The Earth's Atmosphere
The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's
gravity. It contains roughly (by molar content/volume) 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon,
0.038% carbon dioxide, trace amounts of other gases, and a variable amount (average around 1%) of
water vapor. This mixture of gases is commonly known as air. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by
absorbing various types of radiation including the radioactive kind and ultraviolet solar radiation.
It also reduces temperature extremes between day and night.
This category includes effects of ionizing radiation and particle radiation (including neutron radiation) on
materials and organisms. Induced radioactivity Neutron activation
Neutron-induced swelling
R
Radiation hardening
Radium dials
Wigner effect
What controls how much carbon dioxide gas the ocean holds? Well, think of a can of soda pop. Just like
the ocean, pop or other carbonated drinks contain dissolved carbon dioxide gas. And what happens
when you open a pop can that has been sitting in the warm sun?— Phoooosssh!! Bubbles of carbon
dioxide gas shoot out, spraying you with soda. When you open a chilled bottle, it bubbles little or not at
all. So, the warmer a liquid, the less gas it can hold. The cooler a liquid, the more gas it can hold. The
same is true for the ocean. If sea water heats up, it tends to release carbon dioxide. If sea water cools
down, it tends to soak up carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide levels in the ocean also depend on other
things, like how acidic the water is. But for right now, let's focus on the effects of temperature.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-09/uosc-cdd092507.php
Carbon dioxide did not end the last Ice Age
Deep-sea temperatures rose 1,300 years before atmospheric CO2, ruling out the greenhouse gas as
driver of meltdown, says study in Science.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lowell Stott, professor of earth sciences, University of Southern California
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carbon dioxide did not cause the end of the last ice age, a new study in Science suggests, contrary to
past inferences from ice core records.
“There has been this continual reference to the correspondence between CO2 and climate change as
reflected in ice core records as justification for the role of CO2 in climate change,” said USC geologist
Lowell Stott, lead author of the study, slated for advance online publication Sept. 27 in Science Express.
“You can no longer argue that CO2 alone caused the end of the ice ages.”
Deep-sea temperatures warmed about 1,300 years before the tropical surface ocean and well before
the rise in atmospheric CO2, the study found. The finding suggests the rise in greenhouse gas was
likely a result of warming and may have accelerated the meltdown – but was not its main cause.
The study does not question the fact that CO2 plays a key role in climate.
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/earth_sciences/report-55478.html
Study Suggests Climate Models Underestimate Future Warming
Scientists have found evidence that tropical Atlantic Ocean temperatures may have once reached 107°
F (42°C)—about 25°F (14°C) higher than ocean temperatures today and warmer than a hot tub. The
surprisingly high ocean temperatures, the warmest estimates to date for any place on Earth, occurred
millions of year ago when carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere were also high, but researchers
say they may be an indication that greenhouse gases could heat the oceans in the future much more
than currently anticipated. The study suggests that climate models underestimate future warming.
“These temperatures are off the charts from what we’ve seen before,” said Karen Bice, a
paleoclimatologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Bice reported the findings Feb. 17
at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in St. Louis
and is also lead author of a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal
Paleoceanography, published by the American Geophysical Union.
Bice and a multi-institutional team of scientists studied three long columns of sediment cored from the
seafloor in 2003 off Suriname, on the northeast coast of South America, by the drillship JOIDES
Resolution, operated by the international Ocean Drilling Program.
The sediments contained an unusually rich and well-preserved accumulation of both carbon-rich organic
matter and the fossilized shells of microscopic marine organisms that had settled and piled up on the
seafloor over tens of millions of years. The deeper down in the core the scientists analyzed, the further
back in time they went.
The team analyzed the shells’ isotopic and trace element chemistry, which changes along with
temperature changes in the surface waters where they lived. They determined that ocean temperatures
in the region ranged between 91° and 107°F (33° and 42°C) between 84 million and 100 million years
ago in an era when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Temperatures range between 75° and 82°F (24° and
28°C) in the same region now. The approximate uncertainty in the paleotemperature estimates is +/-2°C.
