Been a lot of talk lately about how climate change impacted Australia's ongoing bushfire season.
But the bushfires are also *impacting* the climate, from releasing millions of tons of CO2 to sending plumes of soot into the stratosphere.
Me for @grist grist.org/climate/climat…
But the bushfires are also *impacting* the climate, from releasing millions of tons of CO2 to sending plumes of soot into the stratosphere.
Me for @grist grist.org/climate/climat…
@grist To summarize what I learned here: One, the fires have already released 400 megatons of CO2, which is, in scientific terms, a shitload. It's about as much carbon as the UK emits in an entire year.
@grist That amount of carbon--while incredibly, nowhere close to record for an Australian fire season--creates a climate feedback loop by warming the atmosphere.
@grist There are also several other impacts related to the giant smoke plume currently circumnavigating the southern hemisphere. You can see it here:
@grist The smoke is turning New Zealand glaciers brown. This is v likely hastening their melt this year bc darker ice absorbs more heat.
@VargoLauren, who is studying old aerial photos of the glaciers, told me she hasn't seen anything like it before.
@Rachelhatesit took this wow photo
@VargoLauren, who is studying old aerial photos of the glaciers, told me she hasn't seen anything like it before.
@Rachelhatesit took this wow photo
@grist @VargoLauren @Rachelhatesit .@mpneige also told me there could be effects on the glaciers of Patagonia, which the smoke is also passing over. Even if there isn't a visible color change, they could be darkening enough to enhance solar melting.
@grist @VargoLauren @Rachelhatesit @mpneige I'll wrap this quickly since I've now tagged some folks: the smoke has also entered the stratosphere, likely due to an outbreak of ferocious fire-induced thunderclouds. This is clear from satellite data eg.
@grist @VargoLauren @Rachelhatesit @mpneige Exactly what impact it'll have up there isn't known. Will it reflect sunlight and lead to a slight cooling effect, a la volcanic eruption? Or will all the black carbon in the smoke absorb sunlight and hasten warming further? This is at the frontiers of scientific research.
@grist @VargoLauren @Rachelhatesit @mpneige We don't know because huge pyroCb events like this, which loft loads of particles into the stratosphere, are incredibly rare. The few examples we have offer fodder for detailed studies and this year's Australian fires might become another data point.
@grist @VargoLauren @Rachelhatesit @mpneige But the TL;DR is this: Australia's bushfire season is already having far-reaching planetary impacts from climate pollution to glaciers to complex stratospheric interactions.
Scientists will be studying this event for years.
Scientists will be studying this event for years.
