Ice-free Arctic Ocean may not be of much use in soaking up carbon dioxide, a component of global warming, according to new study

The summer of 2010 has been agonizingly hot in much of the continental U.S., and the record-setting temperatures have refocused attention on global warming. Scientists have been looking at ways the Earth might benefit from natural processes to balance the rising heat, and one process had intrigued them, a premise that melting ice at the poles might allow more open water that could absorb carbon dioxide, one of the major compounds implicating in warming.

Now, though, in research just published in the journal Science and led by a University of Georgia marine chemist, that idea may be one more dead end. In fact, a survey of waters in the Canada Basin, which extends north of Alaska to the North Pole, shows that its value as a potential carbon dioxide “sink” may be short-lived at best and minor in terms of what the planet will need to avoid future problems.

“The Canada Basin and entire Arctic Ocean are still taking up carbon dioxide,” said Wei-Jun Cai, a professor in the department of marine sciences in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and lead author of the study. “But our research shows that as the ice melts, the carbon dioxide in the water very quickly reaches equilibrium with the atmosphere, so its use as a place to store CO2 declines dramatically and quickly. We never really understood how limited these waters would be in terms of their usefulness in soaking up carbon dioxide.”

The research was a joint project with the government of China. Other authors on the paper published in Science include, from the University of Georgia: graduate student Baoshan Chen, research scientist Yongchen Wang, postdoctoral associate Xinping Hu, and doctoral student Wei-Jen Huang. Colleagues from China and elsewhere who were co-authors include Liqi Chen, Zhongyong Gao, Yuanhui Zhang and Suqing Xu from the Third Institute of Oceanography of the State Ocean Administration of China; Sang Lee of the Korea Polar Institute;Jianfang Chen and Haisheng Zhang of the Second Institute of Oceanography in China; Denis Pierrot and Kevin Sullivan of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Akihiko Murata of the Research Institute for Global Change in Japan; Jackie Grebmeier of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland; and Peter Jones of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Canada.

The carbon dioxide level in the Earth’s atmosphere has increased dramatically since the industrial revolution, and around 30 percent of that CO2 has been absorbedby the oceans. That has been the good news. The bad news is that it increases the acidification of the seas, causing changes in conditions for the growth of all life forms.

Melting in the planet’s Arctic zone has been dramatic in the past three years. A recent paper predicted that the Arctic Ocean would be ice-free during summer within 30 years, Cai noted. Researchers in years past had predicted that increased areas of open water in the Arctic, while troublesome in many ways, might at least sequester increasing amounts of carbon dioxide because of summertime ice melts.

“This prediction, however, was made based on observations of very low surface water carbon dioxide levels,” said Cai, “from either highly productive ocean margin areas or basin areas under earlier ice-covered conditions before the recent major ice retreat.”

To see just how efficient Canada Basin waters would be in taking up atmospheric carbon dioxide, an international team of scientists in the summer of 2008 boarded the retrofitted Chinese research vessel Xue Long (Snow Dragon) for a three-month research voyage. Using direct sampling of water and another method called “underway” sampling, in which water is pumped into the ship directly from the ocean, analyzed and returned, they studied the upper layers of the water into which they sailed. They also studied the waters’ salinity, temperature, nutrient concentration and chlorophyll activity.

What Cai and colleagues found was that as greater areas of ice melt each summer, the Canada Basin’s potential as a CO2 sink will diminishdramatically mainly because of the rapid uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere. And because of this carbon dioxide uptake, the waters become quite acidic and “a poor environment for calcium-carbonate shell-bearing marine organisms,” Cai said.

The findings are at once intriguing and disappointing because carbon dioxide and other gases dissolve more readily in cold water than warm water, and so scientists had long thought that seas of melting polar ice would at least have the trade-off of being good places for the absorption of carbon dioxide.

Collaborative work of this kind between the governments of the United States and China on Arctic research is relatively new. Cai said it greatly benefits both parties.

