Is the current CO2 growth rate 20-times greater than any in past 20K years?

Question

A paper (in the PNAS journal) by two Swiss researchers who measure and compare the natural and anthropogenic radiative forcing over the past 20,000 years was recently published. In the paper, they claim that the greatest steady CO2 growth rate before the Industrial Era was only 3.6 ppm/century (about 14.3 thousand years ago). The current CO2 growth rate is 71 ppm/century, almost 20 times as fast.

Are there any other studies out there that confirm or deny this?

Here's the abstract:

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/5/1425?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=anthropogenic+climate&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

Here's the full paper from one of the authors web-sites:

http://www.climate.unibe.ch/~joos/OUTGOING/publications/joos08pnas.pdf

Answer 1

No - of course not.  CO2 groth rate has spiked many time in the past, and even reached higher levels before man appeared on Earth.

CO2 trends follow the rise of temperatures, co2 does not cause temperature changes.

Answer 2

What difference does it make if there are other studies to deny it.  You are going to believe what you believe that's the problem with global warming , its not about pure science its about theory and two factions fighting over who may or may not be correct.

Answer 3

I'm not a scientist. But I wonder if they determined it is HUMAN-CAUSED carbon dioxide? Or did Krakatoa produce a serious spike ? How about the volcanic activity elsewhere? And the Algae blooms?

Answer 4

either way, it isnt raising the temperature as fast as the scientists predicted...  looks like some revision is in order.

clearly, the co2 level can rise significantly without much effect on the climate.  If it was really like the scientists of the IPCC reported, the climate would be completely out of control right now, which it isnt.  There is only an illusion that things are out of control because of how the media portrays everything.  The problem with the media is that they arent scientists themselves, and they usually misinterpret the information from the scientists while trying to convey the message to the masses.

Answer 5

The ice cores data confirms this, graphically here:

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Ima...

There's always a spike at the end of an ice age.  For example ~140,000 years ago there was an increase of about 100 ppm in about 10,000 years, or 1 ppm/century.

Answer 6

help out by stopping breathing.  Global hoax.  The Earth is cooling. has been for 6 years. One volcanic eruption can change Earths temp more than anything man can do. What caused the Mini ice age? wasn't man.