Re: OT:Way to go Al


"[none]" <name@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:RFcQi.59390$YL5.38990@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Paul M. Cook wrote:

"Alex W." <ingilt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5nd0j6FhmdbaU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"jeremy" <jeremy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%K9Qi.8606$4V6.4940@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miss Elaine Eos wrote:


Huh?

First: excessive whaling (which, now-a-days, is "any"
whaling) = bad --
no arguments. But I'm asking what effect whaling has on
the stability of the climate.

Most of the large whales feed on krill. Krill feeds on
phytoplankton that bloom in cold water if there is the
correct combination of nutrients and sunlight.
Fertilizer is essential to plant growth and the reduction
in both the species and numbers of whales, has limited the
available nutrients; whale shit being an important part of
the food chain.
With reduced plankton populations, the solar energy heats
the seawater at a greater depth than normal.

But isn't that made up by nutrients in the run-off from
intensive Western farming? If memory serves, I saw this
reason cited as one of the major causes of the death of the
Great Barrier Reef.



It's one reason. Corals can only survive within a very narrow range of
salinity and pH all of which has been altered beyond their ability to
endure. The oceans are becoming more acidic and warmer. While it is
true
that variations of temperature etc have taken place over the millennia,
they
have always occurred within timespans of thousands of years. At no
point is
there any evidence that it ever happened within 30 years as we are now
seeing. Doesn't give species a whole lot of time to adapt.

Paul


hey have all taken time over the span of thousands of years, but the cusp
(or
critical tip over points) in each event happen within a narrow span of
that
longer time frame. without the experience of thousands of years of hard
data, it
could easily be that these past 30 years are nothing more than the cusp of
a
much longer event.


The great barrier reef is hundreds of thousands of years old. So it is safe
to say that in all that time there has not been a die off like we have now.
And they can make these assessments because they can examine the deposit
layers.

Paul


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT:Way to go Al
    ... But I'm asking what effect whaling has on ... Most of the large whales feed on krill. ... correct combination of nutrients and sunlight. ...
    (alt.smokers.cigars)
  • Re: OT:Way to go Al
    ... But I'm asking what effect whaling has on ... Most of the large whales feed on krill. ... correct combination of nutrients and sunlight. ...
    (alt.smokers.cigars)
  • Re: OT:Way to go Al
    ... But I'm asking what effect whaling has on ... the stability of the climate. ... Most of the large whales feed on krill. ...
    (alt.smokers.cigars)
  • Re: OT:Way to go Al
    ... But I'm asking what effect whaling has on ... the stability of the climate. ... Most of the large whales feed on krill. ...
    (alt.smokers.cigars)
  • Re: OT:Way to go Al
    ... But I'm asking what effect whaling has on ... Most of the large whales feed on krill. ... That is a change in climate over something as little as 30 ...
    (alt.smokers.cigars)