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Comments 53751 to 53800:

  1. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    As Albatross @10 notes, and as shown in the post we did about Watts' draft paper (linked in the above post), Watts does not understand the most fundamental aspects about how the surface temperature record is put together, and thus is not an expert in this area. Therefore, there is no reason for PBS to have interviewed him on the subject. In fact Michels said he chose to interview Watts to "hear more about the skeptical perspective", not because Watts actually has any expertise in the subject area. That is the very definition of false balance.
  2. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    Regarding the science indicating anthropogenic climate change… I look at our 3rd rock the way a doctor views a patient; treatment follows diagnosis. The indicators as to whether a patient does or doesn’t have a given condition cannot be weighed against any concerns with particular treatment modalities being suggested. Carbon amelioration policy does not alter the accepted metrics or change physical reality. What is today is in no way changed by what is being considered for tomorrow. No doctor would ever suggested that blood values were inconclusive or that a MRI inadequate evidence simply because of a treatment being considered. They only measure the facts in hand. Let the facts speak for themselves; best if we don’t put the cart before the horse. Many "skeptics" take the opposite approach and some even go so far as to suggest it is the cart of carbon taxation pulling the horse of climate science. As for PBS…this is no different than a marginal song put out by a great band. Everyone slips up on occasion. The real issue, as has been pointed out, is that of false equivalency. Watts is to peer review research what Milli Vanilli was to original artistry.
    Moderator Response: Fixed text.
  3. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    Dale, I hope that you are not equating Watts with Einstein, or Hansen for that matter. What you say may be true in ordinary circumstances, but this is far from ordinary circumstances. Also, please recall my example of Watts making an amateur mistake by ignoring the time of observation bias, that is a huge red flag right there. Hopefully you have higher expectations of your cardiologist or anesthetist. The issues are twofold: 1) There is no reason to interview Watts when there are several other highly qualified experts available to speak to the subject; to do so is making the mistake of false equivalence, 2) Watts' attempt to conduct science is severely compromised by his ideology and his bias. Now if Mr. Watts were not in the unfortunate habit of repeatedly misrepresenting the science, promulgating and highlighting inferior or even pseudo science on his blog, then he may have been in a position to undertake objective and original science. The record shows that, for the most part, he is unwilling to do that.
  4. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    dana @6: I did see your "Global Warming Attributed to Humans" section of the above post. I refer you to my point that new research is coming out that questions some of the hydro cycle in models. You do mention aerosols in the article as one area lacking in clarity, but you failed to mention components of the hydro cycle. And ultimately, the hydro cycle is the most important part of the feedback system.
    Moderator Response: [DB] Please provide a link to this new research you cite.
  5. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    So how does being consistently wrong, as Watts is, increase human scientific knowledge? Watts is in no danger of being awarded a PhD in science.
  6. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    Albatross and Dennis: On the subject of "not a scientist", one does not need a PhD to increase human scientific knowledge. Einstein didn't even have a degree (let alone a PhD) when he published his theory of relativity in his 20's. He was a patent office clerk. His PhD was given to him well later.
    Moderator Response: [Sph] Your presentation of Einstein is false and based on urban myth. If you still believe this to be true, please provide supporting references. Otherwise, reference all of the comments later in this thread to discover the truth.
  7. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    Dale @4 - I refer you to the "Global Warming Attributed to Humans" section of the above post. Moreover, Watts is arguing not that global warming is being caused by some mysterious natural cycle, but by urban influences on the temperature record, which is just plain wrong. As for his economic catastrophe claim, the real reason it is alarmist is that it's a strawman - virtually nobody is proposing that we stop using fossil fuels within 5-15 years.
  8. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    Albatross @1 - fair point about the false equivalence, putting up blogger Watts alongside scientist Richard Muller.