“One of the take-away lessons of this research is that we can’t expect the oceans to do the job of helping offset global warming in the short term,” said Cai.

Cai’s work is supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Uga VII passes away unexpectedly Thursday in Savannah

Uga VII, the legendary Georgia mascot who roamed the sidelines at Bulldog football games, died unexpectedly Thursday morning in Savannah.

He died of heart-related causes according to owner Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler.He was four years old and finishing his second season as the team’s mascot. His given name was “Loran’s Best” and his first game was Aug. 30, 2008, vs. Georgia Southern.

“We are all in a state of shock,” said Seiler.“We had no warning whatsoever.”

There will be no live mascot at Georgia’s game on Saturday but a wreath will be placed on Uga VII’s doghouse on the north sideline.

“He was 10-3 last year which is not bad for a ‘freshman,’” said Seiler.“Uga VII was not as active or mischievous as his father but more distinguished.He realized his role when he put his shirt on.He was well-behaved and always appreciated the significance of his role.”

“This is a very sad day for the Seiler family but also for all Georgia people,” said Damon Evans, UGA Director of Athletics.“Just as his ancestors, he had captured the hearts of college football fans everywhere as the country’s number one mascot.He had been truly embraced by all those who follow the Georgia Bulldogs across the country.We will miss him dearly.”

Seiler said there were options available for Uga VII’s replacement but no final determination would be made until sometime next year.

“Our hearts go out to the Seilers and the entire Bulldog Nation at this unexpected loss,” stated University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams.“Uga VII was both a family pet and a symbol for millions of fans, and besides that he was just a sweet dog.We will miss him.”

The College of Veterinary Medicine is saddened by the sudden loss of our dear friend and mascot,” Uga VII,” said Dr. Sheila W. Allen, dean of the College, and Dr. R. Bruce Hollett, personal faculty veterinarian for Uga VII. “His playful personality and winning spirit will be missed by all of us at the veterinary college, and all of us at the University of Georgia. The Seilers are long-time friends of the University, and we share in their grief.”

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UGA student sets state cricket-spitting record

David Friedman sent a cricket flying 31.55 feet – with his mouth. Now the University of Georgia junior from St. Simons holds the unofficial state record for cricket spitting.

“I would say the secret is you got to get a good lunge forward with the head and diaphragm,” said Friedman, a finance major in UGA’s Terry College of Business. “Put your whole body into it. My sister and I used to see how far we could spit watermelon seeds, so I guess that helped out.”

Friedman’s unusual honor was awarded during an entomology service-learning class this spring.

The cricket-spitting contest is the newest addition to the annual Insect Zoo hosted by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences entomology department. Now in its 24th year, the zoo’s organizers decided it was time to send things hopping.

Cricket spitting started at Purdue University in 1996 when entomology professor Tom Turpin added the competition to the annual Bug Bowl event there. In 1998, Dan Capps from Madison, Wis., set the current Guinness World Record with a cricket spit of 32 feet and a half inch.

UGA entomology program coordinator Marianne Robinette plans to invite Guinness officials to the 2010 insect zoo. She’s hoping a Georgian will set the world record.

For an amateur, Friedman came close.

“My second cricket reached 31.55 feet,” he said. “I would say it was pretty miraculous, almost like a hole in one, but more like an eagle on a par five.”

In addition to reaching the farthest distance, Friedman’s brown house cricket had to land intact – with six legs, four wings and two antennas. And, he had 20 seconds to accomplish this feat.

Robinette was in charge of the rules and regulations for the contest and making sure the crickets were sterilized.

“We soaked them in alcohol, rinsed them in water and froze them,” she said.

Friedman plans to put his honor and his newly gained insect knowledge to use in the future.

“I’ll be the coolest dad in the world because I will know everything about bugs,” he said. “Or if I am ever lost in the wild, I may know what can or can’t harm me, or what I may or may not eat.”

By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia

Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

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