query: Trenberth is talking about the details of energy flow, not whether global warming is happening.

positive: El Niño–Southern Oscillation El Niño -- Southern Oscillation ( ENSO ) is an irregularly periodical variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean , affecting much of the tropics and subtropics . The warming phase is known as El Niño and the cooling phase as La Niña . Southern Oscillation is the accompanying atmospheric component , coupled with the sea temperature change : El Niño is accompanied with high , and La Niña with low air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific . The two periods last several months each ( typically occur every few years ) and their effects vary in intensity .   The two phases relate to the Walker circulation , discovered by Gilbert Walker during the early twentieth century . The Walker circulation is caused by the pressure gradient force that results from a high pressure system over the eastern Pacific Ocean , and a low pressure system over Indonesia . When the Walker circulation weakens or reverses , an El Niño results , causing the ocean surface to be warmer than average , as upwelling of cold water occurs less or not at all . An especially strong Walker circulation causes a La Niña , resulting in cooler ocean temperatures due to increased upwelling .   Mechanisms that cause the oscillation remain under study . The extremes of this climate pattern 's oscillations cause extreme weather ( such as floods and droughts ) in many regions of the world . Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing , particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean , are the most affected .

positive: Kevin E. Trenberth Kevin Edward Trenberth ( born November 8 , 1944 ) is part of the Climate Analysis Section at the US NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research . He was a lead author of the 2001 and 2007 IPCC Scientific Assessment of Climate Change ( see IPCC Fourth Assessment Report ) and serves on the Scientific Steering Group for the Climate Variability and Predictability ( CLIVAR ) program . He chaired the WCRP Observation and Assimilation Panel from 2004 to 2010 and chaired the Global Energy and Water Exchanges ( GEWEX ) scientific steering group from 2010-2013 ( member 2007-14 ) . In addition , he served on the Joint Scientific Committee of the World Climate Research Programme , and has made significant contributions to research into El Niño-Southern Oscillation .   Kevin 's work is highly cited and he has an h-index of 100 ( 100 papers have over 100 citations ) .

positive: Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

negative: Politics of global warming The complex politics of global warming results from numerous cofactors arising from the global economy 's interdependence on carbon dioxide emitting hydrocarbon energy sources and because carbon dioxide is directly implicated in global warming -- making global warming a non-traditional environmental challenge .

negative: Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally .   Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be .   Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming .

negative: Global warming hiatus A global warming hiatus , also sometimes referred to as a global warming pause or a global warming slowdown , is a period of relatively little change in globally averaged surface temperatures . In the current episode of global warming many such 15-year periods appear in the surface temperature record , along with robust evidence of the long-term warming trend ; climate is classically averaged over 30-year periods .   Publicity has surrounded claims of a global warming hiatus during the period 1998 -- 2013 . The exceptionally warm El Niño year of 1998 was an outlier from the continuing temperature trend , and so subsequent annual temperatures gave the appearance of a hiatus : by January 2006 , it appeared to some that global warming had stopped or paused . A 2009 study showed that decades without warming were not exceptional , and in 2011 a study showed that if allowances were made for known variability , the rising temperature trend continued unabated . There was increased public interest in 2013 in the run-up to publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report , and despite concerns that a 15-year period was too short to determine a meaningful trend , the IPCC included a section on a hiatus , which it defined as a much smaller increasing linear trend over the 15 years from 1998 to 2012 , than over the 60 years from 1951 to 2012 . Various studies examined possible causes of the short-term slowdown . Even though the overall climate system has continued to accumulate energy due to Earth 's positive energy budget , the available temperature readings at the Earth 's surface indicate slower rates of increase in surface warming than in the prior decade . Since measurements at the top of the atmosphere show that Earth is receiving more energy than it is radiating back into space , the retained energy should be producing warming in the Earth 's climate system .   Research reported in July 2015 on an updated NOAA dataset casts doubt on the existence of a hiatus , and it finds no indication of a slowdown even in earlier years . Scientists working on other datasets welcomed this study , though they have expressed the view that the recent warming trend was less than in previous periods of the same length . Subsequently , a detailed study supports the conclusion that warming is continuing , but it also find there was less warming between 2001 and 2010 than climate models had predicted , and that this slowdown might be attributed to short-term variations in the Pacific decadal oscillation ( PDO ) , which was negative during that period . Another review finds `` no substantive evidence '' of a pause in global warming . A statistical study of global temperature data since 1970 concludes that the term ` hiatus ' or ` pause ' is not justified .   Independent of these discussions about data and measurements for earlier years , 2015 turned out to be much warmer than any of the earlier years , already before El Niño conditions started . The warmth of 2015 largely ended any remaining scientific credibility of claims that the supposed `` hiatus '' since 1998 had any significance for the long-term warming trend . In January 2017 , a study published in the journal Science Advances cast further doubt on the existence of a recent pause , with more evidence that ocean temperatures have been underestimated . An April 2017 study found the data consistent with a steady warming trend globally since the 1970s , with fluctuations within the expected range of short term variability .

negative: Chesapeake Climate Action Network The Chesapeake Climate Action Network ( CCAN ) is the first grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming in Maryland , Virginia , and the District of Columbia . The organization 's mission is to foster a rapid societal switch to clean energy and energy-efficient products , joining similar efforts worldwide to address global warming .

negative: Renewable energy in the European Union The countries of the European Union are the number two global leaders in the development and application of renewable energy . Promoting the use of renewable energy sources is important both to the reduction of the EU 's dependence on foreign energy imports , and in meeting targets to combat global warming .

negative: The Carbon War The Carbon War : Global Warming and the End of the Oil Era is a 1999 book by former oil geologist Jeremy Leggett about global warming .

negative: Cloud feedback Cloud feedback is the coupling between cloudiness and surface air temperature where a surface air temperature change leads to a change in clouds , which could then amplify or diminish the initial temperature perturbation . Cloud feedbacks can affect the magnitude of internally generated climate variability or they can affect the magnitude of climate change resulting from external radiative forcings .   Global warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds . Seen from below , clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface , and so exert a warming effect ; seen from above , clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space , and so exert a cooling effect . Cloud representations vary among global climate models , and small changes in cloud cover have a large impact on the climate . Differences in planetary boundary layer cloud modeling schemes can lead to large differences in derived values of climate sensitivity . A model that decreases boundary layer clouds in response to global warming has a climate sensitivity twice that of a model that does not include this feedback . However , satellite data show that cloud optical thickness actually increases with increasing temperature . Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud ; details that are difficult to represent in climate models .

negative: Peat energy in Finland Peat energy in Finland describes peat energy use in Finland . Peat has high global warming emissions and high environmental concerns . It may be compared to brown coal ( lignite ) or worse than this lowest rank of coal . Peat is the most harmful energy source for global warming in Finland . ( Hard coal , which is more harmful , is only used as an emergency back-up source for energy , and not in every year . ) According to IEA the Finnish subsidies for peat in 2007-2010 undermined the goal to reduce emissions and counteracted other environmental policies and The European Union emissions trading scheme .

