Plant Stomata CO2 Climate Record
Stomata are pores that allow the exchange of air to extract CO2. The process uses transpiration or water evaporation to drive the exchange. This is defined as,
The movement of water in a plant is like a one-way street, it is unidirectional and it travels along this route: soil -> roots -> stem -> leaves -> air. The movement of water throughout a plant is driven by the loss of water through its leaves, or transpiration.
The number of stomata is directly related to CO2 levels in the air. Higher CO2 levels of today accelerate plant growth and use less water.
The number of stomata is proportional to CO2 levels - more CO2, fewer stomata needed. Stomata in fossil plants is a proxy for CO2 levels when the plant lived.
The claims of 280 PPM CO2 being steady for thousands of years due to deforestation, etc., is nonsense. This claim came from low-resolution ice cores.
PPM is parts per million. CO2 at 420 PPM is 0.042% of the atmosphere.
Stomata studies show great variation from 260 PPM to 340 PPM with an average of 305 PPM. Yes, humans have added CO2 to the atmosphere of ~115 PPM or 0.0115%. That is ~25% of present levels.
See CO2 Record in Plant Fossils. PDF, not my work.
One great benefit of higher CO2 levels is greater plant growth, but is more beneficial to some plants than others.
Also see Changes in Plants With Climate, CO2
Despite the hopes of genocidal crackpots like Paul Ehrlich, Bill McKibben, Amory Lovins, etc., global food production has exploded over the last 50 years. This is due to a warmer climate, higher CO2 levels, and modern technology.
Greenland’s Eemian Climate
Recent research by the Niels Bohr Institute (Dahl-Jensen, 2013) was the first to target ice accumulated in Greenland during the previous interglacial period, known as the Eemian. The results revealed that the Eemian interglacial warm period, between 130,000 and 115,000 years ago, was much warmer than previously thought. In fact, it was 8°C (14.4°F) warmer than today. The implications are enormous. Even though the temperatures during the Eemian were 2.5°C (4.5°F) higher than even the most aggressive IPCC predictions, the Greenland ice sheet lost only a quarter of its mass. While 25% is significant, it is far less than the predictions of total ice elimination in response to far less warming. Also, polar bears evolved about 150,000 years ago and survived the Eemian warm period even though there was seldom any polar ice.
The polar bears survived. Greenland didn’t melt. This challenges alarmist claims of catastrophic ice loss, as ecosystems thrived during the Eemian, much like the Eocene epoch (56–33.9 million years ago) when oceans with pH ~7.8–8.0 supported abundant marine life despite high CO2 levels (~800–1,600 ppm) (Stanley, various editions).
Source: Dahl-Jensen, Niels Bohr Inst, https://www.nbi.ku.dk/english/news/news13/greenland-ice-cores-reveal-warm-climate-of-the-past
Ocean pH and Objectivity
For those confused over terms:
Subjectivity: The quality of being based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions; existing in someone’s mind rather than the external world.
Objectivity: Lack of favoritism toward one side or another; freedom from bias, not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering facts.
Science should always be objective. Social sciences are subjective and often infiltrate objective science.
Using terms like “acid” for changes in ocean pH levels is fear-mongering. Ocean pH has always varied. Claims that “the ocean today is about 30 per cent more acidic than in pre-industrial times” lack physical evidence of 1750 pH levels. This is subjective, based on belief alone.
To put this in perspective:
A pH of 7 is considered neutral, with anything below 7 considered acidic. Ocean pH averages 8.1, which is alkaline rather than acidic. Although climate models suggest the oceans’ surface pH may have dropped from pH 8.2 to 8.1 since 1750, that change was never actually measured. The pH drop is merely a modeled conjecture...
Objective science rejects conjecture. We couldn’t measure such small pH variations before the 1990s, let alone in 1750 or 1950. Arctic sea ice loss (~20–30% since 1850, mostly pre-1950) has increased CO2 absorption in cool, open water, contributing to a slight pH drop (~0.02–0.05 units pre-1950, ~0.05–0.1 units since 1980s), but phytoplankton growth (~20–30%) buffers this (~0.01–0.03 units), keeping changes within natural variability, as seen in Eocene oceans (~7.8–8.0) (Arrigo et al., 2012; Stanley, various editions).
