{"id":20947,"date":"2017-08-22T09:55:20","date_gmt":"2017-08-22T13:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=20947"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:36:45","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:36:45","slug":"sync-geophysicist-studies-synchronization-north-south-poles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=20947","title":{"rendered":"In Sync: Studying the synchronization between North and South Poles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
During summer in Greenland, snow melts and bare ice is exposed to the sun. Meltwater trickles downward, until large rivers form, carrying the water through the ice sheet, weakening it and allowing large volumes of ice to easily slide into the ocean. (photo by Jose Rial)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each June, across North Carolina, the familiar twinkle of fireflies fills the evening sky. Slowly, one by one, these beetles emit a spark of light \u2014 a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. They flicker randomly until more and more of them gather together amongst the leaves. Then, an odd thing happens: They begin to sparkle in unison.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoon enough, the entire forest is going vroom, vroom, vroom,\u201d Jos\u00e9 Rial explains. He holds his hands in the air and, together, they pulse back and forth. This coordination of events, called synchronization, happens every day, all over the world, in different ways \u2014 from the schooling of fish, to your cardiovascular and respiration systems, to the processing that takes place in your computer. Rial believes this also occurs between the North and South Poles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing new about the scientific phenomenon called synchronization,\u201d Rial, a UNC geophysicist, points out. \u201cBut the synchronization of the polar climates is a little more of a novelty.\u201d Using data from ice cores, Rial began comparing records from the Arctic and Antarctic in 2012. Looking at the temperature fluctuations over the last 120,000 years, he\u2019s convinced that the North and South poles \u2018talk\u2019 to each other. \u201cIn fact, their climates dance with each other,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the dance is relatively simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rial hypothesizes that the poles send signals to one another through the Atlantic Ocean, acting as one large telephone line between the two. But instead of electricity, the connection is fueled by a transfer of heat every 1,670 years. \u201cThink of it like a clock,\u201d Rial says. \u201cInstead of marking every hour on the hour, it marks every 1,670 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ebb and flow<\/strong><\/p>\n

For much of Earth\u2019s history, ice ages came and went about every 41,000 years, according to paleoclimatology research. But just 1 million years ago, that pattern changed and the periods of ice began to lengthen. Today, that pattern has stretched to 120,000 years \u2014 nearly three times as long \u2014 without any concrete explanations. Although this has baffled climate scientists including Rial, he\u2019s more concerned about the fact that we\u2019re currently facing the end of one of those 120,000-year periods.<\/p>\n

During that time span, the North and South poles have experienced a pattern of abrupt warming followed by abrupt cooling, according to the climate records Rial obtained from polar ice core data. He points to a chart comparing the two, noting that the repeated temperature spikes equal approximately 15 degrees centigrade. \u201cAnd we\u2019re concerned about the 1-degree change<\/em> that\u2019s happened in the last 120 years,\u201d he says. \u201cThose 15-degree temperature changes probably happened in about a month\u2019s time. If that were to happen today, it would be catastrophic.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the last 10,000 years, though, the unstable ice age pattern has disappeared and the temperature fluctuations seem steadier. Why? That\u2019s the nature of our climate system \u2014 it\u2019s nonlinear, meaning it\u2019s full of surprises. \u201cIn a linear system, if you double the input, the output doubles,\u201d Rial explains. \u201cBut in a nonlinear system, if you double the input you have no idea what the output is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assuming that Rial is correct about the poles synchronizing, though, there is hope to better understand how the climate patterns might change globally. But he continues to rack his brain about what exactly happened when the Earth underwent those 15-degree temperature changes so long ago. \u201cNature produced that phenomena without human intervention \u2014 so what will human intervention ultimately do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Earth\u2019s air conditioner<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Rial checks on the network of portable seismometers that record sounds produced by Greenland ice as it cracks under the pressure of global warming. \u201cThe installation of the network is easy in nice weather,\u201d he says, \u201cbut the extreme environment of the High Arctic creates a series of unexpected challenges.\u201d (photo courtesy of Jose Rial)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For miles and miles, a frigid white desert stretches across the horizon \u2014 a solid mass of ice and snow that makes up the Greenland ice sheet. But as summer advances, meltwater trickles downhill, accumulating in ponds and lakes and creating shafts in the ice that, sometimes, make the 3,000-foot trek to the bottom of the ice sheet. Today, Greenland moves approximately 150 cubic miles of ice to the ocean every year.<\/p>\n

