Quote:
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The ocean, like all natural systems, has a limited capacity. There is a point where the ocean becomes acidified with carbonic acid and cannot absorb as much CO2.
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Thats interesting.... Hmmm, I wonder what happens to excess CO2 trapped under the Artic ice ?
Aparently there are some very big undersea volcanoes under the Artic ice cap, and some big bangs of late (has been covered in other threads)
Massive amounts of CO2 released - where did it go ? absorbed by the sea water ?
(extract)
During the first half of 1999, a long-lived volcanic-spreading event occurred on the ultraslow-spreading Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean. The seismicity associated with this event was unprecedented in duration and magnitude for a seafloor eruption.
Perhaps the closest analogue to the Gakkel event would be the 1783 Laki fissure eruption in Iceland, which produced 14 km3 of lava over about 8 months of seismic activity covering a section 27 km long...
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~tolsto...toy_Gakkel.pdf
(extract)
...data demonstrate that eruptions along the (Gakkel) ridge are larger and more frequent than previously theorized.
G. Michael Purdy, director of Lamont-Doherty, said, "A recent eruption on such a slow spreading ridge reaffirms the fact that we live in an era of discovery in ocean sciences. There remains much that is unknown, and even more that is not understood about the sea floor of our own planet
News Archive - The Earth Institute at Columbia University
And a map - Earthquake record, Artic area
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/avetiso...es/avfig06.gif
Map from here -
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/avetisov/TOC.htm
