Dear Miranda, the real problem is to prevent desertification due to ongoing climate change, and combat it where desertification is already a reality. In this context, the search for indicators of imminent ecosystem shifts and to gauge irreversibility is drawing growing attention, and that is especially important for arid and semi-arid ecosystems, which may convert into deserts (Scheffer et al., 2001; Reynolds et al. 2007). Such shifts have been documented not only in lakes and forests to rangelands and coral reefs, but also in a wide spectrum of complex systems, including physiological systems, financial markets, and SELs like in the case of desertification processes in the Mediterranean region (Kéfi et al., 2014). Because of their important ecological and economic consequences, recent research has focused on devising early warning signals for anticipating such abrupt ecological transitions (Scheffer et al., 2009). Theoretical studies have shown spatial signatures of upcoming transitions, so that spatial patterns could provide powerful indicators of regime shifts in SELs (Guttal and Jayaprakash, 2009). These studies designate the increase in spatial connectivity, in particular, as a prominent indicator of early-warning for an impending critical transition of regime shifts, and that may be a generic phenomenon for a wide class of transitions (Dakos et al., 2010). Recent theoretical studies suggest that for ecosystems not well-mixed such as drylands, boreal wetlands, or heterogeneous habitats, changes in spatial patterns could provide early warnings of impeding transitions (Guttal and Jayaprakash, 2009; Carpenter and Brock, 2010). More generally, the spatial structure of ecosystems and land uses can provide information about impeding degradation processes in the landscape. For terrestrial ecosystems, it has been hypothesized that vegetation patchiness could be used as a signature of imminent transitions like the conversion into deserts of Mediterranean arid ecosystems (Kéfi et al., 2007). As a result, spatial information can be used to devise additional indicators to add to our store of early warning signals.

Several places nearby have been having water rationing, some are at the 4th phase of rationing. It's certainly very hot, day time temperatures are 33 or 34 Celsius, whereas it was around 30 Celsius when I was a student. I could find a shady spot easily under a tree to read a book then. Such a luxury is no longer possible.

Global warming and climate change are very serious issues. Of course many studies are going on to mitigate the problem and sustainability. Let's hope the best!

Cheers

Thanks Lijo and Bassam. I also wonder about whether it's reversible or irreversible. After all, Lijo's area of research is desalination, meaning that some things are reversible :))

Dear Miranda, the real problem is to prevent desertification due to ongoing climate change, and combat it where desertification is already a reality. In this context, the search for indicators of imminent ecosystem shifts and to gauge irreversibility is drawing growing attention, and that is especially important for arid and semi-arid ecosystems, which may convert into deserts (Scheffer et al., 2001; Reynolds et al. 2007). Such shifts have been documented not only in lakes and forests to rangelands and coral reefs, but also in a wide spectrum of complex systems, including physiological systems, financial markets, and SELs like in the case of desertification processes in the Mediterranean region (Kéfi et al., 2014). Because of their important ecological and economic consequences, recent research has focused on devising early warning signals for anticipating such abrupt ecological transitions (Scheffer et al., 2009). Theoretical studies have shown spatial signatures of upcoming transitions, so that spatial patterns could provide powerful indicators of regime shifts in SELs (Guttal and Jayaprakash, 2009). These studies designate the increase in spatial connectivity, in particular, as a prominent indicator of early-warning for an impending critical transition of regime shifts, and that may be a generic phenomenon for a wide class of transitions (Dakos et al., 2010). Recent theoretical studies suggest that for ecosystems not well-mixed such as drylands, boreal wetlands, or heterogeneous habitats, changes in spatial patterns could provide early warnings of impeding transitions (Guttal and Jayaprakash, 2009; Carpenter and Brock, 2010). More generally, the spatial structure of ecosystems and land uses can provide information about impeding degradation processes in the landscape. For terrestrial ecosystems, it has been hypothesized that vegetation patchiness could be used as a signature of imminent transitions like the conversion into deserts of Mediterranean arid ecosystems (Kéfi et al., 2007). As a result, spatial information can be used to devise additional indicators to add to our store of early warning signals.

Dear Miranda

The impact of global warming will be "serious , comprehensive and irreversible ," according to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's ( IPCC ) released in March 2014 .

Authorities and scientists gathered in Japan ( Yokohama ) state that the document is the most comprehensive review ever done on the impact of climate change on the planet .

Members of the IPCC say that so far the effects of warming are felt more acutely by nature , but there will be an increasing impact on humanity .

Climate change will affect health , housing , nutrition and safety of the population on the planet , according to the report .

The content of the document was the subject of intense negotiations at meetings in Yokohama . This is the second in a series of IPCC reports planned for this year .

The text states that the amount of scientific evidence of the impact of global warming has doubled since the last report , released in 2007 .

"Nobody on this planet is immune to the impacts of climate change ," said the chairman of the IPCC , Rajendra Pachauri

The Secretary- General of the World Meteorological Association , Michel Jarraud , said that in the past people were destroying the planet through ignorance , now no longer exists this " excuse " .

Advancement in science has effected nature in many ways.

I personally think that warming is irreversible. We can reduce its effects by our efforts but cannot remove it completely.

It is going to effect us in many ways:

1. Rise in temperature every year.

2. Reduction of ground water level.

3. Increase in concentration of poisonous gases in air.

etc...