Using organic matter from the sediments, the group also estimated atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentrations during the same time span. They were 1,300 to 2,300 parts per million (ppm), compared
with 380 ppm today.
The findings, if confirmed, create a dilemma for scientists seeking to forecast how Earth’s climate and
environment will change in response to the rising amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere, caused by deforestation and the burning of oil, coal, and other fossil fuels. When 1,300 to
2,300 ppm of carbon dioxide is factored into current computer models that simulate global climate, it
does not produce such high ocean temperatures.
“The climate models underestimate temperatures and the amount of warming that would accompany an
increase in CO2 of more than 1,000 ppm above today’s level.” Bice said..
If the scientists’ interpretations of past ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide levels prove accurate,
actual future warming from elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations may be much greater
than predicted by the models, the scientists reported.
“One of the most important impacts this evidence suggests is the change to the Earth’ hydrologic cycle,”
Bice said. “Higher tropical temperatures will increase the intensity of hurricanes and winter storms. In
addition, precipitation patterns will change, moving even more rain that now falls on the central U.S. - an
area known as the breadbasket of the U.S. for its food production - to higher latitudes where the quality
of the soil may not be as conducive to agriculture”
“Policymakers use these models to predict likely climate change with increasing CO2 levels, and if the
models are not right, society is not well informed or well served.”
Alternatively, the models used to predict future climate may be missing a critical factor that amplifies
heating, Bice said. During past warm periods, oceans and wetlands may have released much more
methane gas to the atmosphere. Methane traps heat 10 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.
However, extraordinarily high concentrations of methane in the model still fail to produce the tropical
Atlantic and Arctic Ocean temperatures inferred for 91 million years ago. This supports the idea that the
model’s response to increased greenhouse gas concentrations underestimates the actual climate
system’s response.
The research team included Bice and Kristina Dahl of WHOI, Philip A. Meyers of the University of
Michigan, Daniel Birgel and Kai-Uwe Hinrichs of the University of Bremen, and Richard D. Norris of
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Bice’s work was supported by private funding from the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution through the Ocean and Climate Change Institute and The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation Endowed Fund for Innovative Research. Funding for this research was also provided by the
Joint Oceanographic Institutions U.S. Science Support Program and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
through the DFG-Research Center Ocean Margins.
icecap.us/images/uploads/OceansandCO2EngrsAustapr08.pdf
I WISH TO DRAW attention to new recently available data that supports the view that climate change
has natural causes, and that the influence of human generated carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is
negligible.
The oceans and rainfall have a major influence in helping to regulate climate on earth.
Recent data on global average sea surface temperatures derived from satellite observations has
revealed some interesting correlations between sea temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Figure 1 shows the global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980. The anomaly is
defined as the departure of the actual temperature from the mean global average for the past century
(1901-2000). The data is derived from satellite coverage, and is much more consistent than previous
data based on surface measurements.
Note the cyclic behaviour and the peak in 1999. There has been overall cooling since 1999. The causes
of the cyclic behaviour are not known. The major influences are probably the El Nino and La Nina
events, and variations in heat flow on the ocean floor from undersea volcanoes and vents. These
factors may be related through a common cause. It is difficult to see any influence of human activity in
the variations of sea surface temperatures shown in the chart.
The present winter in the northern hemisphere has been the coldest for several decades.
Scientists studying solar behavior report that the sun is relatively quiet and that we may expect a further
cooling of earth climate. Thus it seems probable that the recent general cooling of sea surface
temperatures may continue.
Climate change
I WISH TO DRAW attention to new recently available data that supports the view that climate change
has natural causes, and that the influence of human generated carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is
negligible.The oceans and rainfall have a major influence in helping to regulate climate on earth.