  9. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    To be fair to Watts (and nearly all other sceptics), he does talk about the percentage of warming attributable to humans. This is the heart of climate change scepticism. To sceptics, they feel justified in asking for the empirical data to prove it's nearly 100% human caused (and not just models or "there's no other explanation"). Sceptics do not deny the world has warmed, or that humans have impacted the climate. But they are right in asking "by how much?" There is still some big question marks over some of the components of climate, which is openly recognised by the IPCC and other leading climate scientists. For instance, there's been some recent papers come out questioning parts of model hydro cycles showing via observations and field tests the opposite to what was previously assumed/known. In problem solving, it is also pragmatic to know all the facts first, lest you implement the wrong solution. Even the IPCC appears to be changing their stance on climate change as more research is done, with the removal of "very likely" (their 95% confidence level) to describe the human component of warming, and dropping back to a broader definition of the warming to encompass natural internal and external forcings as well as a human component in the draft for AR5. And TBH, if we suddenly stopped using oil, coal and gas in the next 5-10 years, it would cause major problems economically and socially. There's no possible way all three could be replaced in that short of a time without causing problems to society. Well, not without taxing your own population into poverty, which would be doubly problematic since, if most tax revenue is going into changing, that leaves not much left for the extensive social programs already funded by Govts. Replacing 99% of human energy demands needs to be properly planned, economically and socially.
    Moderator Response:

    [DB] "Sceptics do not deny the world has warmed, or that humans have impacted the climate."

    Incorrect, as evidenced by the numerous rebutted skeptic memes on this very website.

    When making assertions citing literature, it is considered good form to also cite an accompanying link to the selfsame research. Please do so.

  10. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    Dennis @2, Perhaps we should be too pessimistic, even the best falter sometimes. It is not too late for PBS to set the record straight and to learn form this momentary lapse of reason (with apologies to Pink Floyd). We shall see...
  11. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    The PBS Newshour long enjoyed a reputation for honesty and solid reporting. It's not a coincidence that one of its longtime anchors, Jim Lehrer, has routinely been selected as a fair and neutral moderator of the U.S. presidential debates. People have come to trust PBS's approach to news reporting. However, placing Watts in the position of scientist has destroyed its reputation.
  12. PBS False Balance Hour - What's Up With That?
    Dana, It is even worse than your post shows. Not only were PBS guilty of false balance, they were guilty of false equivalence. Mr. Watts is first and foremost not a scientist, never mind one who specializes in the intricacies and complexities of correctly homogenizing and adjusting temperature records. For example, consider Watts recently showing his ignorance regarding the importance of allowing for the time of observation adjustment. So his misguided (and often incorrect) assertions and opinions on this subject are most definitely not on par with those of experts in the field. Watts has also repeatedly shown that he is guilty of confirmation boas. Moreover, Watts' claim about the BEST papers is demonstrably false. Specifically, at least three of the BEST papers are undergoing peer review, and that the paper submitted to JGR-A has been accepted conditional to the acceptance of another paper in which they present a new approach for averaging temperatures (at least for temperature data that is). Mr. Watts' alarmist and unsubstantiated comments about "economic catastrophe" really sealed the deal. As I see it, in this interview Watts has openly stated the primary reason for his denial about the seriousness of human-caused climate change in addition to his ongoing attacks on climate scientists. It is now clear that for Mr. Watts this "debate" has everything to do with defending his ideology and belief system, and nothing to do with science. Instead, Mr. Watts is routinely distorting and misrepresenting the science (too many examples to cite here) to further his ideological and political agenda. Finally, the real political tools here are Watts and those closely affiliated with him (e.g., Curry, Pielke Senior, Christy, Spencer, Monckton, Singer, not to mention the legion of conspiracy theorists who frequent his and Curry's disinformation blogs) . How very sad....one almost pities them, almost.
  13. 2012 SkS Weekly News Round-Up #1
    All links now fixed and working properly.
  14. 2012 SkS Weekly News Round-Up #1
    All links in the Fingerprints section are now working. More fixes to be made.
  15. 2012 SkS Weekly News Round-Up #1
    "Never buy a new model of a car the first year it comes out. Sorry about the broken-links. I'll fix them pronto.
  16. 2012 SkS Weekly News Round-Up #1
    Hmm well I love the idea of the news round up. Just need to get those links working.
  17. Symphony of Science - Our Biggest Challenge
    I can't imagine this having much of an effect on the outgroup, but it's pretty cool. I watched the other symphony of science videos after I saw this but this one is definitely my favourite.
  18. 2012 SkS Weekly News Round-Up #1
    There is a problem with many of the links. In Fingerprints, only items 3 and 4 work. In Plans, none of the links work. The rest seem OK.
  19. New research from last week 37/2012
    Thanks Bernard J, I've been waiting for the paper to be freely available. I'll draft something up next week - unless you're offering? Hint, hint......
