The fractal record of (heat trapping) CO2



Update 2015 05 04
I have discovered why CO2 is not a special heat-trapping gas: Reinterpreting-John-Tyndalls experiment

The Fractal Record of heat-trapping CO2

Abstract
This is a study to identify other places or instances where CO2 traps heat in the everyday real world -  as it is implied. The 'fractal record' (taken from the fossil record) shows there are no examples (at least at a level to be measurable) or evidence to support the claim CO2 traps heat; that CO2 is a special heat-trapping gas.
Aims
To develop the fractal (record) as an instrument of reason. 
To end the carbon-climate debate.
Introduction
The fractal record should help settle the inductive argument (set by carbon-climatology) and show the truth and real relationship between heat and CO2. CO2 and (infrared) heat are next to ubiquitous (at least) on Earth: in this entry, I shall (crudely, as I am not an expert) identify and analyse the occurrences where the two ('heat' and CO2) are present and should point to support the claim of greenhouse heat tapping CO2. If CO2 traps heat, and is the cause of climate change – it should also be the cause of, and form part of our general understanding of the below:
  1. weather forecasting, the (micro atmosphere) 
  2. the snowpack stability
  3. plate tectonics 
  4. respiration 
  5. termite mounds 
  6.  market solution - why is (heat-trapping) CO2 not sold, or shown to have a utility?
The fractal record?
The fractal record is directly inspired by the fossil record of life: it aims to show a record of instances or examples of a said rule or object (at all different scales or places) – in this case, CO2’s said heat-trapping property (of carbon-climatology). It will show us (or not) if and where the premise repeats in nature; and reveal the expected (or 'inferred') effect the said gas has on temperature and (should have) on its surrounding environment  – given our understanding of the premise.
I could have equally developed a fractal record on the premise of orbiting bodies, but that would not be so interesting  – at least today in the 21 Century – to demonstrate the fractal.
In the previous entry 'the CO2 profile' I show that the premise 'CO2 is a heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas' is misinterpreted. It may - compared to the vacuum of space - trap heat, but nothing like water. It is nothing special, only typical.


The following fractal analysis is expected to offend (some), and it is totally possible – and expected – that some people will, after understanding the following observations, attempt to rewrite the cause of them so as my fractal record observations (as crudely presented as they might be) become the truth - so that they fit or 'save the phenomena' of the carbon-climatology premise. This phenomenon of changing the truth to save the phenomena is well explained in the following podcast, and the fact that this may happen is on its own (in the context of the man-made climate issue) a repeating pattern.

  Philosopher Alan Musgrave on realism and surrealism about science, or whether or not Adam and Eve had bellybuttons.

1. The atmosphere – CO2 and weather forecasting  

I – earlier in my life – personally trained as a pilot, and have been an outdoor adventurer for some 30 years, and for some time of this as an outdoor instructor and guide: in this time, I have never heard of a connection between weather and CO2.

There is a set of activities from which we should easily be able to deduce or infer (or not) our knowledge of the heat-trapping CO2 – be it indirectly in this case – and that is from those who read (and use their knowledge of) the weather. The lives of the participants in these activities (and professions) depend on sound knowledge of meteorological phenomena for their survival. In such a case, if the carbon-climate claim were true, we would use these actives and professions (as examples) to help understand the said trapping phenomena of CO2.  There would be no questioning it – if this were the case. They are the likes of the aviators, the mariners, and the mountaineers – the fishers, sailors, and farmers. Whether they are professionals, or whether they be amateurs, they all depend on their knowledge of the weather. They do not derive their knowledge of meteorology from the media – if they did, they would be measuring CO2 levels, at the same time they tap their barometer – as they walk out the door. They quite literally live (and die) by their ability to read the meteorological phenomena, and they are proud of their knowledge. They sport it, and talk it, in a specialist language that earns incredible respect. They read instruments – air pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed – which is often at the frontier of technology; they can equally use their eyes to read clouds and weather maps. They are often experts in science (even if they have not studied it directly), and they will not stand for nonsense. Even the mere act of me writing and suggesting they factor it is laughable, and any attempt to suggest to them directly that they should, would no dealt result in sharp ridicule.
They are able to decide, evaluate and predict the oncoming weather; but nowhere do they use, or factor CO2 concentrations into their thinking. Why not? CO2 is everywhere, and is said to determine the climate, so why not the weather? It may well be that it does factor, but one might suspect, it is at levels too low to cause any accident.
If it were a factor: it would be measured, monitored, reported and recorded – it is not. It would line the textbooks – be a known factor in the adiabatic lapse rate – and would be questioned in examinations – it is not.   It would form part of general engine icing theory in aviation – not a mention. It would be part of instrumentation, and be on the instrument panel of every craft and just like a barometer/altimeter. It is not. It would be used in weather prediction: charts would be drawn with isotherm isobar-like presentation. There are not. 

Repeating where I started, we should be able to infer CO2’s role in the climate from its role in the above examples.
Water
What is known, and what is factored – and what all the above groups are very familiar with – is the science of water.  
With water they study its properties – often to the highest level – but never (as far as I can tell) do they study the physics of CO2.

