[GWSG] Gravity falls & rises; Gillis goodbye; deep storage for CO2; more time before 1.5C; grid reports

[Tilley, Al]

1. A study of gravitational patterns using the GRACE satellites measures the effects of the weakened gravity near melting ice sheets, which are losing mass. Sea levels around them drop slightly, leading to increased rates of sea level rise elsewhere.  One result is that as the Antarctic sheets melt, the sea level rises 52% faster in California and Florida than the global average.  http://www.nature.com/news/global-fingerprints-of-sea-level-rise-revealed-by-satellites-1.22588



2. Justin Gillis is leaving the NY Times to write a book on the energy transition. On the way out he left an essay on the risk we run from the uncertainly surrounding our behavior. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/climate/climate-change-denial.html?_r=0



3. We are going to have to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.  Where do we store it?  Underground reservoirs are prone to leaks.  Below a depth of 3000 meters, CO2 becomes a liquid heavier than water.  If we had a barrier to prevent the CO2 from going into solution as carbonic acid, we could store it in such deep ocean locations as the Sunda Trench. Transportation to the sites is likely to be expensive.  https://www.newscientist.com/article/2147803-could-we-store-carbon-dioxide-as-liquid-lakes-under-the-sea/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=earth&campaign_id=RSS%7CNSNS-earth

Storage in solid form, perhaps as calcium carbonate, is an alternative. That will not be cheap, either. https://www.greenfacts.org/en/co2-capture-storage/l-3/7-mineral-carbonation.htm



4.  A new analysis finds that we have nearly three times as much leeway in carbon emissions as we had supposed before we commit to 1.5C of warming.  It will be difficult, but not yet impossible, to limit warming to that. The finding is in dispute.  http://www.nature.com/news/limiting-global-warming-to-1-5-c-may-still-be-possible-1.22627



5.  The US Department of Energy report on grid stability reports that wind power provides stability and resilience to the grid, and recommends additional investments in transmission to make best use of renewable energy. Europe is working on an artificial island in the North Sea which will anchor a hub for wind power, connecting national resources in a common grid.  https://climatecrocks.com/2017/09/19/creating-europes-wind-hub/  ?

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