Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 3d

This is absolutely staggering.

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 4d

Record warm ocean temperatures continued in September across the North Pacific Ocean, with a number of consequential impacts (including on downstream weather patterns).

This graph shows the average for a band across the midlatitudes for every September from 1854-2025 using @noaa.gov ERSSTv5 data.

Green line graph time series of average sea surface temperature anomalies for each September from 1850 through 2025 for only the midlatitude region of the North Pacific Ocean. There is large interannual variability, but an overall long-term increasing trend. Anomalies are computed relative to a 1981-2010 baseline. 2025 is a record high.

2 43 83

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · 11d

Had the same response to the Rumi quote!

2

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · 11d

Presumably there was a time when many more of our 2nd order relationships existed through our shared commitments (to religion, community, leisure)?

1 1

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · 11d

It’s an interesting side note that so many of our second order relationships are about consumption. Our modern lives are steeped in transactions — perhaps then it’s not surprising that, unexamined, these relationships are seen as nothing more than transactional.

1 1

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 12d

4. We pay again and again for a failure to raise taxes. It’s a false economy, for which we suffer in multiple ways.
Fair Taxation Saves Us Money.

15 110 920

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · 12d

It just seems like, if we really wanted to, we could have solved mass poverty by now.

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · 20d

This, from John, is fantastic.

I never really caught that first wave of the internet, but I certainly lament the whirlpool it has become.

John Kennedy @micefearboggis.bsky.social · 21d

When the web that we weave is complete

diagrammonkey.wordpress.com/2025/09/17/w...

When the web that we weave is complete

I miss the weird mess that the internet was. I miss the endless interlinking of loosely gathered thoughts: daydreaming that started in the head and then spilled out across the whole world, silvered…

diagrammonkey.wordpress.com

3

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Nature Communications @natcomms.nature.com · 20d

Shankle et al. show how a better- #Ventilated #NorthPacific could have reduced the #ocean-carbon upwelled in the #SouthernOcean, reducing outgassing and revealing a remote influence on #SouthernOcean biogeochemistry in #GlacialTimes. #ice-ages @earthscista.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Southern Ocean CO2 outgassing and nutrient load reduced by a well-ventilated glacial North Pacific - Nature Communications

A better-ventilated North Pacific could have reduced the carbon of water upwelled in the Southern Ocean, reducing outgassing and revealing a remote influence on Southern Ocean biogeochemistry in glaci...

www.nature.com

4 7

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · 20d

🗣️ Come one, come all!

Read about connections between North Pacific Ocean ventilation and Southern Ocean carbon release 🌊

This is the first publication from Maddie Shankle’s PhD thesis, with more exciting work to follow!

James Rae @mudwaterclimate.bsky.social · 21d

🚨New paper on Southern Ocean CO2🚨
Using a suite of Earth system models, Maddie Shankle et al show that better ventilation of intermediate waters in the North Pacific ends up reducing outgassing of CO2 in the Southern Ocean 🌊🧪⚒️🧵 @earthscista.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Southern Ocean CO2 outgassing and nutrient load reduced by a well-ventilated glacial North Pacific - Nature Communications

A better-ventilated North Pacific could have reduced the carbon of water upwelled in the Southern Ocean, reducing outgassing and revealing a remote influence on Southern Ocean biogeochemistry in glaci...

www.nature.com

11

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Abigail Swann, PhD @ecoclimatelab.bsky.social · 23d

Maybe the land carbon sink is weaker than we thought. Big implications: "A lower-than-expected land carbon sink would also imply that the land biosphere may be closer to transitioning from a net carbon sink to a net source than current models predict" Randerson et al. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The weak land carbon sink hypothesis

Satellite-derived time series of vegetation carbon do not support a strong Northern Hemisphere net land carbon sink.

www.science.org

1 27 80

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

St Andrews Earth & Environmental Sciences @earthscista.bsky.social · 23d

Last week, our 4th year Environmental Earth Science students were at Loch Etive, getting hands-on experience collecting data for investigating water column profiles & overturning events. Led by Drs James Barnet & @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social & supported back in the lab by @oceanicandrea.bsky.social.

2 5

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

St Andrews Earth & Environmental Sciences @earthscista.bsky.social · 26d

Meet the motley crew of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences – ready to kick off the new academic year! 🌍👋

Special mention to our Head of School, Prof. Rob Wilson, who is cleverly disguised a a responsible adult (the T-shirt says it all) 😅🤦‍♂

www.st-andrews.ac.uk/earth-scienc...

