The pulse of the QBO has weakened substantially at some altitudes over the last six decades, according to a new study by scientists at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The decline in the strength of the QBO is consistent with computer model projections of how the upper atmosphere responds to global warming induced by increased greenhouse gas concentrations. The study appears in the May 23, 2013, online issue of Nature.

“This is the first demonstration of a systematic long-term trend in the observed QBO record,” says co-author Kevin Hamilton and Director of the IPRC. “We see a similar trend in computer models of the global atmosphere when they simulate the last century using the historical changes of greenhouse gases. So this change in upper atmospheric behavior can be considered part of the “fingerprint” of the expected global warming signal in the climate system.”

The global atmospheric circulation is characterized by air slowly rising in the tropics into the upper atmosphere and sinking at higher latitudes. While this circulation is so slow that a blob of air may take decades to travel to the upper atmosphere, it impacts the chemical composition of the global atmosphere because many chemical properties are very different in the lower and upper atmosphere layers. Although computer models used to project climate changes from increasing greenhouse gas concentrations consistently simulate an increasing upward airflow in the tropics with global warming, this flow cannot be directly observed.

“We demonstrated that the mean upward-air motion suppresses the strength of the QBO winds in the models and thus interpret our observed weakened QBO trend as confirmation that the mean upward velocity in the tropics has indeed been increasing,” notes Hamilton.

Hamilton provides an example of why the upward airflow is so significant: “The manufacture of ozone-destroying chemicals such as the freon compounds used in the past in spray cans and in refrigerators has been largely banned for over 20 years. These chemicals, however, remain in the atmosphere for many decades. They are slowly flushed out of the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere where they are destroyed. Stronger mean upward airflow transports these chemicals more quickly into the upper atmosphere, and the ozone layer will recover more quickly to its natural state before the introduction of man-made freon compounds.”

The seep lies deep in the western North Atlantic Ocean, far from the life-sustaining energy of the sun. Mussels blanketing the the seep rely on bacteria that use the methane to make energy. The process, known as chemosynthesis, forms the basis for life in the harsh environment and could help scientists better understand how organisms can survive under these types of extreme conditions.

“UNCW and FSU have done two previous cruises together and this is perhaps our biggest discovery,” said UNCW researcher Dr. Steve Ross. “Studies of this kind and of these communities help scientists understand how life thrives in harsh environments, and perhaps even on other planets.”

The new seep discovery is only the third documented seep site on the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and by far the most extensive; the two seep areas at this site are estimated to be at least a kilometer long and in places hundreds of meters across. Sea cucumbers were also seen tucked into the tight mounds of mussels and shrimp swam above them. Many species of fishes, including some with unusual behaviors, were also common around the unique ecosystem..

Stationed aboard NOAA’s Ronald H. Brown research vessel, the research teams used the diverse capabilities of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), Jason II, to document and study the newly discovered methane seep.. The teams have been able to capture high definition video, sample the sediment at the site, collect live mussels for genetic and reproductive studies, collect large dead shells and rocks for aging analysis, take water samples to examine water chemistry, and sample associated animals to examine food webs.

The seep discovery could potentially play an important role in advancing scientific understanding of hydrocarbon resources and gas hydrates (important possible future energy resources) along the US continental slope .

Major funding for the research expedition was provided by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, with NOAA providing funding for the Ronald H. Brown and Jason ROV. US Geological Survey and other collaborators also provided a variety of resources.

New South Wales Opposition Leader John Robertson is backpedalling after he told an anti-mining forum that Labor was developing a plan to phase out the use of coal.

Mr Robertson told the Beyond Coal and Gas conference at Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley on the weekend his colleague Luke Foley was working on a plan to phase out coal as Labor prepares its policy platform for the 2015 state election.

“The plan to do that is being developed, and I gave the answer to your third question, which is yes, it does require courage,” Mr Robertson said during a question and answer session at the forum.

But in a statement released today, Mr Robertson said he believed there was still an ongoing role for coal in the state’s energy future, and Labor would continue its tradition of supporting jobs in the industry.

He added he also was committed to developing more sustainable alternative sources of energy.

Mr Foley says Mr Robertson was tricked by the wording of the question to “invent words that I allegedly said that I haven’t said in order to construct a tricky question for a political leader”.

But Energy Minister Chris Hartcher rubbished Mr Foley’s suggestion; he says vision from cameras at the event tell a different story.

“[Mr Robertson] may now wish to correct the record, but he had a deliberate, careful, considered response – this was no offhand response,” he said.

Mr Hartcher says the tens of thousands of workers in the state’s coal industry should no longer have any confidence in Mr Robertson.

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann says Mr Robertson cannot have it both ways.

“MPs need to be very careful what they say in public forums – they need to mean it,” she said.

“They can’t say one thing to one audience and another thing to another audience, so John Robertson either believes in phasing out coal, and the Labor party should do that, or not.”

Labor has previously described the Greens as extreme and unrealistic for suggesting phasing out coal, Ms Faehrmann says.