As per my email today: the paper seems to suggest increasing snow cover, not reducing it, is the key to this approach.
Thanks Andrew Lockley On 21 Nov 2017 22:01, "Renaud de RICHTER" <[email protected]> wrote: > *But their wonder-kid suggest re-introducing large Arctic herbivores to > create holes in the snow to allow the cold Arctic wind to keep the > permafrost frozen.* > These Russian scientists wrote > <http://media.longnow.org/files/2/REVIVE/The%20Past%20and%20Future%20of%20the%20Mammoth%20Steppe%20Ecosystem.pdf> > : > "*Albescent **pasture ecosystems promote the planet’s cooling. **They can > be very useful to combat current climate warming. They can absorb more > carbon from the atmosphere than forests and can reliably preserve this > carbon from fires in the deep soil. These ecosystems must be returned to > natur*e." > > Some more explanations on their theory here > <https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8a58/59de5bc3fa51574c7ab267d80930be01f666.pdf> > > > > 2017-11-21 20:37 GMT+01:00 Russell Seitz <[email protected]>: > >> Microbial metabolism of methane to CO2 went unmentioned by the fictive >> Secretary. Just as agonomists have raised African crop production by >> spiking conventional fertilizers with enzymatically vital micronutrients >> like zinc and selenium , the rate of CH4 to CO2 conversion in thawing >> permafrost might be raised, and radiative forcing feedback reduced by >> aerial spraying of kg per km2 quantitities of such elements over >> micronutrient deficient regions of tundra. >> >> On Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 12:25:23 AM UTC-5, Andrew Lockley wrote: >>> >>> Good spot. >>> >>> The "solution" is likely to be counter-productive, if it works as you >>> describe. Except in local anomalies, summer radiation is the main heat >>> input. Late lying snow increases albedo, thus reducing seasonal heating. >>> Overlying snow is indeed a good insulator, but I don't know of any bias >>> towards net cooling from winds, with net warming assumedly as likely. In >>> fact, as global warming acts to prevent heat escape generally, it is likely >>> that the air will be providing a net warming effect. >>> >>> Therefore, reducing spring snow cover will exacerbate permafrost loss. >>> In deep winter, less snow cover will be beneficial in the high Arctic (due >>> to reduced insulation), but this would profoundly affect local hydrology, >>> if it were possible. There is no plausible mechanism to suggest herbivores >>> could clear snow in the deep winter.. >>> >>> However, grazing may have no such effect on spring snow. In fact grazing >>> is more likely to reduce forest advance, which serves to maintain albedo - >>> forest advance likely exacerbating local warming, as described above. >>> >>> Soil cover from dense, low-lying vegetation serves to improve methane >>> metabolism by aerobic microorganisms. If grazing prevents forest advance, >>> it will likely constrain methane release. If grazing reduces ground cover, >>> but without controlling forest advance, it will likely exacerbate methane >>> release. >>> >>> Andrew >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On 21 Nov 2017 05:05, "Eric Durbrow" <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> CBS (in the US) has a usually thoughtful political TV drama called >>> Madame Secretary. In the latest episode, the heroine, the US Sec of State, >>> has to brainstorm solutions to melting permafrost in Russia and elsewhere >>> releasing smallpox and other pathogens. They abandon the ideas of mylar >>> sheet over the permafrost and SRM. But their wonder-kid suggest >>> re-introducing large Arctic herbivores to create holes in the snow to allow >>> the cold Arctic wind to keep the permafrost frozen. >>> >>> Strength: This is one of the very few cases where climate disasters seem >>> to be mention in primetime US TV. >>> >>> Questions: I’m familiar with the melting permafrost-pathogen situation >>> and the methane situation but this fictional solution doesn’t seem very >>> convincing. Is it even feasible? >>> >>> (If you subscribe to CBS Access you can get to the latest episode called >>> North to the Future. You ***might**** also find it on youtube.com. Its >>> also possible that people outside the US get CBS shows on Netflix.) >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "geoengineering" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "geoengineering" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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