Field Notes from a Catastrophe

A term coined by Nobel prize-winning chemist Crutzen to describe our present post-Holocene age, which is defined by man.

Defined in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as “A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity” (151). 

Kolbert defines the climate system as “the totality of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere and their interactions” (151).

The period during which insects hibernate is known as the “diapause” (75). Kolbert makes reference to the measurement of global warming in relation to changing diapause patterns in Chapter 4.

Carl Sagan’s equation for determining how many intelligent species there are in the galaxy. The biggest variable is the average lifetime of a technological civilization.

“Any ongoing process or discrete event that alters the energy of the system” of the world’s climate (104). The focus of Kolbert’s book is on the anthropogenic forcing of the world’s climate to dangerous levels of warming. 

NASA researchers at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies developed a model of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans that can run simulations of different climate change scenarios. The GISS model is discussed in Chapter 5.

Scientists at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory run computer simulations and projections of the earth’s climate. The GFDL model is discussed in Chapter 5, Page 109.

Discovered by John Tyndall in the 1850s, this is the principle by which earth has become habitable. The planet’s surface is warmed by selectively transparent gases in its atmosphere.

A measure of greenhouse gas emissions developed by the Bush administration. Rather than discussing emissions, “greenhouse gas intensity” relates emissions to economic output. Greenhouse gas intensity is discussed in Chapter 8.

Carbon dioxide measurements taken by chemist Charles David Keeling in Mauna Loa, Hawaii have been used to form what is known as the “Keeling Curve,” a chart that shows steadily increasing CO2 levels since the 1950s. The Keeling Curve is reproduced on Page 43. 

Effective from February 16, 2005, the Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that commits the parties to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a level that would “prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (151).

A major Antarctic ice shelf that collapsed in 2002. A large section of Larson C broke away in July 2017. Larsen B is referenced on Page 55.

Crucial to the survival of most species is the capacity to flex routine behaviors, such as egg laying and hibernation. Phenotypic plasticity is discussed in Chapter 4, Page 77. 

CO2 emissions have declined due to the global economy shifting from coal to cleaner sources of energy, such as oil and gas. Some scientists predict that when oil and carbon resources are depleted, the world will start to recarbonize. Kolbert discusses recarbonization in Chapter 6.

An ocean current “conveyor belt” is produced by the production of heavier salt water at the poles by the freezing of sea ice. The huge volumes of sinking seawater at the poles draw warm water from the tropics.