Regards,

Nitish

Dear Miranada,

There are dramatic global weather changes; there must be intensive research to study the impact on the human and natyre.

Miranda, here in Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines, in the morning for about 3 hours is sunny and hot. All of a sudden clouds converge and a heavy rain falls continuously for about an hour, then it becomes sunny again.

With respect to the irreversibility of global warming, my personal opinion on the matter, which is based on a holistic, earth cycle perspective (that includes extinction of the human species) is that I don't agree. The existence of earth goes beyond our stay here. Much of the issues on the matter are attributed to human contribution. If that is so, after the global "inferno" brought by us, we, the cause will be eradicated, and the cycle will return to a stage of global climate balancing.

Friends, thanks for your views. I gather a lot of knowledge from what you have shared. Thanks for all the up-to-date info that you (Prof Gianni et al.) have placed, making this thread valuable for us interested in sustainable development, climate change and related topics.

@Ed, what you described is just like the weather we had in previous years. Our country depends on rain water. But recently it's more dry than ever. Industries that need water (like 'Top Glove') lost a lot of money because it's 10x more expensive to get water from tankers than from taps. Some workers lost their jobs. Is this happening to your country/place?

Miranda, as of late, so far,I have not observed or heard of such. However, in the early 2000s it happened to us- a drought, called El Nino phenomenon. Crops and animals, and people in our farms through out the country died . Ed

Thanks friends for your views. All these years we got about 250 cm of rainfall in a year. When I was a student, some of us had a duty to place the rainfall container in a corner of school field and find out how much rain fell in a day. Recently the rainfall is 60% below average.

Our average temperature was 27 Celsius. But for the past few years, our temperatures soared to 30-34 Celsius. Cameron Highlands is the coolest place, the lowest temperature recorded was 7.8 Celsius. But that coolest day was long ago, 1 Feb 1978. So that's the climate and weather changes that's happening here...I would like it to be Reversible!

Dear Miranda, see my last works here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260291689_An_attempt_to_analyse_the_puzzle_of_global_Earth_temperature_evolution?ev=prf_pub

and here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260792027_Extraction_of_the_global_absolute_temperature_for_Northern_hemisphere_from_a_set_of_6190_meteorological_stations?ev=prf_pub

plus the supplementary material and you will make your own conclusions about the reliability of both data and methods used for "warming alarm".

See also a relevant discussion here:

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_really_happening_with_the_time_evolution_of_atmospheric_temperature

Article An attempt to analyse the puzzle of global Earth temperature evolution

Article Extraction of the global absolute temperature for Northern h...

Thanks Demetris. May God bless you and all on this thread. This morning I did some work in the cubicle, then I went home. But there was no water. So after a visit to the computer shop and my relatives, I drove back to college. And managed to do all my laundry, and wash my car. No water rationing at college, thank God.

Is global warming irreversible?

by Julia Layton

By the time Al Gore's award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" hit theaters in 2006, most of the world had accepted the fact of global warming, if not humanity's causative role in it. But over the last few years, as more and more scientific organizations have backed up the claim that human activity is to blame for rising temperatures, including a United Nations science panel in 2007, government actions attempting to curtail greenhouse-gas emissions have gained even more supporters. Most of the developed world is now onboard in the fight to save the world from warm, certain doom -- but suddenly, it appears all the effort might be futile.

The situation is indeed dire. As factories, cars and power plants emit tons of gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides into the atmosphere, and all the while deforestation activities remove the plant life that absorbs carbon dioxide, lots of those "greenhouse gases" build up in the atmosphere. There, they act like the glass of a greenhouse, allowing sunlight in but trapping it once it's there.

So far, in the last century, Earth's average temperature has increased about 1 degree F (0.6 degrees C) [source: New York Times]. That may not seem like much, but it can have profound effects, like altering weather systems and changing the balance of sea life. Polar bears are looking at possible extinction in the next few decades. Experts predict that by 2100, sea levels could rise by up to 2 feet (61 centimeters), leaving major coastal areas underwater.

Most scientists say that an increase of more than 3.3 degrees F (2 degrees C) would be catastrophic.

The world is taking action to curb the danger, like setting limits on industrial CO2 pollution and developing alternative energy sources. But some new research could throw a wrench in the works of ecological optimism: It seems all our efforts may be for naught.

In this article, we'll look at some newer research suggesting that global warming might be irreversible. We'll find out why we may not be able to undo the damage and see if we might as well just emit to our hearts' content.

We'll start with the "why": As it turns out, Earth's bodies of water do not make for quick change.

cience.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/global-warming-irreversible.htm

Thanks, Jeremiah et al. Another report (IPCC) said similar things below. I wonder if anyone knows of places where CO2 is sequestered? Can we do a better job at sequestering CO2?

'The problem is that a significant fraction of our greenhouse gas emissions stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years, so even if we stop emitting them altogether, they hang around, contributing to more warming. In simple terms, whatever peak temperature we reach, we’re stuck at for millennia, unless we can figure out a way to artificially remove massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere.'

The oceans, may be one example?

https://web.anl.gov/PCS/acsfuel/preprint%20archive/Files/47_1_Orlando_03-02_0140.pdf

Thanks Mohammed. It's an interesting paper :)

Carbon sequestration is in our Matriculation syllabus. So is Carbon credit.