A recent study suggests that Earth’s climate may rapidly adjust to the rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels caused by human activity, potentially triggering the next ice age on schedule instead of delaying it by thousands of years. Researchers identified a new climate mechanism, or “thermostat,” that efficiently buries large amounts of carbon on the ocean floor, capable of counteracting human emissions within 100,000 years—far faster than previously thought.
This new thermostat works alongside an established mechanism known as silicate weathering, which involves CO2 dissolving in rainwater and reacting with silicate rocks, eventually leading to carbon burial in the ocean. However, this traditional thermostat has a slow response time, taking up to a million years to balance CO2 levels.
The new findings indicate that increased phosphorus flow from land to ocean promotes phytoplankton growth, which in turn enhances carbon burial and may cool global temperatures. Although this “organic carbon thermostat” is not an immediate safeguard against the effects of global warming, it suggests a more dynamic response to carbon levels that could facilitate a timely onset of the next ice age.
Overall, while the interaction of these thermostats could help restore natural climate cycles, uncertainties remain about their precise responses to ongoing climate change.
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