Recent data on global average sea surface temperatures derived from satellite observations has
revealed some interesting correlations between sea temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Figure 1 shows the global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980. The anomaly is
defined as the departure of the actual temperature from the mean global average for the past century
(1901-2000). The data is derived from satellite coverage, and is much more consistent than previous
data based on surface measurements. Note the cyclic behaviour and the peak in 1999. There has been
overall cooling since 1999. The causes of the cyclic behaviour are not known. The major influences are
probably the El Nino and La Nina events, and variations in heat flow on the ocean floor from undersea
volcanoes and vents. These factors may be related through a common cause. It is difficult to see any
influence of human activity in the variations of sea surface temperatures shown in the chart. The
present winter in the northern hemisphere has been the coldest for several decades.
Scientists studying solar behavior report that the sun is relatively quiet and that we may expect a further
cooling of earth climate. Thus it seems probable that the recent general cooling of sea surface
temperatures may continue. Figure 2 shows the direct relationship between sea surface temperature
and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere since 1980. It is based on a 21-year moving average of sea
surface temperatures, and a 12-month moving average of carbon dioxide levels. As the sea
temperature has increased, so has the carbon dioxide level. This reflects the normal solubility
relationship between carbon dioxide and water. As the sea temperature increases, the oceans breathe
out carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thus, if sea surface temperatures now continue to fall, we may
expect carbon dioxide levels to decrease. There is strong consistency from December 1984 onwards,
which reflects the better accuracy and consistency of the temperature records from satellite data. During
the period of record on the chart, the sea temperatures have been rising. Sea temperatures are now
starting to fall and it is expected that the strong relationship between sea surface temperature and CO2
will continue to hold. The 21-year moving average of sea surface temperatures was used in the chart to
cover a complete solar cycle including the change in polarity of the sun. It also covers the cycle of El
Nino and La Nina influences on global climate. Such a long term moving average also recognises the
vast storage capacity in the deep oceans for Oceans are the main regulators of carbon dioxide Energy
conservation is rational and does not have to be justified by fear of climate change, argues Lance
Endersbee. He predicts that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere may actually decline in the next few
years due to falling ocean temperatures, and warns that carbon sequestration and carbon trading may
turn out to be futile activities in addressing climate change.
Figure 1: Global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980, plotted as a 12 month moving
average. The anomaly is defined as the departure from the 20th century average (1901-2000) of sea
surface temperature. Monthly global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980, plotted as a
12 month moving average. The anomaly is the departure from the mean value for the past century,
1901-2000.36-37c - Climate.indd 369/4/08 15:38:40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CIVIL ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2008 37 Climate change carbon dioxide, and the slow changes.
The 12-month moving average of carbon dioxide levels was used to cover the annual cycle. It is
emphasised that this chart is a plot of actual experience. There is a clear and strong relationship
between levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and long-term average sea surface temperature. This
would be expected from the solubility curves for carbon dioxide in water at various temperatures and
pressures.The experience curve shows the huge capacity of the oceans to absorb the carbon dioxide
emissions of humankind. It seems likely that within about three years we will be experiencing natural
global cooling, and with that a decline in levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.In essence, it is
impossible for carbon dioxide to accumulate in the atmosphere other than to the level determined by the
long-term behaviour of the oceans. As a consequence,there is no need for carbon trading or
geosequestration. Energy conservation is rational and does not have to be justified by fear of climate
change.
Emeritus Prof Lance Endersbee is a past national president of Engineers Australia.
Figure 2: Experience curve relating actual atmospheric carbon dioxide levels with actual global average
sea surface temperature. It is not a time scale, just the simple relation between two physical parameters
independent of time. The line shown is just the sequence of actual plotted points for each end month of
the two moving averages.Chart shows 12 monthly moving average levels of carbon dioxide from Jan
1980 to Jan 2008 versus the 21 year moving average of monthly values of global sea surface
temperature anomaly. 1800 424 346 or visit
www.tensar-triax.com.au QIKREPLY21MOREINFO?36-37c - Climate.indd 379/4/08 15:38:46
The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's
gravity. It contains roughly (by molar content/volume) 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon,
0.038% carbon dioxide, trace amounts of other gases, and a variable amount (average around 1%) of
water vapor. This mixture of gases is commonly known as air. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by
absorbing various types of radiation including the radioactive kind and ultraviolet solar radiation.