  20. How to Solve the Climate Problem: a Step-by-Step Guide
    "Only when the media focuses on factually accurate reporting will the public become correctly informed on climate change." Last night here in the states the PBS News Hour, formerly a well respected source of reliable reporting, demonstrated that they are not interested in informing the public on climate change. They still cling to supposed controversy story. They spoke of the vast majority of researchers whose work has demonstrated that greenhouse gasses do trap heat and that climate change is taking place as “believers” and they spent a large part of the story interviewing Watts as if he were a scientist with opposing research. So I wonder which will happen first: Factually accurate reporting or and international agreement to limit GHG or peace in the Middle East. My guess is we have a better chance at solving the Middle East situation.
  21. Venus doesn't have a runaway greenhouse effect
    Mike Mellor - Here's a direct link to Myhre et al 1998, which I believe is from Dr. Myhre himself. In short, they ran radiative modelling (akin to numerical integration, not global climate modelling, mind you) using HITRAN spectral data, over three different atmospheric profiles (tropical, northern, and southern hemisphere), and calculated the incremental forcings. They then arrived at F=5.35 ln(C/C0) W/m^2 as an appropriately scaled approximation of the forcing deltas. Note that this was an update from the value used in the 1990 IPCC reports, which was 6.3, not 5.35 - in other words the Myhre analysis has a slightly lower forcing for doubling CO2. --- Sphaerica - I don't believe you have that equation right. The forcing delta is in W/m^2, not Fahrenheit, and the resulting forcing change from a doubling of CO2 is 3.7 W/m^2. That leads to a temperature change (as per the SB equation, no feedbacks, assuming radiated power at TOA goes from 240 to 243.7) of ~1.1C, after which you have water vapor changes (another 1.1-1.3°C, total of ~2.4°C) and additional feedbacks - leading to a total climate sensitivity of ~3°C/doubling of CO2.
    Moderator Response: [Sph] Thanks, KR. My bad. I should have looked far more closely at the thread and question before responding. Requested edit applied.
  22. Venus doesn't have a runaway greenhouse effect
    Mike Myhre's formula is just a fit to the full radiative transfer code results. It has limited validity and it's not a functional form that can be applied to other situations. I'm not aware of any simplified form for Venus.
  23. Venus doesn't have a runaway greenhouse effect
    Mike, Sorry, I didn't notice the second part of your question. You can't apply a simple climate sensitivity equation like that one to Venus because it's apples and oranges. That sensitivity includes things like albedo feedbacks (ice/desert/water), carbon feedbacks, water vapor feedbacks and more. It's specific to earth, and derived by a combination of observational, paleo and modeling studies. Really... you need a complex computer program to simulate the atmosphere of Venus. What exactly are you attempting to prove or investigate?
    Moderator Response: [Sph] Ignore this. It was wrong.
  24. Venus doesn't have a runaway greenhouse effect
    Mike, The equation you present simply says that temperatures will increase 5.35˚F for every doubling of CO2. It's a restatement of the equation in Celsius:
    F = 3.0ln(C/C0)
    From this perhaps it is easy for you to see that this equation simply assumes a climate sensitivity of 3˚C per doubling of CO2, something I'm sure you've seen before. Search for "climate sensitivity" to see the various ways in which that is estimated.
    Moderator Response: [Sph] Ignore this. It was wrong.
  25. Venus doesn't have a runaway greenhouse effect
    I've read every comment here. Rosco could be one of three things: an idiot savant, an agent provocateur, or a fifth-columnist. Whichever way, it's resulted in an interesting exposition of the basics of climate science. Please can anyone help? The CO2 forcing equation F=5.35ln(C/Co); how is the parameter 5.35 calculated? How would I calculate the appropriate parameter for Venus with its higher atmospheric pressure, partial pressure, and depth of atmosphere? Myhre et al quoted in the article is behind a paywall, and an hour of searching for radiative transfer models hasn't yielded results. (shades@iburst.co.za)
  26. What is the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund?
    ATI has already said they plan to appeal, but the language the judge cited from the FOIA seems to clearly state that it does not cover correspondence or even 'work product' behind scientific research... only the final published result. Which, in most cases, is publicly available anyway.
  27. What is the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund?
    Yah, here's the mainstream from WaPo.