2. Snowpack stability - CO2 and avalanches

Is CO2 a causal factor of snowpack instability?

Notwithstanding the activities mentioned above, there may be no other profession quite so sensitive to getting knowledge wrong than that of avalanche theory and practice. Again it is a practice where people's lives depend directly on scientific knowledge and application – in this case, the knowledge of snow – and is one where I have had direct involvement. If CO2 traps heat in the way it is said to do in the atmosphere (and determines and underpins the climate) then if follows it should have an effect on a snowpack too.  We must assume it is present there, at least (at the ambient 380 ppmv) as: it is denser than air and so would sink and flow down through the snowpack (at higher than ambient concentrations) in much the same way cold dense air does (in adiabatic/ katabolic mountain winds) Snow experts would surely know about this, if it were true, just as they know and understand the affect wind has on the snow stability; and CO2 preserves in (ancient) ice-core samples – dating back many thousands of years.  It would most certainly show its instability effect on volcanoes – as CO2 is vented from them, and at (sometimes) high concentrations.
It is standard practice for mountain adventurers to dig snow pits to evaluate the snowpack for its stability where they measure, monitor, record and share such things as the temperature, the snow layers, and the snow crystal type of a cross-section of the pack.  They do not at all measure CO2 concentrations.
Experts – and amateurs alike – understand that it is the physical properties of water, temperature gradients, weather history, geography, and the heat from the sun that explain much of the instability problems associated with snow-packs and cause avalanches, but not (at all) the thermal properties of CO2. If it does, it may be that it is so low that it is not measurable, noticeable, or pose any danger.

3. Plate tectonics – the role of water, and the (lack of) role of CO2

Plate tectonics and continental drift are said to be one of the most important discoveries of the modern (scientific) age, complementing our knowledge of the evolution of life on Earth.
Of particular interest are the phenomena of arc subduction zones, where continental crust is produced and volcanic activity is prevalent.

The Role of Water

At oceanic subduction zones water from the oceans – along with carbon – is subducted into the mantle: water is said to play an important role ‘as a lubricant’ to the subducting slab, lowering the melting temperature of the rock; forming magma – which is relatively less dense and rises to the surface to form volcanoes, and continental crust.
It is said that it is water that is an essential ingredient that drives the whole process of continental production: effectively we would not be here if it were not for this process. Volcanoes-and-Water.

The following video clip describes this process and particularly the role water plays in his process. 4:47 "..one of life's key cycles here." 5:09 "Water is the to the ring of fire".

The (lack of a) role of CO2 

In this context, both heat and CO2 are present.  Here, at plate boundaries, CO2 should show its relationship with infrared heat, and stand as an example or inference of the carbon climate. It doesn't.

In the process in the clip above, CO2 is not given mention – not even as being part party to the process – yet it is there, and at extremely high volumes and concentrations.


In the following lecture clip (among the best on this subject of arc subduction and should be watched in its entirety) at 23:04 minutes the Professor turns his attention to the gases and liquids, inputs and outputs and effects. With such heat, water reacts, and is vented off, but next to all the CO2 subducts onwards into the mantle, and only part of it (20%) is vented out of the volcanoes above. CO2 is here, or at least appears to be, infrared heat benign. CO2 does not appear to play any part in the process – as does the water.




24:08 "The phases(?) that are carrying the carbon into the mantle are really stable, and they see through the tremendous temperatures and pressures which are exerted on them when they make it into the mantle; so they are stable through these, and they pass most probably into the deeper mantle."

If the CO2 trapped heat, it would be extremely dangerous at the surface, not only for its suffocation danger but also for its heat danger. Water at the surface is dangerous for its heat – this makes more sense because it is known that water traps heat.  Is there any signage in volcanic parks where people are warned of the hot CO2 in the same way they are warned about the hot water?
One would conclude from this that it difficult to infer CO2 as a potent, temperature-sensitive gas.

4. Respiration – CO and 'our' warm breath.

The nose has a function of regulating air temperature in respiration: when we breathe in through our nose air is warmed in the nasal cavity to body temperature – ready for the lungs. Why Does My Nose Run When It Is Cold Outside? We (humans) can (apparently) breathe in at air temperatures lower than -40C, and the same air will reach the lungs at body temperature – moments later. How does it work? Does CO2 have a role to play?

The role of CO2

CO2 is also expired through the nose at a concentration of 4 to 5% of volume (40,000 to 50,000 ppmv) during respiration. This concentration increase equates to a 12,721% change in concentration –– from the 0.039% or 390ppmv ambient atmosphere and should explain or account for – at least in part – this process of rapid temperature increase – given COis a heat-trapping gas. The nose should stand as an example of CO2’s temperature power, and support (easily) the carbon-climate thesis.
There are no references (at the time of this publishing) to be found to support such a CO2 thesis in both medicine and biology literature. It may be that the effect of CO2 on this temperature change in the nose is there, but the effect is too small to measure.


