Blog – CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH, NEWS & SOLUTIONS

Natural Phenomena Explained

Logical explanations for the extraordinary events shaping our planet

Why ice is receding in Arctic but resurging in Antarctica

Recent satellite observations reveal a surge of ice in Antarctica contrary to other parts of the world. A little earlier it was also observed that the north pole is warming faster than the rest of the world. One may wonder why there is such disparity and apparent contradiction. To answer this question, we need to outline five issues:

a) Water occupies over 70% of the earth's surface and much of the land cover is in the northern hemisphere.
b) Heat comes through the crust on to the surface and eventually the atmosphere.
c) Land allows heat to be concentrated in particular regions unlike water which spreads out its heat rapidly due to fluidity.
d) Water has greater cooling effect than land.
e) Ocean depths vary with shallow water warming faster than deep water.

From the above we can discern that with equal or uniform heating, land surface will experience more heat concentration than water surface. The south pole being largely covered in water remains cooler with limited heat reaching the surface. Its atmospheric temperatures are much colder allowing condensation of much of the vapour from global warming in the north into snow. With a colder surface the snow doesn’t melt but accumulates.

Swelling lakes and flooding rivers

One other phenomenon observed in recent times which has received mythical explanations is the swelling of lakes and flooding of rivers in places that sometimes do not receive as much rainfall.

Global warming having vaporised excess water into the atmosphere has made it possible for highlands and mountainous areas to receive more water vapour which they condense into rainfall given their conducive atmospheric temperatures. This results in excess rain waters draining into river valleys which flood downstream as they pour their water into lakes some of which do not have distributaries and swell permanently while those with limited distributaries remain swollen much longer before their waters are eventually drained. contradiction. To answer this question, we need to outline five issues:

Flash floods and snow blizzards

Flash floods and snow blizzards have become frequent and widespread across the globe killing many people and causing damage to property and infrastructure. Flash floods and snow blizzards are occasioned primarily by two factors namely;

Once there is high amount of vapour in the atmosphere, all that is required for flash floods or snow blizzards to occur is a sudden fall in atmospheric temperatures. This is often achieved by wind action but can also be brought about by volcanic eruption. Flash floods and snow blizzards can occur any time of the year once the two conditions are met. But flash floods and snow blizzards can also occur during normal rainy seasons or in winter respectively when seasonal factors are at play as long as there is excess water vapour to be condensed into precipitation and seasonal temperatures provide favourable conditions.

Ocean tides

Ocean tides are classified as high or low. Eastward facing coastlines experience low tides from morning to evening while westward facing coastlines experience high tides from morning to evening.

Ocean tides can be accounted for under the two heat sources relationship between planet earth and the sun. In the morning when the sun is in the east, there is a longer cold air column in the west resulting in more cold air falling over earth’s west. At this time because the sun is overhead in the east, it warms the upper atmospheric air beneath meaning there is less cold air falling over earth thus allowing warm air over earth to ascend. This situation results in a circular air movement with cold air descending in the west and travelling over the surface to the east while warm air ascends in the east and travels westwards in the upper atmosphere.

The circular wind movement creates an air depression in the east and higher pressure in the west. This wind pattern generates pressure or sucking effect which pulls or pushes ocean or sea surface water eastwards in the morning. In the evening when the sun’s position above the planet has shifted from east to west, the air movement reverses and the pressure pushes or pulls sea surface water to the west.

El Nino

Like flash floods, El Nino occurs after prolonged global warming which vaporises a lot of water into the atmosphere followed by sudden cooling of atmospheric temperatures.

El Nino rains are usually triggered by a massive volcanic eruption like in the Mt. Tambora (1815) case or after a series of relatively small volcanic eruptions with cumulative significant cooling effect like the 1996-1997 El Nino rains. El Ninos last longer compared to flash floods because the planet takes considerable time to restore internal heat levels to those obtaining before eruptions. Again, El Ninos just like flash floods don’t follow seasons but seasonal variations exacerbate their intensity in cases of coincidence.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes have become more frequent and increased in their intensities. They have killed many people and caused significant damage to infrastructure in many parts of the world.

Earthquakes occur when there is an imbalance between upthrust and down thrust forces acting on crustal plates. Upthrust forces arise from pressures which develop inside the planet as a result of heating. Down thrust forces are the weights of the crustal plates on the mantle.

Down thrust forces are constant since the weights of the crustal plates do not change. Upthrust forces on the other hand vary as heat and pressure fluctuate inside the planet. It is the upthrust forces (basically expanding hot gases) which occasion earthquakes when they temporarily overwhelm the down thrust forces. Measurements have established higher concentrations of certain gases in water bodies like lakes and swamps after earthquakes including those blamed for global warming.