  28. Climate Change and the Weightier Matters: a Christian view on global warming
    PS A brief comment to others on this thread. I am a Christian ethicist working on a PhD in climate ethics (and ecological ethics more generally) and have spent years studying both climate and theology. I can attest that Villabolo's question about eschatology, while seeming obtuse, is actually very highly relevant since it shapes/illustrates a number of the most basic assumptions about the world and its future held by different groups of Christians. Though I'd point out that there are more than two camps and in my experience a very large number of evangelicals in Australia fall into neither of the two categories above but would be amillennial (which isn't too far from the "pan millienist" mentioned by Jeremy in #25).
  29. Climate Change and the Weightier Matters: a Christian view on global warming
    Thanks John, I really appreciate that you did this talk and hope you get more opportunities to speak in church circles. I have much to say on this topic and will perhaps contact you directly in a few months once I'm getting closer to return to Australia. One tiny typo on one of your slides: "non sequitur", not "non sequitor".
  30. What is the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund?
    Breaking news: Michael Mann has announced on FaceBook that ATI has lost the ATI/UVa FOIA case, where they demanded all emails and communications between Mann and the university - apparently hoping to rake through them and find something, anything, with which to attack Mann and his findings:
    ATI loses ATI/UVa FOIA case. Judge issues final order. Affirms the university's right to withhold scholarly communications and finds that the documents & personal emails of mine demanded by ATI were indeed protected as the university had contended.
  31. Realistically What Might the Future Climate Look Like?
    "widespread coral mortality is expected ~3°C above late 19th Century temperatures" A new study suggests widespread coral mortality at ~1.5ºC above late 19thC temps and close to universal degradation of all tropical corals by 2ºC. http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1674.html Discussed by one of the authors here: https://theconversation.edu.au/climate-change-guardrail-too-hot-for-coral-reefs-9610
  32. New research from last week 37/2012
    Just wondering if I missed this in a previous edition of "New research from last week...": http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1674.html
  33. Otto and Donat Weigh in on Human Contributions to Extreme Heat
    "complementary - not complimentary no ?" No--"complementary" means 'different, but contributing to a greater whole.' "Complimentary" means "saying nice things."
  34. New research from last week 37/2012
    DSL@3, I don't necessary think so. I thought the point of the show was that 97% of climate scientists believe it so and more of the general public believe it so, probably the current warmer weather helped. But the half of our lawmakers don't belive it so or believe it is a hoax. I think it is more of this disconnect between the science community, the general public and the lawmakers. He is a reporter, not a scientist. I don't think he could say one way or another definitely when the half of our senetors and congressmen believe it is a hoax. Yet he did clearly show today's state of the issue. I don't think it would be a good idea to jump on a messenger when the messenger only can carry a message. The messenge showed how it is, I guess.
  35. Otto and Donat Weigh in on Human Contributions to Extreme Heat
    I can’t help but be reminded of a post over at Tamino’s Open Mind Site that concluded with: I’ll continue to do what I can, come hell or high water. Expect both. (http://tamino.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/hell-and-high-water/) Cross posted from a while back, but more relevant than ever...
  36. 2012 SkS Weekly Digest #37
    @ chriskoz#2: Thanks for sharing your thoughts and posting the links.
  37. 2012 SkS Weekly Digest #37
    @ GrahamC #1: Thanks for the suggestion. We will definitely check it out.
  38. 2012 SkS Weekly Digest #37
    Maybe Stefan did not know This Mann Power when he wrote his comment about intimidation. Mike Mann has also anounced his counter-attack on National Review. So, young scientists should not be intimidated anymore. When, in addition to UVA findings, the NR suit succeeds, the others will follow downhill...
  39. Otto and Donat Weigh in on Human Contributions to Extreme Heat
    1:100 years events are already 1:10 year events, as the return time shown here and a similiar one for Texas heat wave shows. And of course the mean is still shifting. Looking at world temperautre for the last 4000 years, with all the swings from LIA, MWP etc, the whole range of variation is about 0.8C arround the normalised 0C anomally, excluding the last 30 years. So if that represents 95% variance or 2SD, 1 SD is ~0.2C for natural millenial scale variations, suggesting that the mean has shifted already by ~1.5SD since 1950-1980, and we have another 3SD to go. That makes 1:100 heat event now a coolish summer to come! This shifting mean to the extreme I find does crytalise the situation of how global warming will affect everyone. What would food production be like if 2012 heat waves in the USA were an every other year cold events?
