Volcanism, Ocean Deoxygenation and Climate

 

Ocean deoxygenation during the Mesozoic Era was much more rapid than previous thought, with CO2 induced environmental warming creating ocean 'dead zones' over timescales of only tens of thousands of years. 

''Physical drivers, in particular ocean warming linked to volcanic activity during the Cretaceous Period, played key roles in triggering and maintaining oceanic anoxia.'' says lead researcher Dr. Kohen Bauer.
The same mechanisms are also critically important drivers of modern ocean deoxygenation and expanding marine dead zones. Today, in addition to volcanoes releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, human are as well.

What are the dead zones?

Dead zones are low-oxygen, or hypoxic, areas in the world’s oceans and lakes. Because most organisms need oxygen to live, few organisms can survive in hypoxic conditions. That is why these are called dead zones.)

Previous research tented to focus on the role ocean nutrient cycles played in causing so called ‘dead zones’’ — a process that would have driven ocean deoxygenation over much longer timescales of hundreds of thousands of years. However, it’s now clear that massive volcanism and its associated feedbacks was a more direct trigger for the rapid development of oceanic anoxia.

The research delved into the causes of Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a - an interval 120 million years ago when large swaths of Earth’s oceans became anoxic. Those conditions likely persisted for almost a million years, causing climate perturbations, and biotic turnover.

The scientist reconstructed the period’s environmental conditions using novel geochemical methods, and ancient sediments deposited in both the paleo-Tethys and paleo-pacific oceans.

Mesozoic oceanic anoxic events are some of the most important analogs for unlocking lessons about warm-Earth climate states in the geological record, says Dr. Sean Crowe.

These events provide enormous potential to help us better understand the sensitivity of the Earth system to perturbations in global biogeochemical cycles, and climate on timescales relevant to humankind.

Phone Snubbing&Phubbing

What is the phubbing? 

The act of ignoring one's companion to pay attention to a phone.

It may be commonplace, snubbing one’s friend can have seriously repercussions on relationship, there are a variety factors that may drive individuals to ignore their friends in favor of an electronic screen, according to a new University of Georgia study.

The study reveals positive association between depression and social anxiety on increasing phubbing, depressed people are likely to phub their friends more frequently, and social anxious people, who might prefer online social interactions to face-to-face communication, might also exhibit more phubbing behavior. Personality traits such as neuroticism also influence phubbing behavior. 

She paid regard to negative reasons behind phubbing firstly, smartphone addiction and relatedly, the habit of constantly reading notifications that pop up onscreen. With each buzz or sound, we look at our phones inescapably, noting that the device’s wide utility across applications, are key drivers fostering this dynamic.

Ones of significant reasons in the study, that agreeableness individuals have a low instance of phubbing in the presence of their friends. People who agreeableness as a personality trait tend to show cooperative, polite, and friendly behaviors in their impersonal relationships and social settings. Agreeableness people have a high tendency to maintain social harmony while avoiding arguments that can ruin their relationships. 

Though they may prioritize strong relationships, an exploratory study by the researchers revealed phubbing also to be a more likely in the presence of three or more people. That dynamic may influence the prevalence of phubbing in the context of a work environment.

It’s ironic that while people believe that phubbing behavior is rude, but they still do it. Alternately, disabling or turned over a phone can indicate a show to respect for a situation and focus on a person. That, too, is a signal. I’m listening to what you are saying, this meeting is important and I’m focusing on you.

People relied heavily on phones or technologies to stay connected during the pandemic. For many, staying connected in a more distanced manner via texts and video messaging was more comfortable than face-to-face interaction. Will people — particularly anxious ones — still phubb when physically reunited? Time will tell.

Helsinki Biennial

Dafna Maimon: Indigestibles, 2021.

Helsinki is the capital city of Finland. The Biennial is organized Vallisaari Island by ferry from Helsinki. At first glance, with its hiking trails and lush vegetation, Vallisaari Island appears to be a nature lover’s paradise, in stark contrast to the artifice of a man-made art. Its also former sea fort: upon Finland’s gaining independence from Russia in 1917, it became a preferred storage area for Defence Forces Weaponry, as evidenced by gunpowder-storage bunkers.

Running through September 26 and featuring work from local and universal artist, Quay 6 that theme is ’The Same Sea’’ by Finnish artist Jaakko Niemelä centers on universal, environmental and interpersonal levels of interdependence and interconnectedness. Every element perfectly embodies this theme: ‘’Remove any single building block, and the whole structure will collapse.’’ Nor is the piece’s height an arbitrary choice. Global sea levels are expected to rise that should the Greenland ice cap melt, and what appears to be leaky roof also references the looming threat of water.

Other works at the Biennial also bear messages about climate change, humanity issues, psychology implications etc. certainly. Some of Helsinki Installations was made from pollutant effluents like a plastic bag, videotape, chicken wire which picked up from island. Representation of artifice of man-made art by international artists exist together nature and bunkers, ruins, vaults of island, and have a meaning.

The Helsinki Biennial overall perfectly encapsulates the arts post-pandemic world’s reality, the setting ideal for appreciating art while observing appropriate public health measures. It reminds us too that we coexist in interdependence, that our survival depends on mutual effort on an individual and collective basis.