Do you know anything about salt in oceans contributing to global warming?

Question

i read today that an highly respected meteorologists by the name of Dr William Gray is linking global warming to the salt in the seas and that a cooling period in the globe will soon begin...this is the link and the article. if you know anymore about this or where i can learn more about how this works or is or isnt connected to global warming thatd be sweet....

http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/gore-gets-a-cold-shoulder/2007/10/13/1191696238792.html

Answer 1

Dr. Gray is almost certainly wrong. He's put forward and alternate hypothesis, and that should be investigated. But I would be very surprised if he turns out to be right.

Note that although he has argued that salinity of the oceans is a driver of average global temperatures, he makes no arguments whatsoever that contradict the CO2-driven AGW hypothesis. In other words, he has put forward an alternative forcing, but he in no way invalidates the idea that the observed, anthropogenic increase in CO2 levels are also a forcing.

Answer 2

<< Do you know anything about salt in oceans contributing to global warming >> Yes, I'm a climatologist and my girlfriend is qualified as a marine biologist (although not a practicing one), so it's something we know a lot about.

What Bill Gray has consistently failed to adequately explain is how a changing level of salt could cause global warming or even how the level of salt could change substantially at all. Basically he's come up with a theory without an explanation. That's clever.

Interestingly, it's not a new theory and he made the same predictions several years ago. If his theory were correct then the world would now be cooling, quite clearly it isn't.

This is what Prof Andrew Dessler, a climate change expert, had to say abour Dr Gray "Bill Gray is excoriated in public, rightfully in my opinion, because he's essentially accused the entire scientific community of fraud ... and for no other reason that I can figure other than he didn't get the funding he feels he deserves. As a scientist, he knows that the type of conspiracy theories he's suggesting simply cannot actually occur. This has led to a real loss of respect within the community for him". I agree with the professor.

Salt does not cause warming or cooling, it can't, it's inert, one of the most stable substances there is. Warming or cooling can cause salt (in a round about sort of way) but that's because the warming provides the energy needed for a reaction.

The salinity and density of the oceans could potentially have a role to play in one possible consequence of global warming - namely disruption to the thermhaline circulation (meridian overturning). Thermo means density, haline means salt and these are the drivers of the great ocean currents. Changes to the density or salinity of ocean water as a consequence of cold, fresh water introduced from the melting of the ice sheets could disprupt the most vulnerable parts of the thermohaline circulation - namely the Atlantic Conveyor or Gulf Stream.

The mechanics are not clearly understood enough to make reliable prodections. For the time being all that can be said is that the Gulf Stream could, possibly, be disrupted by diverting, splitting, truncating or ceasing.

The ocean currents are a mechanism for the distribution of heat, they don't directly cause global warming or cooling. Any disruption to them means that some places will receive less warmth from the oceans, whilst others receive more. This consequence could be a contributory factor to future climate change.

Answer 3

Well there's a first, I gave gcnp a thumbs up!

It sonds doubley bizzare because the ocean is freshening due to melting ice, aghhem, sorry, frog in the throat, therefore there would surely be less of these salt aerosols.

US scientific funding is pretty comprehensive due to the need to be seen to be unbiased, they even research the cosmic ray theory even though most scientists think it's a load of crap (inoffensive, check your dictionary). So this will get looked into if it has a shred of credibility.

Answer 4

So called worldwide warming has been a factor of the traditional cycle of the earth through fact the earth improve into created. some opportunistic liberals have invented the Algore Syndrome and made billions of dollars from the gullible. there is not any evidence that guy has any administration over it. be grateful for worldwide warming through fact without it, you would be under miles of ice!

Answer 5

No,but I heard oregano in our rivers and pepper in our ponds is causing Global Warming. We need to switch to Montreal stake seasoning to save the planet.

Answer 6

i didnt even no that salt could do that i no salt is bad for you but i didnt think it was that bad.
or is it someone just saying it as a different reason of global warming blaming it on someone else.
i dont believe it ive not seen it on the news.

Answer 7

I don't think you will be able to find out much published on that subject. This topic lies in the category of precipitation systems, climatologists know almost next to nothing about how precipitation regulates the long term effect of climate. It sounds kind of crazy though.

Answer 8

Wait for it my friend, the GWs will discredit him because of his age.