  40. Himalayan Glaciers Retreating at Accelerated Rate in Some Regions but Not Others
    The abstract of "Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau and surroundings", a letter that appeared in Nature in July 2012,said "The Tibetan Plateau and surroundings contain the largest number of glaciers outside the polar regions1. These glaciers are at the headwaters of many prominent Asian rivers and are largely experiencing shrinkage[2], which affects the water discharge of large rivers such as the Indus[3,4]. The resulting potential geohazards[5,6] merit a comprehensive study of glacier status in the Tibetan Plateau and surroundings. Here we report on the glacier status over the past 30 years by investigating the glacial retreat of 82 glaciers, area reduction of 7,090 glaciers and mass-balance change of 15 glaciers. Systematic differences in glacier status are apparent from region to region, with the most intensive shrinkage in the Himalayas (excluding the Karakorum) characterized by the greatest reduction in glacial length and area and the most negative mass balance. The shrinkage generally decreases from the Himalayas to the continental interior and is the least in the eastern Pamir, characterized by the least glacial retreat, area reduction and positive mass balance. In addition to rising temperature, decreased precipitation in the Himalayas and increasing precipitation in the eastern Pamir accompanied by different atmospheric circulation patterns is probably driving these systematic differences." the letter is worth a look
  41. New research from last week 36/2012
    @chookmustard The authors were concerned that tree ring WIDTH data at their site may not be a good indicator of past temperatures due to a type of "divergence problem" in which the PROXY (the indirect indicator of the measure/driver sought for: ring width) changes its relationship to the driver (temperature) over time. So they tested to find a potentially better proxy, here isotopic oxygen, or 18O. 18O (the delta just means that 18O is measured relative to a common standard, i.e. something everyone uses, so that data can be easily compared across studies) in water equilibrates with 18O in plant internal CO2, and is stored in cellulose as a result of photosynthesis, the main polymer of wood, and changes in response to its availability in "source water", usually from precipitation, which at this site (and many others) is correlated with temperature. As this is a double step from proxy to driver, the authors made sure they understood the underlying uncertainty of their method, and its skill, aka the accuracy of using cellulose-18O to determine past temperature at this site. They found that their methodology seems to work fine. It shows consistency with another proxy record, tree ring wood density, but divergence from the tree ring width proxy. The divergence appears around mid 19th century and the authors speculate about a seasonal temperature change (longterm stability of summer temperatures, driving the 18O signal, vs. changing spring conditions, driving tree ring width) as a possible reason for the observed divergence. Hope this helps.
  42. New research from last week 37/2012
    Just for balance, let's include the diametric opposite of scientific research: Anthony Watts appears on PBS. Yes, that is an open invitation to let PBS know what kind of hit their reputation has just taken.
  43. Sceptical Wombat at 13:38 PM on 18 September 2012
    Otto and Donat Weigh in on Human Contributions to Extreme Heat
    If I understand it correctly the related issue is the warming of the Arctic which causes slowing of the jet stream, which causes wider meanders which themselves move more slowly and hold weather patterns in place for longer. Hence both hot spells and cold spells can last for longer which in turn greatly magnifies their impact.
  44. Otto and Donat Weigh in on Human Contributions to Extreme Heat
    They might not notice... complementary - not complimentary no ?
  45. It hasn't warmed since 1998
    Steve, I have responded on a more appropriate thread.
  46. Most of the last 10,000 years were warmer
    Steve, from another thread - remember that climate changes only with a forcing. The following illustrative image, created by Robert Rohde, helps describe temperature variations since the end of the last glacial stage: The forcings that drove the glacial cycles, and that drove our last deglaciation (~10000 years ago) reached a peak at the Holocene Climate Optimum, about 8,000 years ago. These forces are now operating in reverse, driving a slow trend towards glaciation. Small variations on that slow trend to glaciation have given rise to periods of regional warmth and cooling, popularly known by monikers such as the Roman Warm Perod, the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (in some areas, known as the Medieval Warm Period), and the Little Ice Age. Common causes for these small variations are increased periods of volcanic activity and reduced solar activity. The Little Ice Age was no "Ice Age", but just the latest episode of slightly cooler climate within this overall trend, most noticeable in northern Europe, and associated with both reduced solar activity and increased volcanic activity. When looked at over the whole Holocene, the LIA and MCA are just part of the overall trend towards slightly cooler conditions, largely driven by orbital forcing and most noticeable over NW Europe. But of course, the world is not actually cooling any more... Release of geologically-stored greenhouse gases by humans has given the climate an almighty kick upwards from that slow trend to cooling. As you can see from the inset figure, global temperatures have shot upwards towards the Holocene Opitmum levels, and are on a trajectory to go a very great deal higher than that. At the scale of the main graph, a conservative projection of 2C warming by the end of the century (similar to present warming rates) would have us off teh top of the graph only a couple of pixels to the right of the Y-axis - a nearly vertical rise on this graph scale. It is perhaps the fastest known warming in geological history, much faster than deglacial warming. That is due to the forcing of the CO2 and other greenhouse gases we have injected into the atmosphere. I would second Bernard J's suggestion (other thread) that you spend some time perusing this site for informative articles (Eric linked to a couple on the other thread), and perhaps even reading the linked peer-reviewed papers. That the slow cooling through the Holocene abruptly ended as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution is no coincidence: it was predicted as long ago as the dawn of the 20th Century by Arrhenius, and is a consequence of the inescapable physics of triatomic molecules that do not precipitate out of our atmosphere.