I reject computer modeling that alters or manufactures data to fill gaps. Those pushing this operate by authority, akin to religious fundamentalists stifling inquiry.
Climate Drivers Beyond CO2
Stomata and pH data highlight CO2’s limited role in climate, overshadowed by natural and pollution-driven factors. Global temperatures have risen ~1°C since 1850, within Holocene variability (~±0.5–1.0°C), driven partly by Little Ice Age recovery (~0.1–0.3°C) and Arctic sea ice loss (~20–30% pre-1950), which amplified warming (~0.03–0.1°C) via albedo feedback. Pollution, like SO2 aerosols from coal burning, caused cooling (~0.1–0.3°C, 1940s–1980), expanding sea ice (~5–10%), while reduced emissions post-1980 added ~0.1–0.2°C warming and ice melt (Smith et al., 2011). Solar insolation (~0.05–0.2 W/m²) contributes ~15–25% (~0.15–0.25°C), potentially more if cloud cover decreased, but models fail to simulate clouds, undermining attribution (IPCC, 2021). CO2’s rise (~120 ppm) plays a role (~30–60%), but sparse 1850 data (~20–30% coverage) and proxies (e.g., Moberg et al., 2005; PAGES 2k, 2019) make claims speculative.
More pressing are pollutants like nickel mining waste in Indonesia (~500,000 tons/year), which kills marine ecosystems rapidly, unlike CO2’s gradual effects (*Marine Pollution Bulletin*, 2021). Stomata studies showing CO2 variability (260–340 ppm pre-industrial) debunk claims of 280 ppm stability, while Eemian and Eocene resilience suggest ecosystems adapt to warming and pH changes. Alarmist narratives exaggerate CO2’s impact, ignoring natural variability (e.g., AMO, ~0.05–0.1°C) and pollution’s immediate harm. Transparent science and stewardship, not fear, are needed (Knight et al., 2005).
- Four part series:
- Part 1: Nature’s Resilience
- Part 2: Historical Climate Patterns
- Part 3: Climate Evidence
- Part 4: Modern Climate and Conclusions
- Miocene’s Optimal Climate: A Golden Age for Life | Bristol Blog
- Modern Climate: No Crisis | Bristol Blog
- Questioning Alarmist Claims | Bristol Blog
- Fixable Issues: Land-Use and Pollution | Bristol Blog
- Earth science reveals the past:
- Climate Warming Since 1750 – A Steady Trend
- Warming Since 1800: Borehole Data Reveals Natural Climate Drivers
- Mastodons Roamed Greenland 2 Million Years Ago
- 11,700 Years of Sudden Climate Change
- Arctic Warming: Beyond CO2 - Bristol Blog
- What is Actualism in Earth Science? Lessons from Drought Cycles - Bristol Blog
- How CO2 and Climate Shape Plants: C3, C4, and Greening
- Did Meteor Impact in Greenland Kill Stone Age America? | Bristol Blog
- Earth Science Insights: Historical Climate Change Over Geological Time
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References
- Stanley, S. M. (various editions). Earth System History. W.H. Freeman.
- Dahl-Jensen et al. (2013). Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core. Nature, 493. Link.
- Moberg et al. (2005). Northern Hemisphere temperatures. Nature, 433.
- PAGES 2k Consortium (2019). Global temperature reconstructions. Nature Geoscience, 12.
- IPCC (2021). Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group I.
- Walsh et al. (2017). Arctic sea ice reconstructions. Geographical Review, 107.
- Arrigo et al. (2012). Arctic primary production trends. Science, 336.
- Smith et al. (2011). Anthropogenic sulfur dioxide emissions. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 11.
- Marine Pollution Bulletin (2021). Deep-sea tailings disposal in Indonesia.
- Knight et al. (2005). Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Geophysical Research Letters, 32.