negative: United States House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming was a select committee of the United States House of Representatives . It was established March 8 , 2007 through adoption of a resolution by a 269 -- 150 vote of the full House .   The committee existed from 2007 to 2011 , and was not renewed when the Republicans gained control of the House for the 112th Congress .

negative: New Energy for America New Energy for America is a plan led by Barack Obama and Joe Biden to invest in renewable energy sources , reduce reliance on foreign oil , address global warming issues , and create jobs for Americans .

negative: Lawrence Solomon Lawrence Solomon is a Canadian writer on the environment and the executive director of Energy Probe , a Canadian non-governmental environmental policy organization . His writing has appeared in a number of newspapers , including The National Post where he has a column , and he is the author of several books on energy resources , urban sprawl , and global warming , among them The Conserver Solution ( 1978 ) , Energy Shock ( 1980 ) , Toronto Sprawls : A History ( 2007 ) , and The Deniers ( 2008 ) .   Solomon opposes nuclear power based on its economic cost , is a global warming skeptic , and has been critical of government approaches and policies used to address environmental concerns .

negative: 1Sky 1Sky is a United States-based campaign in support of federal action to stem global warming and promote renewable energy .  1Sky was founded in the spring of 2007 when thirty climate campaigners were on a retreat in the Hudson Valley of New York state . Partners include Step It Up 2007 ( and its global successor 350 . org ) , the Clinton Global Initiative , Greenpeace , Oxfam , and the Energy Action Coalition .

negative: Hydrocarbon economy Hydrocarbon economy is a term referencing the global hydrocarbon industry and its relationship to world markets . Energy used mostly comes from three hydrocarbons : petroleum , coal , and natural gas . Hydrocarbon economy is often used when talking about possible alternatives like the hydrogen economy .

negative: Mitigation of global warming in Australia Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of global warming . This is in distinction to adaptation to global warming , which involves taking action to minimise the effects of global warming . Scientific consensus on global warming , together with the precautionary principle and the fear of non-linear climate transitions , is leading to increased effort to develop new technologies and sciences and carefully manage others in an attempt to mitigate global warming .   Carbon capture and storage ( CCS ) for coal-fired power stations has been put forward as a solution to rising greenhouse gas emissions . However , CCS can not deliver in time to avoid dangerous increases in temperatures , as widespread commercial use of CCS is not expected before 2030 .   Following the introduction of government mandatory renewable energy targets , more opportunities have opened up for renewable energy technologies such as wind power , photovoltaics , and solar thermal technologies . The deployment of these technologies provides opportunities for mitigating greenhouse gases .   A carbon price was introduced on 1 July 2012 by the government of Julia Gillard with the purpose of reducing Australia 's carbon emissions . It requires large businesses ( defined as those with annual carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over 25,000 tonnes annually ) to pay a price for emissions permits . The tax was scrapped by the Abbott government in July 2014 in what was a widely criticised and highly publicised move .

negative: The 2030 °Challenge The 2030 ° Challenge is an initiative by Edward Mazria and Architecture 2030 asking the global architecture and construction community to adopt a series of greenhouse gas reduction targets for new and renovated buildings .   In many developed countries the construction and use of buildings is the leading consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gas emissions . Stabilizing and reversing emissions in this sector is key to keeping future global warming under one degree celsius ( ° C ) above today 's level , in order to avoid increased global warming , potentially to reach a tipping point .

negative: Global warming in Norway Global warming in Norway discusses global warming issues in Norway .

negative: Hell and High Water (book) Hell and High Water : Global Warming -- the Solution and the Politics -- and What We Should Do is a book by author , scientist , and former U.S. Department of Energy official Joseph J. Romm , published December 26 , 2006 . The author is `` one of the world 's leading experts on clean energy , advanced vehicles , energy security , and greenhouse gas mitigation . ''   The book warns of dire consequences to the U.S. and the world if wide-scale environmental changes are not enacted by the U.S. government within the next decade . It reviews the evidence that the current initial global warming changes will lead to accelerated warming . According to Romm , the oceans , soils , Arctic permafrost , and rainforests may become sources of greenhouse gas emissions . The book claims that , without serious government action within the next ten years , sea levels will rise high enough to submerge numerous coastal communities and inland areas on both U.S. coasts and around the world by the year 2100 .   In April 2008 , TIME magazine wrote that `` On -LSB- Romm 's -RSB- blog and in his most recent book , Hell and High Water , you can find some of the most cogent , memorable , and deployable arguments for immediate and overwhelming action to confront global warming . '' Romm was interviewed on Fox News on January 31 , 2007 about the book and the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report climate report .

negative: Global Wind Day Global Wind Day is a worldwide event that occurs annually on 15 June . It is organised by EWEA ( European Wind Energy Association ) and GWEC ( Global Wind Energy Council ) . It is a day when wind energy is celebrated , information is exchanged and adults and children find out about wind energy , its power and the possibilities it holds to change the world .  In association with EWEA and GWEC , national wind energy associations and companies involved in wind energy production organise events in many countries around the world . In 2011 , there were events organised in 30 countries , on 4 continents . Events included visits to onshore and offshore wind farms , information campaigns , demonstration turbines being set up in cities , wind workshops and a wind parade . Many events happened on Global Wind Day ( 15 June ) itself , but there were also events on the days and weeks before and afterwards . In 2012 there were 250 events around the globe and a very popular photo competition .

negative: Energy in Australia Energy in Australia includes energy and electricity production , consumption and export in Australia . Energy policy of Australia describes the politics of Australia as it relates to energy .   Australia is a net energy exporter , and was the fourth-highest coal producer in the world in 2009 .   Historically -- and until recent times -- energy in Australia was sourced largely from coal and natural gas , however due to the increasing effects of global warming and human-induced climate change on the global environment , there has been a greater shift towards renewable energy such as solar power and wind power both in Australia and abroad . This in turn has led to a decrease in the demand of coal worldwide .

negative: Flick Off FLICK OFF ( flick off ) is a Canadian advertising campaign launched by Key Gordon Communications . It is a movement to fight climate change by getting Canadians to use less energy .   Its sponsors include MuchMusic , Roots Canada , Environmental Defence Canada and the Government of Ontario . Some view this program as a continuation of the scrapped program One-Tonne Challenge in global perspective .   The motivation for the campaign is both to reduce energy consumption for its own sake and also with the aim of reducing carbon emissions to ultimately combat global warming .   The website associated with the campaign is aimed specifically at young Canadians . The website contains educational material about causes and consequences of global warming and strategies for reducing carbon emissions , and includes a `` carbon calculator '' called One Less Tonne to measure individual carbon dioxide emissions .   The website was launched by British entrepreneur Richard Branson and Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten in Toronto on April 25 , 2007 .   According to the official website , the campaign is now in `` hibernation '' .

