Prometheus » Blog Archive » Climate Science Infallibility Syndrome

This is not a high point for Real Climate, which advertises itself as giving the straight scoop on climate science. The reality is that the straight scoop is sometimes confusing and contradictory, and views can change over time. But in the battle with the skeptics – which is not a scientific but a political battle – there can be no room to give even an inch. Climate science, it seems, must be infallible. This infallibility syndrome leads to over reach and then, ultimately, a loss of credibility.

Space detectives delve into mystery of missing carbon

WASHINGTON -- For years, scientists have been trying to solve what they call the "Mystery of the Missing Sinks."

No, they're not talking about misplaced kitchenware. These "sinks" are the world's forests, pastures, crops and soil, which soak up the excess carbon - in the form of carbon dioxide - that's a major driver of global warming. Even golf courses and suburban lawns serve as carbon sinks.

"Humans dump about 9 million tons of carbon daily into the atmosphere, but only half stays there," said David Crisp, principal investigator for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory.

The rest is returned to Earth, but where much of it ends up is uncertain. About a quarter of the recycled CO2 is drawn into the ocean, and land vegetation absorbs another quarter.

"We don't know where the other half is going," said Crisp, who's based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.