Extinction of species

Periodical mass extinction of species has characterised life on planet earth. Many species some considered to be ancestors to existing ones suddenly disappeared from the planet and others emerged later on. Dinosaurs cannot escape mention when talking about extinction of species.

Even though the phenomenon of mass extinction of species does not appear so mysterious, mythical explanations have been advanced to account for the same including by reputable institutions. Some scientists say that dinosaurs disappeared from earth’s surface after an asteroid hit our planet. They however do not proceed to explain what exactly happened after an asteroid hit the earth. They do not say whether or not the asteroid crushed all the dinosaurs or caused some effects whose consequences resulted in extinction of species.

A little imagination would help us understand why species have become extinct over time. Can we imagine what would happen to life on earth if an ice age were to occur? A planet covered in ice for thousands or even hundreds of years without vegetation and water cannot sustain life. That skeletons of dinosaurs have been found 65 million years after their extinction preserved in a manner that allows archeologists to make good picture of their size and structure strongly suggests they were frozen alive into extinction.

Hurricane Storms

Hurricane storms are a common occurrence for certain regions of the world during their summer periods. They make landfall on islands and coastal regions often with devastating consequences. But why this pattern in summer and making of landfall?

During summer the sun is overhead in regions concerned. The sun’s heating effect on upper atmospheric air reduces the amount of cold air falling over earth. This allows earth’s heat to manifest further by heating lower atmospheric air thereby causing low air depression on land.
Because of fluidity of water which enables heat to be distributed rapidly across the horizon, ocean water surfaces do not experience as much heat concentration over specific regions as is the case with land. Water also has greater cooling effect compared to land and doesn’t allow intense heating of lower atmospheric air like land.

Rising warm air from land causes low air pressure or depression over land. The air pressure imbalances between land and sea surfaces trigger cold air moving from water to land. Warm air from land ascends vertically to higher levels then moves into the oceans at upper atmospheric levels while cold air from oceans move towards land at lower atmospheric levels.

Volcanic eruptions

Volcanos erupt when heat and pressure beneath the crust accumulate to levels sufficient to forcefully blow up the crustal matter lying above to allow the hot gases to escape and molten lava to flow out.

Since the planet generates heat continually which generate more pressure, eruptions provide the breathers through which such heat and pressure are released. By allowing the planet to discharge heat and pressure, a more disastrous occurrence of the crust splitting with consequences of causing an ice age is averted. Global temperatures have been observed to fall after volcanic eruptions indicating the vital role they play in global cooling and regulation of temperatures.

Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have a close relationship. Before eruptions earthquakes often occur due to the pressure inside the volcano. When volcanos remain silent over time, frequent high magnitude earthquakes occur. The scenario changes after powerful eruptions where earthquakes become less frequent following the release of excess heat and pressure.

Ice ages

Ice ages are those periods in earth’s history with extensive ice coverage due to extremely low temperatures. Our planet has experienced several ice ages some major and others minor but their causes have never been explained satisfactorily. occurrence of ice ages.

The two heat sources relationship between planet earth and the sun adequately accounts for the occurrence of ice ages.
We need to take note of the following to understand how ice ages are triggered;

a) Ice ages affect the outer crust which is the coolest of the three main layers of earth's mass.
b) The crust constitute just about one percent of the earth's mass with the inner layers constituting 99% and are extremely hot.
c) Heat inside the planet increases over time and is only lost through volcanic eruptions.
d) Heat generates pressure and more heat generates more pressure which often cracks the crust to escape.

An ice age occurs when planet earth looses substantial amounts of heat through volcanic activities thereby remaining unable to transmit sufficient heat to the surface to warm the surrounding air. Such substantial heat loss is occasioned by the splitting of the earth’s crust under high pressure in the process of which a lot of heat is lost in to open space and some sea water gets to enter inner earth causing further cooling. This causes the air temperatures to fall significantly with resultant cooling effect on earth’s surface. The process that triggers ice ages also creates additional sea or seas and continent or continents..

From Pangaea to many continents

Earth began as a one continent planet – the Pangaea, but has since split into several. Skeletons of ancient marine species have been found in some of todays deserts implying these lands were under the sea at one point in time. another split

It is important to reimagine how earth’s surface has mutated over time and to project how it would look like after another split.

Because earth’s mass remains the same and water on its surface also remains more or less the same, it is likely that much of its surface remained under water in the one continent scenario. As the crust splits further under pressure from within, oceans and seas emerged as water increasingly receded to the cracks and valleys thereby allowing more land to ‘rise’ above water. It therefore follows that in the event of another split resulting in a new sea and continent, more land will ‘rise’ above sea level as more water sinks into the new sea. Sea surface will then fall to less than the current 70%.