It also reduces temperature extremes between day and night.
This category includes effects of ionizing radiation and particle radiation (including neutron radiation) on
materials and organisms. Induced radioactivity Neutron activation
Neutron-induced swelling
R
Radiation hardening
Radium dials
Wigner effect
What controls how much carbon dioxide gas the ocean holds? Well, think of a can of soda pop. Just like
the ocean, pop or other carbonated drinks contain dissolved carbon dioxide gas. And what happens
when you open a pop can that has been sitting in the warm sun?— Phoooosssh!! Bubbles of carbon
dioxide gas shoot out, spraying you with soda. When you open a chilled bottle, it bubbles little or not at
all. So, the warmer a liquid, the less gas it can hold. The cooler a liquid, the more gas it can hold. The
same is true for the ocean. If sea water heats up, it tends to release carbon dioxide. If sea water cools
down, it tends to soak up carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide levels in the ocean also depend on other
things, like how acidic the water is. But for right now, let's focus on the effects of temperature.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-09/uosc-cdd092507.php
Carbon dioxide did not end the last Ice Age
Deep-sea temperatures rose 1,300 years before atmospheric CO2, ruling out the greenhouse gas as
driver of meltdown, says study in Science.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lowell Stott, professor of earth sciences, University of Southern California
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carbon dioxide did not cause the end of the last ice age, a new study in Science suggests, contrary to
past inferences from ice core records.
“There has been this continual reference to the correspondence between CO2 and climate change as
reflected in ice core records as justification for the role of CO2 in climate change,” said USC geologist
Lowell Stott, lead author of the study, slated for advance online publication Sept. 27 in Science Express.
“You can no longer argue that CO2 alone caused the end of the ice ages.”
Deep-sea temperatures warmed about 1,300 years before the tropical surface ocean and well before
the rise in atmospheric CO2, the study found. The finding suggests the rise in greenhouse gas was
likely a result of warming and may have accelerated the meltdown – but was not its main cause.
The study does not question the fact that CO2 plays a key role in climate.
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/earth_sciences/report-55478.html
Study Suggests Climate Models Underestimate Future Warming
Scientists have found evidence that tropical Atlantic Ocean temperatures may have once reached 107°
F (42°C)—about 25°F (14°C) higher than ocean temperatures today and warmer than a hot tub. The
surprisingly high ocean temperatures, the warmest estimates to date for any place on Earth, occurred
millions of year ago when carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere were also high, but researchers
say they may be an indication that greenhouse gases could heat the oceans in the future much more
than currently anticipated. The study suggests that climate models underestimate future warming.
“These temperatures are off the charts from what we’ve seen before,” said Karen Bice, a
paleoclimatologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Bice reported the findings Feb. 17
at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in St. Louis
and is also lead author of a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal
Paleoceanography, published by the American Geophysical Union.
Bice and a multi-institutional team of scientists studied three long columns of sediment cored from the
seafloor in 2003 off Suriname, on the northeast coast of South America, by the drillship JOIDES
Resolution, operated by the international Ocean Drilling Program.
The sediments contained an unusually rich and well-preserved accumulation of both carbon-rich organic
matter and the fossilized shells of microscopic marine organisms that had settled and piled up on the
seafloor over tens of millions of years. The deeper down in the core the scientists analyzed, the further
back in time they went.
The team analyzed the shells’ isotopic and trace element chemistry, which changes along with
temperature changes in the surface waters where they lived. They determined that ocean temperatures
in the region ranged between 91° and 107°F (33° and 42°C) between 84 million and 100 million years
ago in an era when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Temperatures range between 75° and 82°F (24° and
28°C) in the same region now. The approximate uncertainty in the paleotemperature estimates is +/-2°C.
