t even aided by El Niño events …” (Nuccitelli, 2016). The temperature was still hot without the assistance of the El Niño events (warmer than average in temperature around western and central Canada and western and northern of the United States).
The author of the article, Discovery exposes fragility of Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf, written by Roz Pidcock, from Carbon Brief, 2016, addressed that “The vast icy layer below Larsen C is a concern, says Hubbard. It is warmer than the compacted snow it replaced because of the latent heat that is released as the percolating meltwater refreezes at depth” (Pidcock, 2016). Professor Bryn Hubbard discovered Larsen C, which is an area of glacier ice that has never been found. Larsen A and B have “now-collapsed” (Pidcock, 2016) due to the increased of temperature. He worried that Larsen C might become just like Larsen A and B soon. Professor Hubbard has only addressed the worrisome on the melting ice, but not about whether that might cause or worsen global warming.
The article, Alpine soils storing up to a third less carbon as summers warm, written by Robert McSweeney, from Carbon Brief, 2016, highlighted that “The top [meter] of the world’s soils contains three times as much carbon as the entire atmosphere. This means that losing carbon from the soil can quicken the pace of human-caused climate warming” (McSweeney, 2016). Dr. Jörg Prietze shared that the carbon in the soil in German Alpine has produce more carbon to the atmosphere than it is taking in. That is not a good sign because the more carbon is produced to the atmosphere, the higher the surface temperature would be; the higher the surface temperature, the higher the climate temperature globally. This article did not specifically say this is the reason for global warming, but this is something if continues to happen will affect the environment of our Earth for sure.
- McSweeney, R. (13 June 2016). Alpine soils storing up to a third less carbon as summers warm. Carbon Brief. Retrieved from http://www.carbonbrief.org/alpine-soils-storing-up-to-a-third-less-carbon-as-summers-warm.
- Nuccitelli, D. (11 July 2016). We just broke the record for hottest year, nine straight times. Climate change skepticism. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2016/jul/11/we-just-broke-the-record-for-hottest-year-9-straight-times.
- Pidcock, R. (14 June 2016). Discovery exposes fragility of Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf. Carbon Brief. Retrieved from http://www.carbonbrief.org/discovery-exposes-fragility-of-antarcticas-larsen-c-ice-shelf.