\n

Rial spent five years<\/a> (from 2006 to 2011) flying over the ice-covered country, hammering small seismic sensors all over the ice sheet. \u201cI needed to understand the beast,\u201d he says. \u201cTo see the glaciers, see how they move, see how they behave during warming seasons.\u201d As the ice cracks it produces hundreds of micro-earthquakes \u2014 events that Rial recorded with seismometers to determine the location of major, growing cracks, which create large volumes of unstable ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing those icebergs come down,\u201d he says \u2014 and pauses, at a loss for words. He switches to an analogy. These masses of ice work like buttresses in a cathedral, he explains, and if you take away the buttresses, everything comes crashing down. A collapse of the frigid slabs surrounding Greenland could potentially lead to a 2-meter sea-level rise \u2014 and change the climate for the entire planet. What happens to a world where the sea level has risen 2 meters (six feet)?<\/p>\n

But Greenland isn\u2019t the only player in this game \u2014 Antarctica is its ever-vigilant dance partner. As Antarctica warms, Greenland remains cold. That is, until the warming of Antarctica reaches a climax and begins to cool. At that very moment, the temperature in Greenland jumps up. \u201cThe polar regions are our global air-conditioning system,\u201d Rial says. \u201cAnd if that system begins to malfunction, then we\u2019re in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imagine that, in the middle of summer, on the hottest, most humid day in Chapel Hill, your air conditioner breaks down. Then apply that concept to the ice caps. \u201cOr, imagine the opposite,\u201d Rial points out. \u201cA very, very cold winter, where all the ice caps grow and grow and grow and eventually cover the entire planet. We need to understand how the climate system of poles interacts with the rest of the world\u2019s climate to predict how that system behaves under the pressures of global warming.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the bright side <\/strong><\/p>\n

Rial admits that this research becomes grim at times \u2014 the unknowns overwhelming. So while he spends the next four years continuing to analyze ice core data with his research team, he\u2019s also looking ahead toward a brighter future.<\/p>\n

In 2010, just two years before he developed the hypothesis for polar synchronization, Rial began the North American Renewable and Neutral Energy Alliance<\/a> (NARNEA) \u2014 a project with undergraduates focused on harnessing and connecting renewable energy resources using smart grid and microgrid technologies.<\/p>\n

On the project website, a map of the North America bursts with symbols representing the availability of energy sources in certain regions. Blue windmills surround ocean communities, while orange solar plants line desert regions. \u201cThe West, of course, has geothermal and solar energy,\u201d Rial points to the map. \u201cThe United States, alone, has enough geothermal energy to power the entire country for the next 40,000 years.\u201d Clean and sustainable, geothermal energy comes from the heat of the earth \u2014the same heat that warms hot springs and causes magma to melt.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just some dream \u2014 proof that these systems work exists, according to Rial. Just four years ago, the largest solar thermal power plant in the world began operation in California\u2019s Mojave Dessert. The 377-megawatt Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System<\/a> uses mirrors to reflect the sun onto solar receivers atop power towers, generating enough electricity to power 140,000 homes during peak hours. What\u2019s more, the facility will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 400,000 tons per year. \u201cThis is just one indication that the United States is strongly committed to a carbon-free economy,\u201d Rial says.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Rial really makes you think,\u201d UNC undergraduate Thomas Clerkin says. \u201cHe pushed me to consider all aspects of a problem, pushed me to get out of my comfort zone.\u201d Clerkin spent a lot of time on NARNEA, researching cost and the pros and cons of renewable energy resources, comparing them to the use of fossil fuels. \u201cI liked trying to solve these problems,\u201d he says. \u201cI felt like I was doing my part to fight climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot become depressed \u2014 even though there are a million reasons why I should,\u201d Rial says. \u201cWe cannot give up. Ever. For each student that\u2019s gone through the NARNEA Project, I can only hope I\u2019ve planted a little seed. A seed that this is one possible solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Jos\u00e9 A. Rial is a professor and the director of graduate studies for the Department of Geological Sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thomas Clerkin is majoring in exercise and sport science within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He is a research assistant for the NARNEA Project.<\/em><\/p>\n

Story by Alyssa LaFaro, Endeavors magazine<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each June, across North Carolina, the familiar twinkle of fireflies fills the evening sky. Slowly, one by one, these beetles emit a spark of light \u2014 a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. They flicker randomly until more and more of them gather together amongst the leaves. 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