Physicists Predict Earth Will Become a Chaotic Planet, Leading to Catastrophic and Irreparable Consequences.
A new study published on April 21 by scientists from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Porto, Portugal, paints a grim picture of the potential impacts of human activity on the climate. The results are far from encouraging.
Climate change is pushing storms to their extreme frequency. In 2018, Hurricane Michael claimed at least 19 lives and flattened many homes (Photo: Getty).
“The impacts of climate change are already evident, but if the Earth System enters a chaotic behavior regime, we will lose all hope of remedying the situation,” said researcher Orfeu Bertolami, a co-author of the study.
Specifically, the emergence of the Anthropocene epoch is referred to as a phase transition of life. Most people are familiar with phase transitions in materials, such as when a block of ice transitions from solid to liquid by melting into water or when water evaporates into gas.
However, phase transitions also occur in other systems. In this case, the system in question is the climate on Earth. A specific climate provides regular and predictable seasons and weather, and a phase transition in climate leads to a new type of weather and season.
It is evident today that many regions of the Earth are experiencing unusual climate patterns, such as unexpectedly warm winters or unseasonably cold spells in May and June. Researcher Bertolami stated: “When the climate undergoes transitional phases, it signifies that the Earth is experiencing a sudden change, and the phase transition is underway.”
The Earth’s climate is gradually becoming chaotic due to human influences.
To clarify this issue, the researchers employed a mathematical tool known as a logistic map. Logistic maps are useful in describing scenarios where a few variables—such as the amount of carbon in the atmosphere—can grow but eventually reach a limit.
They argue that in the most favorable scenario, where humanity reaches the carbon output limit, the Earth’s climate will gradually stabilize at a new average temperature that is higher than the current level, which is generally harmful to humans, leading to rising sea levels and more extreme weather phenomena.
In the worst-case scenario, the researchers predict that the Earth’s climate will lead to chaos, lacking equilibrium and any repeating patterns.
A chaotic climate will exhibit dramatically changing seasons from decade to decade, or even year to year. Some years will experience sudden extreme weather events, while others will be completely calm.
Even the average temperature of the Earth could fluctuate wildly. These transitions seem to be perceptible, marking a shift from cooler periods to hotter ones in relatively short timespans.
However, if this phenomenon does not improve, we will be utterly unable to determine which direction the Earth’s climate is heading, the researchers noted.
This means that any possibility of controlling and steering the Earth System towards a balanced state conducive to the biosphere’s survivability will be stripped away from us.
