It's
common knowledge at this point that climate change has numerous negative impacts
on our planet. It’s also well understood by the readers of this blog that far-reaching
change needs to be carried out as soon as possible to mitigate and prevent the
damage that climate change causes. One of the most concerning developments that
will come from our inaction today is the starting of certain positive feedback loops that when they reach their tipping points, will not only will serve to exacerbate
the problem but may make the damage of climate change irreversible as well.
One example
of a positive feedback loop is planetary albedo, or the amount of sunlight that
is absorbed by a surface due to its color. Objects that are darker colors will
reflect much less light energy from the sun as opposed to ones that are a lighter
color. The effect this has on polar climates with a lot of built-up ice such as
the ice in the Arctic Ocean is well documented. Due to higher global
temperatures, there is less light-colored ice covering the dark-colored water
so more light is absorbed, leading to warmer water temperatures and even higher
rates of melting ice. This process compounded year after year will gradually decrease
seasonal ice coverage in the Arctic, leading to decreased planetary albedo,
higher ocean temperatures, and the release of more carbon that is stored within
the ice.
Another
example of a positive feedback loop emerging due to climate change is the release
of trapped carbon stored in permafrost and peat bogs in the Arctic,
particularly in Greenland, Canada, and Russia. Permafrost covers 24% of the Northern
Hemisphere and stores atmospheric carbon by freezing the organic matter from
dead plants, animals, and microbes in a layer of ice. This freezing prevents this
biomass from decomposing, so it doesn’t release that carbon back into the air. This freezing causes the permafrost to act like a carbon sink. As is detailed
in this article, scientists estimate that the permafrost layer contains about
1400 gigatons of carbon. This is an astronomically large amount, and if it were
to be released into the atmosphere, climate mitigation efforts would be futile.
What is most concerning about this feedback loop, however, is that the
permafrost is already beginning to melt more than what is historically observed,
to the point where in some areas the Arctic is already acting as a carbon source instead of a carbon sink. On top of that, this emitted carbon hasn’t been included in a number of climate
models used to inform policy decisions by lawmakers all over the world.
There
are many other feedback loops not detailed in this blog post as well, the most
topical of which being the drying out of forest climates leading to increased wildfire
activity in places like Boreal forests, the Amazon rainforest, and most recently,
California. The dire threat these climate tipping points present is yet another
reason why massive global change in the form of phasing out fossil fuel use is
absolutely essential. These looming threats should be used to persuade lawmakers
as well as the average person to make efforts to change for the better.
This is extremely informative for myself and others. I did not know what planetary albedo was until I read your blog. I think this is a very important topic to inform others about. I also like how you pointed out how if the carbon levels from the permafrost layer were released into the atmosphere, that it could cause serious issues.
ReplyDeleteYou’re absolutely right—positive feedback loops like the loss of Arctic ice and permafrost thawing are incredibly alarming because they accelerate climate change beyond our control. What do you think are the most effective actions individuals and policymakers can take to address these tipping points? Some argue that transitioning to renewable energy is the most urgent step, while others emphasize the need for large-scale carbon capture technologies.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that can be done is a large scale switch from fossil fuel use to clean energy as soon as possible. As of right now these loops aren't totally irreversible yet, but it's only a matter of time if nothing changes soon.
Deleteas you said Andrew its only a matter of time before these changes become irreversible but I'm sad to say its impossible to switch from fossil fuels to clean energy on a large scale in the amount of time we have left before the damages become irreversible
DeleteWow! This is crazy, I have never heard of this before, so currently we are living in a continuous positive loop. I heard it mentioned in class before but never got the chance to fully understand what that loop meant in terms of our environment and day-to-day life.
ReplyDeleteThe examples you gave demonstrate how urgent it is to address climate change in order to stop these feedback loops from causing irreversible damage. It is vital and powerful to issue this call to action to phase out fossil fuels and convince people and legislators to make changes.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to stay positive when it feels like so few car about these positive feedback loops that are slowing killing us. I did not know about the permafrost and peat bogs so thank you for bringing that up. Is there really a way to stop these feedback loops or are we truly done for?
ReplyDeleteThis post was great at explaining positive feedback loops and the common examples of them in our climate discussions. I had limited knowledge of how the color of glaciers and ice can contribute to the rapidity of warming and sea surface temperatures raising. The Arctic acting as a carbon source is such a scary concept, I can only hope I can learn more about carbon emission mitigation efforts in my future career to positively influence policymakers and politicians.