Using organic matter from the sediments, the group also estimated atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentrations during the same time span. They were 1,300 to 2,300 parts per million (ppm), compared
with 380 ppm today.
The findings, if confirmed, create a dilemma for scientists seeking to forecast how Earth’s climate and
environment will change in response to the rising amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere, caused by deforestation and the burning of oil, coal, and other fossil fuels. When 1,300 to
2,300 ppm of carbon dioxide is factored into current computer models that simulate global climate, it
does not produce such high ocean temperatures.
“The climate models underestimate temperatures and the amount of warming that would accompany an
increase in CO2 of more than 1,000 ppm above today’s level.” Bice said..
If the scientists’ interpretations of past ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide levels prove accurate,
actual future warming from elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations may be much greater
than predicted by the models, the scientists reported.
“One of the most important impacts this evidence suggests is the change to the Earth’ hydrologic cycle,”
Bice said. “Higher tropical temperatures will increase the intensity of hurricanes and winter storms. In
addition, precipitation patterns will change, moving even more rain that now falls on the central U.S. - an
area known as the breadbasket of the U.S. for its food production - to higher latitudes where the quality
of the soil may not be as conducive to agriculture”
“Policymakers use these models to predict likely climate change with increasing CO2 levels, and if the
models are not right, society is not well informed or well served.”
Alternatively, the models used to predict future climate may be missing a critical factor that amplifies
heating, Bice said. During past warm periods, oceans and wetlands may have released much more
methane gas to the atmosphere. Methane traps heat 10 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.
However, extraordinarily high concentrations of methane in the model still fail to produce the tropical
Atlantic and Arctic Ocean temperatures inferred for 91 million years ago. This supports the idea that the
model’s response to increased greenhouse gas concentrations underestimates the actual climate
system’s response.
The research team included Bice and Kristina Dahl of WHOI, Philip A. Meyers of the University of
Michigan, Daniel Birgel and Kai-Uwe Hinrichs of the University of Bremen, and Richard D. Norris of
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Bice’s work was supported by private funding from the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution through the Ocean and Climate Change Institute and The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation Endowed Fund for Innovative Research. Funding for this research was also provided by the
Joint Oceanographic Institutions U.S. Science Support Program and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
through the DFG-Research Center Ocean Margins.
icecap.us/images/uploads/OceansandCO2EngrsAustapr08.pdf
I WISH TO DRAW attention to new recently available data that supports the view that climate change
has natural causes, and that the influence of human generated carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is
negligible.
The oceans and rainfall have a major influence in helping to regulate climate on earth.
Recent data on global average sea surface temperatures derived from satellite observations has
revealed some interesting correlations between sea temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Figure 1 shows the global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980. The anomaly is
defined as the departure of the actual temperature from the mean global average for the past century
(1901-2000). The data is derived from satellite coverage, and is much more consistent than previous
data based on surface measurements.
Note the cyclic behaviour and the peak in 1999. There has been overall cooling since 1999. The causes
of the cyclic behaviour are not known. The major influences are probably the El Nino and La Nina
events, and variations in heat flow on the ocean floor from undersea volcanoes and vents. These
factors may be related through a common cause. It is difficult to see any influence of human activity in
the variations of sea surface temperatures shown in the chart.
The present winter in the northern hemisphere has been the coldest for several decades.
Scientists studying solar behavior report that the sun is relatively quiet and that we may expect a further
cooling of earth climate. Thus it seems probable that the recent general cooling of sea surface
temperatures may continue.
Climate change
I WISH TO DRAW attention to new recently available data that supports the view that climate change
has natural causes, and that the influence of human generated carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is
negligible.The oceans and rainfall have a major influence in helping to regulate climate on earth.