negative: Global warming in Luxembourg Global warming in Luxembourg discuss the global warming issues in Luxembourg .

negative: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Carbon Neutral Resolution The Presbyterian Church ( USA ) Carbon Neutral Resolution was a resolution passed at the June , 2006 , 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ( USA ) strongly urging all Presbyterians to ` immediately aspire to live carbon neutral lives ' . It is believed that resolution was the first in the world by a major religious denomination for its followers to become carbon neutral .   The resolution also directed the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy to make available detail of how Presbyterians could take to reduce their energy consumption and recognised that ` the Christian mandate to care for creation and the biblical promise of the restoration of right relationships between God , human beings , and the rest of creation impels and inspires Presbyterians to act to reduce -LSB- their -RSB- energy usage ' .   The resolution was based on a report by a task force prepared for the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy . After the Advisory Committee voted to postpone consideration of the report until the 2008 General Assembly , two General Assembly Commissioners bypassed the committee and were successful in getting the resolution adopted .   The Church first noted its ` serious concern ' over global warming at the 1990 General Assembly , when it warned that ` the global atmospheric warming trend ( the greenhouse effect ) represents one of the most serious global environmental challenges to the health , security , and stability of human life and natural ecosystems ' . Despite this , a survey carried out in 2004 revealed that over half of all Presbyterians had not taken even the ` simplest steps to decrease their energy usage ' , and that most congregations had not implemented energy conservation programs .

negative: R-407A R-407A is a mixture of gasses used as a refrigerant . It is a zeotropic blend of difluoromethane ( HFC-32 ) , pentafluoroethane ( HFC-125 ) and 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane ( HFC-134a ) . R-407A was developed as a close match to R-22 's capacities and flow rates , making it well suited as an energy efficient retrofit for R-22 in medium and low temperature refrigeration systems for supermarket and food storage applications , but not for air conditioning systems or those with flooded evaporators . It must be used with synthetic oils . Its global warming potential is 2107 .

negative: Global warming in Belgium Global warming in Belgium describes the global warming related issues in Belgium .

negative: Global warming in Russia Global warming in Russia describes the global warming related issues in Russia . This includes climate politics , contribution to global warming and the influence of global warming on Russia . In 2009 Russia was ready to reduce emissions 20 -- 25 % from its 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 .

negative: Ideacity Ideacity is an annual conference presented by Moses Znaimer . The three-day conference is hosted in Toronto and features talks from scientists , entrepreneurs , artists , scholars , activists and agitators . The conference has particularly hosted speakers with different views on global warming controversy .

negative: SolarCity Linz The solarCity is an energy-saving living district in Linz-Pichling , Austria , which provides living space for about 4,000 people . The houses were built using a low-energy design . The idea and motivation for providing energy efficient living arrangements stems from the fact that fossil fuels contribute to global warming and that their use should therefore be avoided .  Planning of the project began in 1992 . Since 1999 , 1,300 apartments were gradually built during a 6-year period . The total cost of the project amounted to 190 million euros . Nearly two-thirds of which was used for the residential building , and only a third of the total cost was due to infrastructure .

negative: Barents Sea Opening The Barents Sea Opening ( BSO ) is an oceanographic term for the Western Barents Sea , the sea area between Bear Island in the south of Svalbard and the northern extremity of Norway through which a water mass of Atlantic origin flows into the Arctic Ocean . The inflow of relative warm water into the Arctic Ocean occurs not only through the Barents Sea Opening , but also through Fram Strait which is much deeper . The internal energy entering the colder waters has an influence on the atmosphere and the sea ice above and therefore possibly on the global climate .

negative: KYOTOplus KYOTOplus is a joint campaign of a number of public interest groups in Canada to encourage and support Canadians in a call for stronger policy on Climate Change . The campaign was devised as a means to educate the Canadian public on issues related to climate change and global warming and to encourage Canadians to take a strong stance at the climate talks in Copenhagen in December 2009 .   Canadian politicians are invited to indicate a strong stance against global warming by means of the KYOTOplus Pledge . The KYOTOplus Petition , which calls for a minimum 25 % decrease in greenhouse gas emission in Canada by 2020 ( in comparison to 1990 ) , is available for signing by any Canadian .

negative: Extinction risk from global warming The extinction risk of global warming is the risk of species becoming extinct due to the effects of global warming .

negative: North Korea Cold Current The North Korea Cold Current ( NKCC ) is a cold water oceanic current in the Sea of Japan ( East Sea of Korea ) that flows southward from near Vladivostok along the coastline of the eastern Korean Peninsula . It is a branch of the Liman Current from the Sea of Okhotsk and has a flow rate of about a half knot . The NKCC meets the northward flowing East Korean Warm Current at latitude 37 -- 38 ° N , causing the flow to separate from the peninsula . At about latitude 40 ° N , the NKCC meets the Tsushima Warm Current .

negative: Warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia Warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia ( WAIHA ) is the most common form of autoimmune hemolytic anemia . About half of the cases are of unknown cause , with the other half attributable to a predisposing condition or medications being taken . Contrary to cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia ( e.g. , cold agglutinin disease and paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria ) which happens in cold temperature ( 28 -- 31 ° C ) , WAIHA happens in body temperature .


query: The melting in the polar ice caps and in high altitude plains can lead to the dangerous release of methane gas

positive: Glacier A glacier ( -LSB- pronˈɡleɪʃər -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɡlæsiə -RSB- ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight ; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation ( melting and sublimation ) over many years , often centuries . Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight , creating crevasses , seracs , and other distinguishing features . They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines . Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water .   On Earth , 99 % of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the polar regions , but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent except Australia , and on a few high-latitude oceanic islands . Between 35 ° N and 35 ° S , glaciers occur only in the Himalayas , Andes , Rocky Mountains , a few high mountains in East Africa , Mexico , New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran . Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earth 's land surface . Continental glaciers cover nearly 5 e6sqmi or about 98 percent of Antarctica 's 5.1 e6sqmi , with an average thickness of 7,000 ft. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers .   Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth . Many glaciers from temperate , alpine and seasonal polar climates store water as ice during the colder seasons and release it later in the form of meltwater as warmer summer temperatures cause the glacier to melt , creating a water source that is especially important for plants , animals and human uses when other sources may be scant . Within high altitude and Antarctic environments , the seasonal temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater .   Because glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes , e.g. , precipitation , mean temperature , and cloud cover , glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level .   A large piece of compressed ice , or a glacier , appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue . This is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue . The other reason for the blue color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles . Air bubbles , which give a white color to ice , are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice .

