. Earth Science News .
WATER WORLD
Longest-living animal gives up ocean climate secrets
by Staff Writers
Cardiff, UK (SPX) Dec 07, 2016


illustration only

A study of the longest-living animal on Earth, the quahog clam, has provided researchers with an unprecedented insight into the history of the oceans. By studying the chemistry of growth rings in the shells of the quahog clam, an international team led by experts from Cardiff University and Bangor University have pieced together the history of the North Atlantic Ocean over the past 1000 years and discovered how its role in driving the atmospheric climate has drastically changed.

The research team showed that prior to the industrial period (pre AD 1800), changes in the North Atlantic Ocean, brought about by variations in the Sun's activity and volcanic eruptions, were driving our climate and led to changes in the atmosphere, which subsequently impacted our weather.

However, this has switched during the industrial period (1800-2000) and changes in the North Atlantic are now synchronous with, or lag behind, changes in the atmosphere, which the researchers believe could be due to the influences of greenhouse gases. The results are extremely important in terms of discerning how changes in the North Atlantic Ocean may impact the climate and the weather across the Northern Hemisphere in the future.

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications. The quahog clam, also known as a hard clam or chowder clam, is an edible mollusc native to the continental shelf seas of North America and Europe that can live for over 500 years.

The chemistry in the growth rings in the shells of the clam - which occur much like the annual growth rings in the centre of trees - can act as a proxy for the chemical make-up of the oceans, enabling researchers to reconstruct a history of how the oceans have changed over the past 1000 years with unprecedented dating precision.

By comparing this record with records of solar variability, volcanic eruptions and atmospheric air temperatures, the researchers have been able to construct a bigger picture and investigate how each of these things have been linked to one another over time.

Lead author of the study Dr David Reynolds, from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, said: "Our results show that solar variability and volcanic eruptions play a significant role in driving variability in the oceans over the past 1000 years. Results also showed that marine variability has played an active role in driving changes to Northern Hemisphere air temperatures in the pre-industrial era.

"This trend is not seen during the industrial period, where Northern Hemisphere temperature changes, driven by manmade forcings, precede variability in the marine environment."

Up until now, instrumental observations of the oceans have only spanned the last 100 years or so, whilst reconstructions using marine sediment cores come with significant age uncertainties. This has limited the ability of researchers to look further back in time and examine the role the ocean plays in the wider climate system using such detailed statistical analyses.

Co-author of the study Professor Ian Hall, from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, said: "Our results highlight the challenge of basing our understanding of the climate system on generally short observational records.

"Whilst they likely capture an element of natural variability, the strong anthropogenic trends observed over recent decades likely masks the true natural rhythms of the climate system. These data therefore provides an invaluable archive of the natural state of the ocean system and the expression of anthropogenic change over the last 1000 years.

"If we are to continue to develop the most robust near-term predictions of future climate change we must continue to develop robust reconstructions of past ocean variability."


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Cardiff University
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WATER WORLD
Corals much older than previously thought, study finds
University Park PA (SPX) Dec 02, 2016
Coral genotypes can survive for thousands of years, possibly making them the longest-lived animals in the world, according to researchers at Penn State, the National Marine Fisheries Service and Dial Cordy and Associates. The team recently determined the ages of elkhorn corals - Acropora palmata - in Florida and the Caribbean and estimated the oldest genotypes to be over 5,000 years old. T ... read more


WATER WORLD
For Mosul displaced, the added pain of divided families

MH370 relatives in Madagascar to hunt for clues

Syrian crisis altered region's land and water resources

Refugees rehoused in Greece as temperatures drop

WATER WORLD
Shape matters when light meets atom

New technology of ultrahigh density optical storage researched at Kazan University

Earth's 'technosphere' now weighs 30 trillion tons

A watershed moment in understanding how H2O conducts electricity

WATER WORLD
Over half of Med's shark and ray species 'at risk of extinction'

600,000 risk losing water in war-scarred Ukraine

Extreme downpours could increase fivefold across parts of the US

Making spines from sea water

WATER WORLD
When permafrost melts, what happens to all that stored carbon

During last interglacial, Antarctica warned 3 times more than global average

Permafrost loss changes Yukon River chemistry with global implications

Arctic freeze slows down

WATER WORLD
EU warns no extension for British farm subsidies

Indigenous people eat 15 times more seafood than non-indigenous people

The economy of cold soil blues

S. Korea confirms more cases of deadly bird flu

WATER WORLD
One dead, 17 hurt in Peru earthquake

The farmers, their little pigs and the wolves: an Italy quake survival tale

Cyclic change within magma reservoirs affects the explosivity of volcanic eruptions

Groundwater helium level could signal potential risk of earthquake

WATER WORLD
Fidel Castro's military forays in Africa

US seeks UN arms embargo against South Sudan

Uganda nabs suspect in $120 mn fake arms deal

Africa waits and wonders on Trump's foreign policy

WATER WORLD
Human ancestor 'Lucy' was a tree climber, new evidence suggests

The role of physical environment in the 'broken windows' theory

Scientist uses 'dinosaur crater' rocks, prehistoric teeth to track ancient humans

Genes for speech may not be limited to humans









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.