Recent data on global average sea surface temperatures derived from satellite observations has
revealed some interesting correlations between sea temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Figure 1 shows the global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980. The anomaly is
defined as the departure of the actual temperature from the mean global average for the past century
(1901-2000). The data is derived from satellite coverage, and is much more consistent than previous
data based on surface measurements. Note the cyclic behaviour and the peak in 1999. There has been
overall cooling since 1999. The causes of the cyclic behaviour are not known. The major influences are
probably the El Nino and La Nina events, and variations in heat flow on the ocean floor from undersea
volcanoes and vents. These factors may be related through a common cause. It is difficult to see any
influence of human activity in the variations of sea surface temperatures shown in the chart. The
present winter in the northern hemisphere has been the coldest for several decades.
Scientists studying solar behavior report that the sun is relatively quiet and that we may expect a further
cooling of earth climate. Thus it seems probable that the recent general cooling of sea surface
temperatures may continue. Figure 2 shows the direct relationship between sea surface temperature
and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere since 1980. It is based on a 21-year moving average of sea
surface temperatures, and a 12-month moving average of carbon dioxide levels. As the sea
temperature has increased, so has the carbon dioxide level. This reflects the normal solubility
relationship between carbon dioxide and water. As the sea temperature increases, the oceans breathe
out carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thus, if sea surface temperatures now continue to fall, we may
expect carbon dioxide levels to decrease. There is strong consistency from December 1984 onwards,
which reflects the better accuracy and consistency of the temperature records from satellite data. During
the period of record on the chart, the sea temperatures have been rising. Sea temperatures are now
starting to fall and it is expected that the strong relationship between sea surface temperature and CO2
will continue to hold. The 21-year moving average of sea surface temperatures was used in the chart to
cover a complete solar cycle including the change in polarity of the sun. It also covers the cycle of El
Nino and La Nina influences on global climate. Such a long term moving average also recognises the
vast storage capacity in the deep oceans for Oceans are the main regulators of carbon dioxide Energy
conservation is rational and does not have to be justified by fear of climate change, argues Lance
Endersbee. He predicts that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere may actually decline in the next few
years due to falling ocean temperatures, and warns that carbon sequestration and carbon trading may
turn out to be futile activities in addressing climate change.
Figure 1: Global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980, plotted as a 12 month moving
average. The anomaly is defined as the departure from the 20th century average (1901-2000) of sea
surface temperature. Monthly global average sea surface temperature anomaly since 1980, plotted as a
12 month moving average. The anomaly is the departure from the mean value for the past century,
1901-2000.36-37c - Climate.indd 369/4/08 15:38:40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CIVIL ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA APRIL 2008 37 Climate change carbon dioxide, and the slow changes.
The 12-month moving average of carbon dioxide levels was used to cover the annual cycle. It is
emphasised that this chart is a plot of actual experience. There is a clear and strong relationship
between levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and long-term average sea surface temperature. This
would be expected from the solubility curves for carbon dioxide in water at various temperatures and
pressures.The experience curve shows the huge capacity of the oceans to absorb the carbon dioxide
emissions of humankind. It seems likely that within about three years we will be experiencing natural
global cooling, and with that a decline in levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.In essence, it is
impossible for carbon dioxide to accumulate in the atmosphere other than to the level determined by the
long-term behaviour of the oceans. As a consequence,there is no need for carbon trading or
geosequestration. Energy conservation is rational and does not have to be justified by fear of climate
change.
Emeritus Prof Lance Endersbee is a past national president of Engineers Australia.
Figure 2: Experience curve relating actual atmospheric carbon dioxide levels with actual global average
sea surface temperature. It is not a time scale, just the simple relation between two physical parameters
independent of time. The line shown is just the sequence of actual plotted points for each end month of
the two moving averages.Chart shows 12 monthly moving average levels of carbon dioxide from Jan
1980 to Jan 2008 versus the 21 year moving average of monthly values of global sea surface
temperature anomaly. 1800 424 346 or visit
www.tensar-triax.com.au QIKREPLY21MOREINFO?36-37c - Climate.indd 379/4/08 15:38:46