positive: Climate change in the Arctic The effects of global warming in the Arctic , or climate change in the Arctic include rising temperatures , loss of sea ice , and melting of the Greenland ice sheet with a related cold temperature anomaly , observed in recent years . Potential methane release from the region , especially through the thawing of permafrost and methane clathrates , is also a concern . The Arctic warms twice as fast compared to the rest of the world . The pronounced warming signal , the amplified response of the Arctic to global warming , it is often seen as a leading indicator of global warming . The melting of Greenland 's ice sheet is linked to polar amplification . According to a study published in 2016 , about 0.5 ◦ C of the warming in the Arctic has been attributed to reductions in sulfate aerosols in Europe since 1980 .

positive: Retreat of glaciers since 1850 The retreat of glaciers since 1850 affects the availability of fresh water for irrigation and domestic use , mountain recreation , animals and plants that depend on glacier-melt , and , in the longer term , the level of the oceans . Studied by glaciologists , the temporal coincidence of glacier retreat with the measured increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases is often cited as an evidentiary underpinning of global warming . Mid-latitude mountain ranges such as the Himalayas , Alps , Rocky Mountains , Cascade Range , and the southern Andes , as well as isolated tropical summits such as Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa , are showing some of the largest proportionate glacial losses .   Glacier mass balance is the key determinant of the health of a glacier . If the amount of frozen precipitation in the accumulation zone exceeds the quantity of glacial ice lost due to melting or in the ablation zone a glacier will advance ; if the accumulation is less than the ablation , the glacier will retreat . Glaciers in retreat will have negative mass balances , and if they do not find an equilibrium between accumulation and ablation , will eventually disappear .   The Little Ice Age was a period from about 1550 to 1850 when the world experienced relatively cooler temperatures compared to the present . Subsequently , until about 1940 , glaciers around the world retreated as the climate warmed substantially . Glacial retreat slowed and even reversed temporarily , in many cases , between 1950 and 1980 as global temperatures cooled slightly . Since 1980 , a significant global warming has led to glacier retreat becoming increasingly rapid and ubiquitous , so much so that some glaciers have disappeared altogether , and the existences of many of the remaining glaciers are threatened . In locations such as the Andes of South America and Himalayas in Asia , the demise of glaciers in these regions has the potential to affect water supplies in those areas .   The retreat of mountain glaciers , notably in western North America , Asia , the Alps and tropical and subtropical regions of South America , Africa and Indonesia , provide evidence for the rise in global temperatures since the late 19th century . The acceleration of the rate of retreat since 1995 of key outlet glaciers of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets may foreshadow a rise in sea level , which would affect coastal regions .

positive: Thaumasia quadrangle The Thaumasia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) Astrogeology Research Program . The Thaumasia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-25 ( Mars Chart-25 ) .  The name comes from Thaumas , the god of the clouds and celestial apparitions .   The Thaumasia quadrangle covers the area from 60 ° to 120 ° west longitude and 30 ° to 65 ° south latitude on Mars . The Thaumasia quadrangle contains many different regions or parts of many regions : Solis Planum , Icaria Planum , , Aonia Planum , Bosporus Planum , and Thaumasia Planum . One of the first major networks of stream channels , called Warrego Valles , were discovered here by early orbiters . Another sign of water is the presence of gullies carved into steep slopes .

negative: Volatiles In planetary science , volatiles are the group of chemical elements and chemical compounds with low boiling points that are associated with a planet 's or moon 's crust or atmosphere . Examples include nitrogen , water , carbon dioxide , ammonia , hydrogen , methane and sulfur dioxide . In astrogeology , these compounds , in their solid state , often comprise large proportions of the crusts of moons and dwarf planets .   In contrast with volatiles , elements and compounds with high boiling points are known as refractory substances .   Planetary scientists often classify volatiles with exceptionally low melting points , such as hydrogen and helium , as gases ( as in gas giant ) , whereas those volatiles with melting points above about 100 K are referred to as ices . The terms `` gas '' and `` ice '' in this context can apply to compounds that may be solids , liquids or gases . Thus , Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants , and Uranus and Neptune are ice giants , even though the vast majority of the `` gas '' and `` ice '' in their interiors is a hot , highly dense fluid that gets denser as the center of the planet is approached .   The Moon is very low in volatiles : its crust contains oxygen chemically bound into the rocks ( in , for example , silicates ) , but negligible amounts of hydrogen , nitrogen , or carbon .

negative: Clathrate hydrate Clathrate hydrates , or gas clathrates , gas hydrates , clathrates , hydrates , etc. , are crystalline water-based solids physically resembling ice , in which small non-polar molecules ( typically gases ) or polar molecules with large hydrophobic moieties are trapped inside `` cages '' of hydrogen bonded , frozen water molecules . In other words , clathrate hydrates are clathrate compounds in which the host molecule is water and the guest molecule is typically a gas or liquid . Without the support of the trapped molecules , the lattice structure of hydrate clathrates would collapse into conventional ice crystal structure or liquid water . Most low molecular weight gases , including 2 , 2 , 2 , CO2 , CH4 , H2S , , , and , as well as some higher hydrocarbons and freons , will form hydrates at suitable temperatures and pressures . Clathrate hydrates are not officially chemical compounds , as the sequestered molecules are never bonded to the lattice . The formation and decomposition of clathrate hydrates are first order phase transitions , not chemical reactions . Their detailed formation and decomposition mechanisms on a molecular level are still not well understood .  Clathrate hydrates were first documented in 1810 by Sir Humphry Davy who found that water was a primary component of what was earlier thought to be solidified chlorine .   Clathrates have been found to occur naturally in large quantities . Around 6.4 trillion ( 6.4 × 1012 ) tonnes of methane is trapped in deposits of methane clathrate on the deep ocean floor . Such deposits can be found on the Norwegian continental shelf in the northern headwall flank of the Storegga Slide . Clathrates can also exist as permafrost , as at the Mallik gas hydrate site in the Mackenzie Delta of northwestern Canadian Arctic . These natural gas hydrates are seen as a potentially vast energy resource , but an economical extraction method has so far proven elusive . Hydrocarbon clathrates cause problems for the petroleum industry , because they can form inside gas pipelines , often resulting in obstructions . Deep sea deposition of carbon dioxide clathrate has been proposed as a method to remove this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and control climate change .   Clathrates are suspected to occur in large quantities on some outer planets , moons and trans-Neptunian objects , binding gas at fairly high temperatures .

negative: Oxidative coupling of methane The oxidative coupling of methane ( OCM ) is a type of chemical reaction discovered in the 1980s for the direct conversion of natural gas , primarily consisting of methane , into value-added chemicals . Direct conversion of methane into other useful products is one of the most challenging subjects to be studied in heterogeneous catalysis . Methane activation is difficult because of its thermodynamic stability with a noble gas like electronic configuration . The tetrahedral arrangement of strong C -- H bonds ( 435 kJ/mol ) offer no functional group , magnetic moments or polar distributions to undergo chemical attack . This makes methane less reactive than nearly all of its conversion products , limiting efficient utilization of natural gas , the world 's most abundant petrochemical resource .

