The Nitrogen cycle is a VITAL key to life on Earth, and maintaining the balance of it is one of the major challenges humans face with climate change. New research from the University of Texas suggests that the Arctic Ocean plays a much bigger role than previously thought in the Nitrogen cycle. The research suggests that Microbes at the seabed of the Arctic Ocean play a job in removing Nitrogen from the environment through denitrification which creates Nitrogen gas.
The region is responsible for about 5% of the World's Ocean nitrogen removal while only making up about 1% of the continental shelf. This is important because it can gives mankind clues as to how to better remove excess Nitrogen from the environment. All living things need Nitrogen to survive but too much Nitrogen can cause harm to both maritime and land based eco-systems. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161026104556.htm
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The problem with climate change is that it leads to thousands of new scenarios and problems as the environment tries to cope with changing conditions. Forest fires, especially in the Western United States, are on the rise due to climate change. Because of Climate Change vegetation in the forest receives less water which can cause trees to dry out and overall make a much drier landscape. These are the perfect conditions for forest fires to arise especially during the Summer months. The dry dead vegetation catches is very flammable and spreads the fire like, well, wildfire.
Forest fires can be caused my many different things, that's why it is so important for us humans to be careful in the forest. Cigarette buds, lighters, matches, glass, and many other daily things are big culprits when it comes to forest fires. We must be extra cautious around forests and natural environments so that we do not start more forest fires which are only going to hurt our home more. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161012141702.htm The effects of global warming on our world and society are yet to be seen in full effect, but as seen in California over the past years, it is evident that global warming is having an affect on our enviornment. With the rise in Earth's temperatures, droughts have been getting more and more common all over the world and scientists have made a new daunting prediction. Scientists are saying that the chances of the Southwestern Region of the US having a drought in the next century lasting more than ten years is over fifty percent. The same scientists continued to say that the chances of a "mega drought" or a drought lasting more than thirty years, is between twenty and fifty percent.
These predictions are scary because living in California I have seen what the drought can do to everyday life, and the fact that a much more severe and much longer drought will likely hit a big portion of this country in the coming century is daunting. We must stop ruining our earth and we must work to reverse the effects of climate change. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140827122505.htm Researchers at the University of Princeton who have been studying ice cores have found an interesting pattern in the levels of oxygen in the atmosphere over the past 800,000 years. The researchers have found that over the past 800,000 years oxygen levels have dropped in the atmosphere. The levels have dropped .8%, but over just the past 100 years they have dropped .1%. The levels dropped so much in the past century because of the burning of fossil fuels that came with industrialization.
These findings are interesting because they reinforce the argument that humans are affecting the earth and it's atmosphere. We are literally changing proportions in a very delicate system, something we should not be messing with at all. We must wake up SOON and realize what we are doing before it is too late to fix our damage. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161003141140.htm |
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