The Role of Water

What the literature suggests is that process is attributed to the physical properties of water (vapour). The nasal cavity has evolved to humidify the air with pre-heated (from the body) water: explanation of nose humidifying/ air warming function.

Heating the inspired air also helps the water molecules to move faster, break away and evaporate from the watery layer of mucus on the cilia into the inspired airflow.

5. Termite Mounds

Termites in their mounds have both temperature regulation problems, and (independently) high CO2 concentration problems. Literature on termites does not point to a connection between temperature and CO2 concentrations. Counter to carbon-climate theory – which ties CO2 concentrations to temperature changes (at the global scale) – termites maximize mound ventilation to expel toxic CO2 – this is made easier as CO2 is dense and sinks; and in a separate process, water (evaporation) is used to regulate the temperature (or cool) the mound.
More to come on this..

6. The (lack of a) Market – for heat-trapping CO2

Not to be confused with carbon trading markets (those, to date, have failed), the market structure itself  – or in this case the lack of one – may offer a source of truth.  CO2 does not stand, in terms of temperature and feedback, as a substitute or a complement in production or consumption. The profit-seeking entrepreneur (whether you term entrepreneurship human or beyond human - the 'nature' world') is quick to seize upon and develop new ideas, opportunities and technologies: if CO2 has significant infrared heat trapping characteristics, as the present claims state, it would be expected that the market would have (long ago) discovered it, used it, and evolved with it – just as it has with the likes of water and fire. To repeat the general theme of this article, CO2 would form part of ‘our’ general scientific knowledge and language.
The following is a comprehensive list showing the industrial uses of CO2.  There is no reference or evidence of any temperature utility, feedback or the like for CO2(as of the likes of water).
Gas Encyclopedia
The fact that – in 'all' the different cultures and languages – CO2 is only known by its scientific name, rather than any other (unlike water and heat, which has different names in every language) is a testament to its unimportance. This is not to say the gas was not identified and named early on, but it was not known, and isolated and used in the context of heat.



Lack of a direct heat-trapping CO2 gas market solution to climate change.


If these (temperature) properties of CO2 were true, CO2 should/would/could offer – at least in part – a solution to ‘global warming’ as it traps heat. Instead of resources being allocated (money spent) on bizarrely burying CO2 ( the life-giving gas it is), like it is a toxin, the market should/would/could use it for what it is said to offer.
The free market (to sure thinkers) offers alternative solutions to environmental problems through the 'free' trade of the good. As extreme as they may sometimes sound, paradoxically, by exploiting the problem they can help control the problem (the externality). Examples may be seen in developing countries, where plastic-bag littering is a problem: a market solution spawned where products are created from the waste; or in countries where noxious pests destroy sensitive environments, the 'pests' are hunted and their by-products (meat and fur for example) are sold, controlling the numbers of the pest. There is even talk of legalising the trade of banned substances.
There is no evidence of any similar market use developed for CO2. The reality is that with CO2 - as shown above - we have not found any temperature trapping or related use for it.  In all respect to us humans, nor has any other life form (to the author's knowledge).  

Suggested (Scam!) market opportunity. 

CO2 does open itself for a scam: CO2-filled – double-glazed windows. But not even the dis-honest (to date) have exploited this opportunity – to develop one of  CO2’s said 'features'. Unlike the bomb detectors bought by the UN!
If it works for the atmosphere and climate, it must work for the window. The only reason it won't work is that people won't believe it.
Method
Collect this (precious to life) gas and use it as an insulate: the most practical being in double-glazed windows. It should be noted: that if one were to reason, read or consult with people in the window industry, they would learn that it definitely will not work – at least enough to be measurable or economic.
If it were used, it would most definitely be a scam: from this industry website we can see why: Reference: Double Glazing - Gas Filling  “Other types of gases can be used (for example, sulphur hexafluoride, carbon dioxide) to reduce sound transmission, but these gases do not offer the improved thermal performance of the inert gases mentioned above."

Other Records

There are many other places where COand heat are gathered and show little relationship: I have found that to expand on these takes too much time, and starts to (without background knowledge) sound like conjecture.   

Conclusion:

The fractal record of heat-trapping CO2  reveals no evidence of a relationship of such a relationship (at least in the instances covered). If anyone claims that CO2 is the cause of global climate change, be it at the hand of humans or not and through all of time, they will have to also explain why their claim does not explain the items in this entry (without rewriting them).
Either the carbon-climate theory is wrong, or the fractal record of CO2 and infrared heat is wrong. If it is the latter that is wrong, then all of the knowledge of the above items will have to be changed to fit the carbon-climate theory.
Whatever way it goes, as the author of this entry, I can't lose: I have either made a great discovery - granting new insights to the natural world through the above items (unlikely), or I have successfully used the fractal to (help) quash an epic myth.

In my next entry (4 of 5) - the CO2 profile, I shall attempt to show that the premise (CO is a heat-trapping gas) is flawed, purely on fractal grounds.



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