ReplyDeleteVisiting some of the mechanisms behind climate change is valuable to provide insight and new understanding of the problems. I do also wonder about potential ways to limit these positive feedback loops. One way I've heard is to artificially generate sea ice at the poles (not as unrealistic as one might think). We could also make rooftop gardens in our thickest cities to help absorb some heat. There's solutions and hope yet, but we do need to get a handle on this problem before it sprints away from us.
ReplyDeleteThis is very informative, and a really good read. I didn't really know anything about feedback loops, but we need to continue working towards releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. Is there a way of stopping everything.
ReplyDeleteI always knew about light and dark colors reflecting and absorbing light differently but never thought about it in the aspect of climate change and how it's a continuous loop. This post was worded extremely well and was very informative.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good blog, Andrew! I really enjoyed the statistic about 1400 gigatons of carbon stored in permafrost. It is pretty alarming to hear that the arctic is acting as a carbon source rather than a sink. I briefly mentioned water vapor creating another positive feedback loop in the atmosphere. I am really hoping that fixing these loops is much easier than we think. Hopefully!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting way to expand upon our class discussions! We have discussed positive feedback loops more and more in class so it was really cool to see a deep dive on the different kinds of feedback loops. I've never heard of the albedo effect before personally so that was an interesting new loop to learn about.
ReplyDeleteI have known that different colors absorb different amounts of sunlight, but I had never considered before the impacts that this absorption of light could have on this Artic thank you for informing us about this!
ReplyDeleteI have been learning about feedback loops since elementary or middle school. It is such an easy concept to wrap your head around due to its continuty and pattern. Yet, people still attempt to refute the correlation between some the loops elements. I expect even more dramatic feedback loops in the upcoming years.
ReplyDeleteHey Andrew,
ReplyDeleteYou explained these positive feedback loops super clearly and the graphic you provided was very helpful! Do you think that we should begin looking into artificial means of greenhouse gas storage or would rehabilitation efforts of vulnerable carbon sinks be a better use of our resources? I suspect, along with most other approaches to conservation, it will be a complex and mixed solution.
The biggest thing that can be done is switching from fossil fuel use to renewables as soon as possible on a global scale. Conservation and rehabilitation of sinks would also be a valuable use of resources, but if the root cause isn't addressed it'd be a band-aid over a bullet wound at best.
DeleteThis is a very well-written and informative post on the effects of positive feedback loops. I learned through these examples the specifics of what these warmer temperatures are causing within these environments, and with current conditions how they are expected to worsen all the more dramatically. I wonder if there are any innovations that could be utilized to slow this effect during the process of climate regeneration.
ReplyDeleteKeeping our polar ice caps are essential for slowing down climate change. They reflect a huge amount of solar radiation which helps slow down climate change. The world will only warm faster if we loss our ice and snow.
ReplyDeleteThis post is so scary to me. It seems like at this point anything that we could do to help climate change would be futile with how far gone some parts of the world are. I have never heard of positive feedback loops before. What other loops are there? Might they impact us here in Michigan?
ReplyDeleteThis blog does an excellent job of explaining the terrifying reality of positive feedback loops in climate change. The examples of permafrost melting is especially alarming. It's so scary to think about how these processes could spiral out of control AND make mitigation nearly impossible.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is awesome, Andrew! The explanation about albedo and permafrost really opened my eyes to the hidden impacts of climate change. I had no idea permafrost holds 1,400 gigatons of carbon! By the way, how can we make sure carbon emissions from permafrost are included in climate policy models? Thanks for such an inspiring post!
ReplyDeleteYou did such a great job on your post! I have heard of albedo before but couldn't remember what it was. Your description and the photo were really helpful. I knew that the water was heating up, but I didn't realize it was because it was absorbing the sun's rays more than the ice. I found that to be really interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative blog! I did not know what planetary albedo was, let alone that it was part of a positive feedback loop, but it makes sense! I have always found it interesting how much carbon is in permafrost and it makes the fact that the ice caps are melting that much more concerning.
ReplyDeleteWow! This post was super informative and definitely piqued my interest in terms of feedback loops due to climate change. I took a class on complex systems and learned about various types of positive feedback loops but never in depth about ones regarding climate change. This topic is super important as well due to its severity and I feel you did a great job explaining the detriment of these feedback loops.
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was very well written. My gosh, these feedback loops are truly scary. Taking climate perhaps beyond human control. And, as you say, it all seems to be happening faster than the models predict. We can't kid around - and what the h is Trump doing?
ReplyDelete