Members of SEES on the front steps of Bute, dazzled by the bright Scottish sun. Unless you were smart enough to wear sunglasses like Paul and Bob.

4 14

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Aug 21

Moral incoherence is the zeitgeist of our age.

1 1 2

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Ben Sanderson @benmsanderson.bsky.social · Sep 8

Our finalised paper on flat10MIP is finally up in GMD! This is the experimental protocol which allows for a simple, emissions-driven evaluation of TCRE, ZEC and climate reversibility in CMIP7. Thanks so much to all who ran these simulations as a proof of concept! gmd.copernicus.org/articles/18/...

flat10MIP: an emissions-driven experiment to diagnose the climate response to positive, zero and negative CO2 emissions

Abstract. The proportionality between global mean temperature and cumulative emissions of CO2 predicted in Earth system models (ESMs) is the foundation of carbon budgeting frameworks. Deviations from ...

gmd.copernicus.org

18 55

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · Sep 7

Nigel Farage is the biggest charlatan in British political history.

And here's what his constitutents in Clacton really think:

150 1.3K 3.3K

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 7

There is discussion in AR5 and AR6 about the difficulty in attributing changes in PDV and AMV *themselves* to anthropogenic forcing — ie no evidence that ant. forcing alters the variability. But that’s not what these quotes are discussing in the DOE chapter, which is about attribution of GMST trend.

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 7

I’ve not been able to find these quotes (or anything like them) anywhere in the reports, and they skew the IPCC framing considerably.

bsky.app/profile/gmac...

Of course it’s possible that I’ve missed them, but I’ve searched extensively (including for every mention of internal/natural variability).

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Aug 17

Made up quotes in the DOE CWG report?

In Ch8, authors claim to quote IPCC AR5 and AR6 summary statements suggesting difficulty attributing climate change due to decadal variability.

I suspected out-of-context, but I can't find the quotes (or anything like them) *at all*.

Anyone know any better?

1

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 6

There are an abundance of things worthy of debate and discussion in climate science - you have championed many of them - but discussion surely needs to be conducted with agreement on what constitutes honest and rigorous scientific inquiry.

2

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 6

Disagree at what level? The DOE report fabricated IPCC quotes implying natural variability undermines attribution of anthropogenic (global mean) warming... It waves aside the pattern effect citing just two studies… These are not sources of disagreement, they are simply not serious scholarship.

2 2

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Mike Byrne @drmichaelbyrne.bsky.social · Sep 5

We had a fantastic research 'away day' at East Sands in St Andrews, where we discussed the future of extreme temperatures as part of GLOBAL-EX project. A lunchtime swim + cheese toasties on the beach was an added bonus! @erc.europa.eu @ukri.org @earthscista.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social

3 15

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte @turnbulldugarte.com · Sep 5

Radical right accommodation really does not work.

New paper out with this exceptionally talented team
@katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk

doi.org/10.31235/osf...

58 990 2.2K

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 4

We *are* planning on having a paleo-oriented workshop here next year, in August, and you’re invited 🫶🏼 Watch this space… (well, maybe not *this* space, but check your inbox!)

3

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 4

Not next year 🤦🏼‍♂️ 2028!

1 1

Reposted by Graeme MacGilchrist

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 2

A real honor to be able to help out with this. An absolute gutter ball that it is required.

Kudos to @andrewdessler.com for exemplary leadership, @bobkopp.net for helping pull it together, and to all coauthors for resisting in our own way.

Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · Sep 2

Our 400+ page comment on the DOE climate working group report is now out.

Our conclusion: The merchants of doubt are back, and they're coming for climate science.

DOEresponseSite

On July 29, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a report from its Climate Working Group (CWG). This report features prominently in the EPA's reconsideration of its 2009 Endangerment Finding. In response, over 85 scientists have come together to write a comprehensive review, which is

sites.google.com

1 11 36

Graeme MacGilchrist @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social · Sep 3

International Conference on Paleoceanography #ICP16 coming to @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @earthscista.bsky.social next year 🫶🏼 🌊

Pallavi Anand (she/her) @anandpallavijha.bsky.social · Sep 3

#ICP16 will be hosted by St Andrews, Scotland @mudwaterclimate.bsky.social thank you.
We had two pitches from Cardiff and St Andrews. 🙏🏼

1 7