negative: Fuel gas Fuel gas is any one of a number of fuels that under ordinary conditions are gaseous . Many fuel gases are composed of hydrocarbons ( such as methane or propane ) , hydrogen , carbon monoxide , or mixtures thereof . Such gases are sources of potential heat energy or light energy that can be readily transmitted and distributed through pipes from the point of origin directly to the place of consumption .   Fuel gas is contrasted with liquid fuels and from solid fuels , though some fuel gases are liquefied for storage or transport . While their gaseous nature has advantages , avoiding the difficulty of transporting solid fuel and the dangers of spillage inherent in liquid fuels , it also has limitation . It is possible for a fuel gas to be undetected and collect in certain areas , leading to the risk of a gas explosion . For this reason , odorizers are added to most fuel gases so that they may be detected by a distinct smell .   The most common type of fuel gas in current use is natural gas .

negative: Coalbed methane Coalbed methane ( CBM or coal-bed methane ) , coalbed gas , coal seam gas ( CSG ) , or coal-mine methane ( CMM ) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds . In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States , Canada , Australia , and other countries .   The term refers to methane adsorbed into the solid matrix of the coal . It is called ` sweet gas ' because of its lack of hydrogen sulfide . The presence of this gas is well known from its occurrence in underground coal mining , where it presents a serious safety risk . Coalbed methane is distinct from a typical sandstone or other conventional gas reservoir , as the methane is stored within the coal by a process called adsorption . The methane is in a near-liquid state , lining the inside of pores within the coal ( called the matrix ) . The open fractures in the coal ( called the cleats ) can also contain free gas or can be saturated with water .   Unlike much natural gas from conventional reservoirs , coalbed methane contains very little heavier hydrocarbons such as propane or butane , and no natural-gas condensate . It often contains up to a few percent carbon dioxide .

negative: Ice cap An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50,000 km ² of land area ( usually covering a highland area ) . Larger ice masses covering more than 50,000 km ² are termed ice sheets .   Ice caps are not constrained by topographical features ( i.e. , they will lie over the top of mountains ) . By contrast , ice masses of similar size that are constrained by topographical features are known as ice fields . The dome of an ice cap is usually centred on the highest point of a massif . Ice flows away from this high point ( the ice divide ) towards the ice cap 's periphery .   Ice caps have significant effects on the geomorphology of the area they occupy . Plastic moulding , gouging and other glacial erosional features become present upon the glacier 's retreat . Many lakes , such as the Great Lakes in North America , as well as numerous valleys have been formed by glacial action over hundreds of thousands of years .   On Earth , there are about 30 million km ³ of total ice mass . The average temperature of an ice mass ranges between − 20 ° C and − 30 ° C . The core of an ice cap exhibits a constant temperature that ranges between − 15 ° C and − 20 ° C.   A high-latitude region covered in ice , though strictly not an ice cap ( since they exceed the maximum area specified in the definition above ) , are called polar ice caps ; the usage of this designation is widespread in the mass media and arguably recognized by experts .  Vatnajökull is an example of an ice cap in Iceland .

negative: Arctic resources race The Arctic resources race refers to the competition between global entities for newly available natural resources in the Arctic . As the ice in the Arctic melts at a record rate and the sea ice extent continues to decrease due to global climate change , the Arctic waters become more navigable and Arctic resources -- such as oil and gas , minerals , fish , as well as tourism and new trade routes -- are becoming more accessible . Under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea , five nations have the legal right to exploit the Arctic 's natural resources within their exclusive economic zones : Canada , Russia , Denmark , Norway , and the United States ( though the U.S. has yet to ratify the treaty , it considers the treaty to be customary international law and abides by it ) .   The Arctic region and its resources have recently been at the center of controversy and pose potential conflicts between nations that have differing opinions of how to manage the area , including conflicting territorial claims . In addition , the Arctic region is home to an estimated 400,000 indigenous people . If the ice continues to melt at the current rate , then these indigenous people are at risk of being displaced . The acceleration of ice depletion will contribute to climate change as a whole : melting ice releases methane , ice reflects incoming solar radiation , and without it will cause the ocean to absorb more radiation ( albedo effect ) , heating up the water causing more ocean acidification , and melting ice will cause a rise in sea level .

negative: Chasma Boreale Chasma Boreale is a large canyon in Mars 's north polar ice cap in the Mare Boreum quadrangle of Mars at 83 ° north latitude and 47.1 ° west longitude . It is about 560 km long and was named after a classical albedo feature name . The canyon 's sides reveal layered features within the ice cap that result from seasonal melting and deposition of ice , together with dust deposits from Martian dust storms . Information about the past climate of Mars may eventually be revealed in these layers , just as tree ring patterns and ice core data do on Earth . Both polar caps also display grooved features , probably caused by wind flow patterns . The grooves are also influenced by the amount of dust . The more dust , the darker the surface . The darker the surface , the more melting as dark surfaces absorb more energy .

negative: Methane reformer A methane reformer is a device based on steam reforming , autothermal reforming or partial oxidation and is a type of chemical synthesis which can produce pure hydrogen gas from methane using a catalyst . There are multiple types of reformers in development but the most common in industry are autothermal reforming ( ATR ) and steam methane reforming ( SMR ) . Most methods work by exposing methane to a catalyst ( usually nickel ) at high temperature and pressure .

negative: Antarctic ice sheet The Antarctic ice sheet is one of the two polar ice caps of the Earth . It covers about 98 % of the Antarctic continent and is the largest single mass of ice on Earth . It covers an area of almost 14 e6km2 and contains 26.5 e6km3 of ice . Approximately 61 percent of all fresh water on the Earth is held in the Antarctic ice sheet , an amount equivalent to about 58 m of sea-level rise . In East Antarctica , the ice sheet rests on a major land mass , but in West Antarctica the bed can extend to more than 2,500 m below sea level . Much of the land in this area would be seabed if the ice sheet were not there .   In contrast to the melting of the Arctic sea ice , sea ice around Antarctica was expanding . The reasons for this are not fully understood , but suggestions include the climatic effects on ocean and atmospheric circulation of the ozone hole , and/or cooler ocean surface temperatures as the warming deep waters melt the ice shelves .