  47. Otto and Donat Weigh in on Human Contributions to Extreme Heat
    Extreme weather is coming to a theater near you. A free ticket to performances with every tank of gas! No reserved seating; the hall is big enough for everybody.
  48. New research from last week 36/2012
    Hii guys. Thanks for the posting Ari! Can someone please interpret the Berkelhammer & stott paper re tree growth ring data above? The terminology was above my head! Thanks Adrian
  49. Philippe Chantreau at 08:59 AM on 18 September 2012
    It's not bad
    I note that AHuntington1 continues to fail providing scientific references to his assertions. His argument seems to consist of associating a supposed higher efficiency of mitochondria when exposed to higher levels of CO2 with overall benefit for animal and human health, together with increased oxygen delivery due to the vasodilatory effect of CO2. It seems a little self contradictory, is beyond a stretch and is not supported by the litterature as far as I could tell. In fact, the whole argument is rather confused and conflates different reactions as well as apparent assumptions. AH1 asserts that people living at high altitude experience an increase CO2 to O2 ratio in their blood compared to low altitude dwellers. I could not find articles supporting that assertion. All known adaptations to high altitude, whether short or long term, are responses to hypoxia and physiological solutions to hypoxemia. I searched "lactate paradox" and found rather a lack of knowledge than anything allowing to make sweeping statements on whole body response, let alone mitochondrial metabolism. Interestingly, one study found increased mitochondrial efficiency, but associated with low levels of carbon monoxide. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0041836 As I could recall, vasodilation/constriction regulation is quite complex and involves both O2 and CO2, but also NO, and effects are different at the central and peripheral levels. If regulation is normal, there is no reason to believe that the range of O2 and CO2 will vary from what we need, since regulatory response will keep the levels where they need to be. People with COPD, who live with high levels of CO2, are not known to derive benefits from the higher CO2. This treats of O2 mediated vasoregulation: http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/295/3/H928.full I have so far not found articles treating of mitochondrial metabolism's response to increased CO2. Other chemicals, however, are the subject of intense study. Studies of high altitude functional adaptation do not make much mention of mitochondrial metabolism either. However, it is worth noting that prolonged stays at high altitude lead to decreased density of mitochondrial populations, as well as reduced muscle mass (references below). The possibility of increased mitochondrial efficiency has been proposed but, to my knowledge, not investigated, and in any case would be associated with a decreased mitochondial population density, so the overall benefit is highly dubious. It has more signs of being an adaptation to the intense stress of hypoxia. Here are a few references on the subject, and about the so-called "lactate paradox", which does not appear to show in all situations. http://jap.physiology.org/content/83/2/661.abstract http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/anphys/1999/Dickens/Dickens.htm http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19139048 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1623889 It also appears that ventilatory response to CO2 is not significantly different among altitude acclimated subjects, although it is slower. Some hypotheses as to why that may be are briefly discussed at the end of this paper: http://jap.physiology.org/content/94/3/1279.full.pdf
  50. Himalayan Glaciers Retreating at Accelerated Rate in Some Regions but Not Others
    William the mountains are high everywhere in these ranges. It is that the Karokoram is less affected by the summer monsoon and has a greater percentage of total snowfall occur during the summer that makes them different. The glaciers around the highest mountain in the world are all retreating, Imja Glacier, Ngozumpa Glacier, Khumbu Glacier etc

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