Mars, Ares Vallis; August 1997, NASA
Many people will think "what (the heck) has Mars to do with Earth?"
Plenty, as it turns out.
One of the "most surprising" discoveries of the present Pathfinder mission on Mars is that temperature fluctuations often vary by 20 degrees K. - within a few minutes! Similarly, on Mars one's feet could be nice and warm, one's middle cold, and one's head and shoulders freezing cold, during the day, and vice versa at night.
This lesson from Mars can be - and hopefully will be - a life-saver for all of us on this Earth. Again, its pure and simple physics - and the crucially vital role water plays on the Earth, and in our atmosphere.
It is well known and long understood that the unique thermal stability of water tempers our temperatures and climates. But until now, only the water of the oceans, and perhaps of very large continental lakes, have been recognized as contributing factors.
What has not been realized though, is that the large amounts of water stored in forests also temper our continental climates just as effectively as the water of the oceans does.
The thermal stability of water is exactly the same wherever it may be - be this in oceans, or in forests, or in the atmosphere.
Now then, to Mars.The amount of water on Mars is vanishing small; consequently, the daily temperature swings on Mars in Ares Vallis range from a high of +18 degrees F. during the day, to a low of about -110 F. at night. This comes to a daily temperature swing of over 100 degrees F. But this is only 1/2 of the whole story. Due to the lack of water (humidity) in Mars' thin atmosphere - and consequently, of the absence of the thermal stability factor of water in the atmosphere(!), the air temperatures on Mars not only swing up and down by as much as 20 degrees F. in minutes, but are sharply stratisfied vertically within a few feet! The supremely important lesson for the Earth should be clearly apparent by now.
Besides storing immense amounts of water in the ground they shade and in their substance, the forests of the Earth also transpire huge amounts of water (about 70 gallons per tree per day) into our atmosphere. It is solely the well known thermal stability of the water in our atmosphere which so beautifully tempers and evens out the temperatures of our atmosphere. And by far most of the water in our atmosphere is put there by forests - to whit, the almost 100% relative humidity of the tropical forests.
The massive decimation of the Earth's forests will bring similarly violent temperature swings to the continents of the Earth. In our tropical deserts, the daily temperature swings also vary by about 100 degrees, nothwithstanding the fact that 70% percent of the Earth is covered by oceans.
Two factors are involved here. We are a lot closer to our Sun than Mars, so it is quite a bit 'hotter' here than on Mars. However, the temperature of space itself is almost exactly the same for both Mars and our Earth. On their night sides, both planets face the same temperature of space. Consequently, given that we are closer to the Sun than Mars, but face the same temperature of space at nigh, the temperature differentials of the Earth should be far greater than on Mars. However, the Earth's massive oceans profoundly temper these temperature differentials, and so we end up - although considerably warmer than Mars - with almost the same temperature differentials in our deserts as on Mars.
Here, in Ares Vallis on Mars, we have a stark demonstration and a priceless lesson of what happens to a world without water, and a world without forests. This discovery alone is worth all of the money and the effort of the Mars mission. Still, the sharpness and rapidity of temperature variations on Mars should not have been as much as a surprise as it was. Both the scarcity of water on Mars, and the thermal stability of water, were long and well known facts. So, the consequent sharpness and rapidity of temperature differentials on Mars should have been fully expected.
That it did come as 'the greatest surprise" of the current Mars mission is a beautiful demonstration of a great lack of thought. All the facts were well known; but no one bothered to put them together. Instead, and without giving it any thought, we blindly expected what we are used to here on the Earth. It's a bit of a hoot, to put it mildy.
Exactly the same profound lack of thought, and blind expectation of what we are used to, has prevented us from realizing and recognizing the crucially vital regulating and tempering role of terrestrial forests in the Earth's climates. Even worse, we still think that the progressive de-stabilization of the Earth's climates over the last decade is only a temporary irregularity in the Earth's climates, and that it will soon right itself and return to normal. This is another hoot. The thoughtlesness is awesome to behold. It is, for all the world, as if we are driving into our future with our gaze firmly fixed out the rear window. |
Earth, North Korea; August 1997, CNN NewsTwo successive years of record spring floods and summer droughts have devastated North Korea's agriculture, and consequently, its food supply. The consequences are enormous; tens of thousands of North Korean children and elderly are expected to die of starvation this year. And although gross mismanagement - which funnels most of the country's resources to a massive military effort - has contributed to the present spectre of mass starvation, the primary cause is the progressive de-stabilization of climate.
Today's Korea is a harbinger of what lies before us all around the world - if we allow the climatic de-stabilization to continue. Canada's vast Prarie Provinces - major suppliers of grains, beef, canola and dairy products to the world - have also experienced two successive years of extremely wet and late springs, noteably this year's record flood in Saskatchewan, and are now in the grip of an unusually long and relentless summer drought. Last year's harvest were only about 70% of normal, and this year's harvests are expected, at this point, to be 60% of normal. This could turn out worse than expected, depending upon the drought, and the weather to come. Last year's unseasonably early frost and snow, for instance, substantially reduced the volume of the Prarie Province's harvests.
The same story is repeated the world over. This year's massive, record spring floods in the U.S, and the current record flood of the huge Oder valley between Poland and Germany are just two of such examples everywhere. Again, the broad Oder valley is a major producer of those nation's grain, animal fodder, beef, dairy products and vegetable harvests.
The problem we are facing is that the climatic extremes have been escalating year by year for over a decade now, and these climatic dynamics will continue to do so. All indications are that, in a few years, we may well find ourselves in the same situation Korea is facing now.
Moreover, and as the pictures on the news have so dramatically shown us, the climatic extremes have caused billions of dollars of damage to private, business and public property, as well as to the infrastructure of the affected areas. It is also just as clear that record spring floods and severe summer droughts will also very adversely affect the hydro-electric power production capacity of the affected countries.
The climatic dynamics are clear and unambiguous, and the cause, as described in these pages, is (now) known. With the massive decimation of the world's forests, we have severely undermined a fundamental stability factor of our planetary biosphere. Fortunately, the remedy - also as decribed in these pages - is just as clearly and obviously apparent. It comes down to pure and simple physics - the physics of water distribution over the continents. The bottom line of it all is that we have sold the climatic stability of our planetary biosphere for a few, quick bucks.
Earth; Canada, BC; August 20. 1997, CTV NewsToday's local news have reported that this year's Sockeye salmon runs in the Frazer and Nechako Rivers have been devastated due to the unusually high water level and strong currents. Observers say that the salmon have become exhausted from fighting the currents, that huge numbers have died before being able to spawn, and that few females have made it to their spawning grounds. Witnesses say that it is a disaster.
Natives have voluntarily suspended this year's food fishery, because of the extent of this disaster.
This is another example of the myriad consequences of the de-stabilization of our global climate due to the de-forestation of the continents. And as long as we continue to raze the forests of the continents, this will not only continue, but it will escalate year by year.
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