negative: Martian polar ice caps The planet Mars has two permanent polar ice caps . During a pole 's winter , it lies in continuous darkness , chilling the surface and causing the deposition of 25 -- 30 % of the atmosphere into slabs of CO2 ice ( dry ice ) . When the poles are again exposed to sunlight , the frozen CO2 sublimes , creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 400 km/h . These seasonal actions transport large amounts of dust and water vapor , giving rise to Earth-like frost and large cirrus clouds . Clouds of water-ice were photographed by the Opportunity rover in 2004 .   The caps at both poles consist primarily of water ice . Frozen carbon dioxide accumulates as a comparatively thin layer about one metre thick on the north cap in the northern winter only , while the south cap has a permanent dry ice cover about 8 m thick . The northern polar cap has a diameter of about 1000 km during the northern Mars summer , and contains about 1.6 million cubic km of ice , which if spread evenly on the cap would be 2 km thick . ( This compares to a volume of 2.85 million cubic km ( km3 ) for the Greenland ice sheet . ) The southern polar cap has a diameter of 350 km and a thickness of 3 km . The total volume of ice in the south polar cap plus the adjacent layered deposits has also been estimated at 1.6 million cubic km . Both polar caps show spiral troughs , which recent analysis of SHARAD ice penetrating radar has shown are a result of roughly perpendicular katabatic winds that spiral due to the Coriolis Effect .   The seasonal frosting of some areas near the southern ice cap results in the formation of transparent 1 m thick slabs of dry ice above the ground . With the arrival of spring , sunlight warms the subsurface and pressure from subliming CO2 builds up under a slab , elevating and ultimately rupturing it . This leads to geyser-like eruptions of CO2 gas mixed with dark basaltic sand or dust . This process is rapid , observed happening in the space of a few days , weeks or months , a rate of change rather unusual in geology -- especially for Mars . The gas rushing underneath a slab to the site of a geyser carves a spider-like pattern of radial channels under the ice .

negative: Mare Boreum quadrangle The Mare Boreum quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) Astrogeology Research Program . The Mare Boreum quadrangle is also referred to as MC-1 ( Mars Chart-1 ) . Its name derives from an older name for a feature that is now called Planum Boreum , a large plain surrounding the polar cap .   The quadrangle covers all of the Martian surface north of latitude 65 ° . It includes the north polar ice cap , which has a swirl pattern and is roughly 1,100 km across . Mariner 9 in 1972 discovered a belt of sand dunes that ring the polar ice deposits , which is 500 km across in some places and may be the largest dune field in the solar system . The ice cap is surrounded by the vast plains of Planum Boreum and Vastitas Borealis . Close to the pole , there is a large valley , Chasma Boreale , that may have been formed from water melting from the ice cap . An alternative view is that it was made by winds coming off the cold pole . Another prominent feature is a smooth rise , called Olympia Planitia . In the summer , a dark collar around the residual cap becomes visible ; it is mostly caused by dunes . The quadrangle includes some very large craters that stand out in the north because the area is smooth with little change in topography . These large craters are Lomonosov and Korolev . Although smaller , the crater Stokes is also prominent .   The Phoenix lander landed on Vastitas Borealis within the Mare Boreum quadrangle at 68.218830 ° N and 234.250778 ° E on May 25 , 2008 .  The probe collected and analyzed soil samples in an effort to detect water and determine how hospitable the planet might once have been for life to grow . It remained active there until winter conditions became too harsh around five months later .   After the mission ended the journal Science reported that chloride , bicarbonate , magnesium , sodium potassium , calcium , and possibly sulfate were detected in the samples analyzed by Phoenix . The pH was narrowed down to 7.7 ± 0.5 . Perchlorate ( ClO4 ) , a strong oxidizer at elevated temperatures , was detected . This was a significant discovery because the chemical has the potential of being used for rocket fuel and as a source of oxygen for future colonists . Also , under certain conditions perchlorate can inhibit life ; however some microorganisms obtain energy from the substance ( by anaerobic reduction ) . The chemical when mixed with water can greatly lower freezing points , in a manner similar to how salt is applied to roads to melt ice . So , perchlorate may be allowing small amounts of liquid water to form on Mars today . Gullies , which are common in certain areas of Mars , may have formed from perchlorate melting ice and causing water to erode soil on steep slopes .   Much direct evidence was found for water at this location .

negative: Ventilation air methane thermal oxidizer Ventilation air methane thermal oxidizers ( or VAMTOX ) are a type of processing equipment used for greenhouse gas abatement related to underground mining operations that destroys gaseous methane at a high temperature .

negative: Stefan number The Stefan number ( St or Ste ) is defined as the ratio of sensible heat to latent heat . It is given by the formula   where  cp is the specific heat ,  cp is the specific heat of solid phase in the freezing process while cp is the specific heat of liquid phase in the melting process .  ∆ T is the temperature difference between phases ,  L is the latent heat of melting .   It is a dimensionless parameter that is useful in analyzing a Stefan problem . The parameter was developed from Josef Stefan 's calculations of the rate of phase change of water into ice on the polar ice caps .

negative: Polar desert Polar deserts are areas with annual precipitation less than 250 mm and a mean temperature of less than 10 C during the warmest months . Polar deserts on Earth cover nearly 5,000,000 km2 and consist primarily of hard bedrock or gravel plains .   Polar deserts are one of two polar biomes : polar deserts and Arctic tundra . These biomes are located at the poles of the earth , specifically , the Arctic , northernmost North America , Europe , and Asia , and Antarctica . Polar deserts are located in the Arctic and Antarctic . Unlike the tundra that can support plant and animal life in the summer , polar deserts are barren with permanent layers of ice . However , there is evidence of life in this seemingly inhospitable environment.The thick ice contains sediments of organic and inorganic substances which create a habitable environment for microbial organisms . These organisms are closely related to cyanobacteria which have a variety of functions , particularly , fixing carbon dioxide from the melting water .   Temperature changes in polar deserts frequently cross the freezing point of water . This `` freeze-thaw '' alternation forms patterned textures on the ground , as much as 5 m in diameter ( as seen in the picture on the right ) .   Most of the interior of Antarctica is polar desert , despite the thick ice cover . Conversely , the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica , although they have had no ice for thousands of years due to katabatic wind , are not necessarily polar desert .   Polar deserts are relatively common during ice ages , as ice ages tend to be dry .   Climate scientists have voiced concerns about the effects of global warming to the ice poles in these polar biomes .

negative: Mare Australe quadrangle The Mare Australe quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) Astrogeology Research Program . The Mare Australe quadrangle is also referred to as MC-30 ( Mars Chart-30 ) . The quadrangle covers all the area of Mars south of 65 ° , including the South polar ice cap , and its surrounding area . The quadrangle 's name derives from an older name for a feature that is now called Planum Australe , a large plain surrounding the polar cap . The Mars polar lander crash landed in this region .

negative: Landfill gas migration Landfill gas migration is a complex process of the gas moving from the site of original deposition to other places via diffusion . Usually , the gas moves from areas of high concentration to areas of low gas concentration around a landfill . The process is also affected by the permeability of the ground and other factors , such as pressure differences in the soil , cavities , pipes , and tunnels . Changes in atmospheric pressure   and the water table can encourage this migration .   These gases can include methane , carbon dioxide , hydrogen , and volatile organic compounds ( there are approximately 500 others that can be present in trace forms ) from the waste on site and its degradation over time .   Steps must be taken to prevent this migration from the landfill site as it might enter buildings in the vicinity . This can be done on the site by means of combinations of geomembranes and clay based products , see gas protection .

negative: Decompression (altitude) Decompression ( altitude ) refers to the reduction in ambient pressure due to ascent above sea level . Decompression has physical effects on gas filled spaces and on liquids , particularly when they contain dissolved gases . Physiological effects of decompression are due to these physical effects and the consequential effects on the living tissues , mostly as a result of the formation and growth of bubbles , and the expansion of gas filled spaces .  Formation and growth of bubbles due to reduced pressure can be due to reduction in solubility as described by Henry 's Law , nucleation and growth of bubbles in supersaturated liquids and boiling of liquids when the pressure is reduced below the vapour pressure for the temperature of the liquid .   Altitude decompression may be a natural consequence of unprotected elevation to altitude , or due to intentional or unintentional release of pressurisation of a pressure suit or pressurised compartment , vehicle or habitat , and may be controlled or uncontrolled .   There are three principal physiological effects arising from decompression at altitude :  Decompression illness , which includes decompression sickness due to bubble formation in the tissues similar to those caused by decompression after exposure to pressures higher than sea level atmospheric pressure . There is little evidence of altitude decompression occurring among healthy individuals at altitudes below 18000 ft.  Barotrauma caused by the over-expansion of gas-filled spaces  Altitude sickness , also known as acute mountain sickness ( AMS ) , altitude illness , hypobaropathy , the altitude bends , or soroche , is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans , caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen and blood alkalosis arising from the low partial pressure of carbon dioxide at high altitude .

negative: Ice core An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet , most commonly from the polar ice caps of Antarctica , Greenland or from high mountain glaciers elsewhere . As the ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow , lower layers are older than upper , and an ice core contains ice formed over a range of years . The properties of the ice and the recrystallized inclusions within the ice can then be used to reconstruct a climatic record over the age range of the core , normally through isotopic analysis . This enables the reconstruction of local temperature records and the history of atmospheric composition .   Ice cores contain an abundance of information about climate . Inclusions in the snow of each year remain in the ice , such as wind-blown dust , ash , pollen , bubbles of atmospheric gas and radioactive substances . The variety of climatic proxies is greater than in any other natural recorder of climate , such as tree rings or sediment layers . These include ( proxies for ) temperature , ocean volume , precipitation , chemistry and gas composition of the lower atmosphere , volcanic eruptions , solar variability , sea-surface productivity , desert extent and forest fires .   The length of the record depends on the depth of the ice core and varies from a few years up to 800 kyr ( 800,000 years ) for the EPICA core . The time resolution ( i.e. the shortest time period which can be accurately distinguished ) depends on the amount of annual snowfall , and reduces with depth as the ice compacts under the weight of layers accumulating on top of it . Upper layers of ice in a core correspond to a single year or sometimes a single season . Deeper into the ice the layers thin and annual layers become indistinguishable .   An ice core from the right site can be used to reconstruct an uninterrupted and detailed climate record extending over hundreds of thousands of years , providing information on a wide variety of aspects of climate at each point in time . It is the simultaneity of these properties recorded in the ice that makes ice cores such a powerful tool in paleoclimate research .

negative: Paramo ground tyrant The paramo ground tyrant ( Muscisaxicola alpinus ) , also known as the paramo ground-tyrant , is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family , Tyrannidae . plain-capped ground tyrant ( M. griseus ) was formerly considered to be a subspecies of M. alpinus but is now commonly treated as a separate species . The name `` plain-capped ground tyrant '' is sometimes used for M. alpinus .   It is found in Colombia and Ecuador . Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland .

negative: Greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet 's atmosphere warms the planet 's surface to a temperature above what it would be without its atmosphere .   If a planet 's atmosphere contains radiatively active gases ( i.e. , greenhouse gases ) the atmosphere will radiate energy in all directions . Part of this radiation is directed towards the surface , warming it . The downward component of this radiation -- that is , the strength of the greenhouse effect -- will depend on the atmosphere 's temperature and on the amount of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere contains .   On Earth , the atmosphere is warmed by absorption of infrared thermal radiation from the underlying surface ( heated by the sun ) , absorption of shorter wavelength radiant energy from the sun , and convective heat fluxes from the surface . Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere radiate energy , some of which is directed to the surface and lower atmosphere . The mechanism that produces this difference between the actual surface temperature and the effective temperature is due to the atmosphere and is known as the greenhouse effect .   Earth 's natural greenhouse effect is critical to supporting life . Human activities , primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests , have intensified the natural greenhouse effect , causing global warming .   The mechanism is named after a faulty analogy with the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse . The way a greenhouse retains heat is fundamentally different , as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow and retaining warm air inside the structure .

negative: Snowmelt In hydrology , snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow . It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced . Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many parts of the world , in some cases contributing high fractions of the annual runoff in a watershed . Predicting snowmelt runoff from a drainage basin may be a part of designing water control projects . Rapid snowmelt can cause flooding . If the snowmelt is then frozen , very dangerous conditions and accidents can occur , introducing the need for salt to melt the ice .

negative: High-altitude flatus expulsion High-altitude flatus expulsion ( HAFE ) is a gastrointestinal syndrome which involves the spontaneous passage of increased quantities of rectal gases at high altitudes . First described by Joseph Hamel in c. 1820 and occasionally described afterward , a landmark study of this phenomenon was published in 1981 by Paul Auerbach and York Miller .   The phenomenon is based on the differential in atmospheric pressure , directly correlated with the observer 's frequency of and level of experience in high-altitude metabolism . As the external pressure decreases , the difference in pressure between the gas within the body and the atmosphere outside is higher , and the urge to expel gas to relieve the pressure is greater . Consistent with Boyle 's law , controlling for dietary variance , the amount of gas produced is constant in mass , but the volume increases as the external pressure decreases .   The feeling of fullness or need to expel brought on by this differential in atmospheric pressure has been verified by studies involving military pilots subjected to pressure changes simulating flight .

negative: Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( Grønlands indlandsis , Sermersuaq ) is a vast body of ice covering 1710000 km ² , roughly 80 % of the surface of Greenland .   It is the second largest ice body in the world , after the Antarctic ice sheet . The ice sheet is almost 2400 km long in a north-south direction , and its greatest width is 1100 km at a latitude of 77 ° N , near its northern margin . The mean altitude of the ice is 2135 m . The thickness is generally more than 2 km and over 3 km at its thickest point . It is not the only ice mass of Greenland -- isolated glaciers and small ice caps cover between 76000 and around the periphery . If the entire 2850000 km3 of ice were to melt , it would lead to a global sea level rise of 7.2 m . The Greenland Ice Sheet is sometimes referred to under the term inland ice , or its Danish equivalent , indlandsis . It is also sometimes referred to as an ice cap .

negative: Biogas upgrader A biogas upgrader is a facility that is used to concentrate the methane in biogas to natural gas standards . The system removes carbon dioxide , hydrogen sulphide , water and contaminants from the biogas . One technique for doing this uses amine gas treating . This purified biogas is also called biomethane . It can be used interchangeably with natural gas .   Raw biogas produced from digestion is roughly 60 % methane and 29 % CO2 with trace elements of H2S ; it is not high quality enough to be used as fuel gas for machinery . The corrosive nature of H2S alone is enough to destroy the internals of a plant .   The solution is the use of biogas upgrading or purification processes whereby contaminants in the raw biogas stream are absorbed or scrubbed , leaving more methane per unit volume of gas . There are four main methods of upgrading : water washing , pressure swing adsorption , selexol adsorbtion , and amine gas treating .

negative: Methanometer A methanometer is an instrument used to measure methane gas in the air of a mine . The Mine Safety Appliances Company Ltd. manufactured the first type - W8 Methanometer around 1950 and it was approved for use by the Ventilation Regulations of 1947 . The Methanometer could be powered by an Edison battery cap lamp and it could be carried on a miner 's belt with other tools . Methane is the main gas present in firedamp . It is highly explosive and had previously been detected by the blue halo effect it gave to the flame of a safety lamp .   By 1983 , several instruments for measuring methane concentration in air had been developed . These relied on such methods as the differential heating of an incandescent platinum filament , or by measuring the higher absorption of infrared radiation by gas containing methane .

negative: Dorsa Argentea Formation The Dorsa Argentea Formation ( DAF ) is thought to be a large system of eskers that were under an ancient ice cap in the south polar region of Mars . The ancient ice cap was at least twice the size of the present ice cap and may have been 1500-2000 meters thick . This group of ridges extends from 270 -- 100 E and 70 -- 90 S , around the south pole of Mars . It sits under the Late Amazonian South Polar Layered Deposits ( SPLD ) , in the Mare Australe quadrangle . The amount of these ridges is huge , one study studied seven different ridge systems which contained almost 4,000 ridges that had a total length 51,000 km .   Most eskers are thought to be formed inside ice-walled tunnels by streams which flowed within and under glaciers . After the retaining ice walls melted away , stream deposits remained as long winding ridges .   Crater counts show that the ridges are of two different ages . One dates from Early Hesperian , while the other group dates to the Late Noachian . These dates correspond to the time when Mars had lakes and valley networks which formed from runoff , drainage and storage of liquid water on the surface of Mars .   The Dorsa Argentea Formation represents a time when there was melting and drainage of meltwater from a giant ice sheet around the Martian South Pole . Various mechanisms may have caused the ice to melt . Possible mechanisms may have been a warmer atmosphere , volcanism , or increased thickness of the ice cap from accumulating snow .   MARSIS radar data suggest that significant areas of layered , potentially ice-rich parts of the Dorsa Argentea Formation remain today .   Twenty-one mountains are associated with this formation . Their shapes suggest they are volcanoes and that most were associated with glaciers . Some probably erupted under a sheet of ice . Some resemble volcanic land forms called tuyas and tindars . These features are common in Iceland and Antarctica .

negative: Inversion (meteorology) In meteorology , an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude .   It almost always refers to a `` temperature inversion '' , i.e. an increase in temperature with height , or to the layer ( `` inversion layer '' ) within which such an increase occurs .   An inversion can lead to pollution such as smog being trapped close to the ground , with possible adverse effects on health . An inversion can also suppress convection by acting as a `` cap '' . If this cap is broken for any of several reasons , convection of any moisture present can then erupt into violent thunderstorms . Temperature inversion can notoriously result in freezing rain in cold climates .

negative: IceMole IceMole is an autonomous ice research probe , incorporating a new type of ice-melting tip for the exploration of polar regions , glaciers , ice sheets , and extraterrestrial regions , developed by a team from the FH Aachen , a Fachhochschule ( University of Applied Sciences ) in Aachen , Germany . The advantage over previous probes is that the IceMole can change its direction and can be recovered after being used . A driving ice screw allows the probe to drill through soil layers and other contaminations in the ice .

negative: Melt pond Melt ponds are pools of open water that form on sea ice in the warmer months of spring and summer . The ponds are also found on glacial ice and ice shelves . Ponds of melted water can also develop under the ice .   Melt ponds are usually darker than the surrounding ice , and their distribution and size is highly variable . They absorb solar radiation rather than reflecting it as ice does and , thereby , have a significant influence on Earth 's radiation balance . This differential , which had not been scientifically investigated until recently , has a large effect on the rate of ice melting and the extent of ice cover .   Melt ponds can melt through to the ocean 's surface . Seawater entering the pond increases the melt rate because the salty water of the ocean is warmer than the fresh water of the pond . The increase in salinity also depresses the water 's freezing point .   Water from melt ponds over land surface can run into crevasses or moulins -- tubes leading under ice sheets or glaciers -- turning into meltwater . The water may reach the underlying rock . The effect is an increase in the rate of ice flow to the oceans , as the fluid behaves like a lubricant in the basal sliding of glaciers .

negative: Huronian glaciation The Huronian glaciation ( or Makganyene glaciation ) was a glaciation that extended from 2.4 billion years ago ( Ga ) to 2.1 Ga , during the Siderian and Rhyacian periods of the Paleoproterozoic era . The Huronian glaciation followed after the Great Oxygenation Event ( GOE ) , a time when increased atmospheric oxygen decreased atmospheric methane . The oxygen combined with the methane to form carbon dioxide and water , which does not retain heat as well as methane does .   It is the oldest and longest ice age , occurring at a time when , in a biological sense , only simple , unicellular life existed on Earth . This ice age led to a mass-extinction on Earth .

negative: Yedoma Yedoma is an organic-rich ( about 2 % carbon by mass ) Pleistocene-age permafrost with ice content of 50 -- 90 % by volume . The amount of carbon trapped in this type of permafrost is much more prevalent than originally thought and may be about 210 to 450 Gt , that is a multiple of the amount of carbon released into the air each year by the burning of fossil fuels . Thawing yedoma is a significant source of atmospheric methane ( about 4 Tg of per year ) .   The Yedoma region currently occupies an area of more than one million square kilometers from northeast Siberia to Alaska and Canada , and in many regions is tens of meters thick . During the Last Glacial Maximum , when the global sea level was 120 m lower than that of today , similar deposits covered substantial areas of the exposed northeast Eurasian  continental shelves . At the end of last ice age , at the Pleistocene -- Holocene transition , thawing yedoma and the resulting thermokarst lakes may have produced 33 to 87 % of the high-latitude increase in atmospheric methane concentration .