Nigel Holgate
ENVS*1020
When I was comparing my secondary source article from the New Scientist magazine, something caught my attention very quickly. Often times, important information can be misunderstood by the author. Most times this is unintentional, but bear in mind that this can happen because they may wish to write a more attention-grabbing article, or one that is easier to understand by their target audience etc. Summarizing the article and presenting all the facts in an engaging manner is often times difficult, because writers are usually not researchers! Reading a secondary source article will always give you some of the author’s perspective on the primary source article, as if you were seeing it through their eyes. This reminds me somewhat of the “Telephone” game many of us played when we were younger... The first person would say something and each person would say to the next what they thought they heard, even if it was not necessarily the real thing. If one was to read the primary source article, they would find that it contained much more information, but in a format that is usually a harder read than a secondary source. That being said, without further ado, here is my take on the secondary source article that I read versus the primary source research paper it referenced.
In a recent (16 August 2010) article from New Scientist, author Anil Ananthaswamy makes several statements about ocean colour and its relation to hurricane and typhoon frequency. He begins by saying that plankton “have a lot to answer for. By colouring ocean waters, the microscopic plants encourage hurricanes and typhoons” (Ananthaswamy 2010). In the next paragraph he suggests that, contrary to popular belief, that climate change will decrease the amount of phytoplankton in the ocean. As a result, the number and the power of hurricanes hitting Asia and the Americas will be reduced. I think there is a huge problem with this claim. The reader can be misled into thinking that deep, blue, clear oceans will mitigate the effects of global warming as a whole. There have been numerous studies that have shown that as the climate warms, the ocean warms as well, causing storms to grow in size, intensity and last longer over time (Ho 2006). Also, another weakness I find with the article is that the author fails to fully explain the fact that plankton are an integral part of the marine ecosystem. I find it interesting that the author said himself that phytoplankton are “...at the base of the ocean food web” (Ananthaswamy 2010), but did not elaborate. It seems that he meant “plankton have a lot to answer for” (Ananthaswamy 2010) in a negative way, but plankton supports marine life almost exactly like the way terrestrial plants and trees support land-based life. Clearly, the positive qualities of plankton far outshine the things they have to “answer for”.
Further on in the article, Ananthaswamy discusses how clearer waters will produce less cyclones. In the primary source article referenced by the author, “How ocean colour can steer Pacific cyclones” by Gnandesikan et al. he discusses the team’s findings. Gnandesikan’s team studied gyres, very large areas of circulating ocean currents which can spawn cyclones. The centres of these regions are usually clearer than the outside. This allows for the sun’s heat to reach depths of over 100 metres, consequently heating up the water at a deeper level. Conversely, the sun’s rays only get to the first 5-10 metres on the edges of the gyres. According to the study, this means that the top of the outside of the gyre will be warmed while deeper regions stay cooler. The reason why the outsides of the gyre is warmed is that plankton are transported by the undercurrents. Once there, they colour the ocean waters, absorbing and blocking the incoming heat from the deeper regions. Ananthaswamy goes on to state that undercurrents are more common in the central areas of the gyres, and so the heat generated is simply carried away, further cooling the area. The most interesting stat that the article’s author quotes though, is that tropical cyclone days were reduced by 35% when a gyre’s phytoplankton content was reduced by half, and when the water is virtually free of phytoplankton, cyclone days were cut by 70%. This is intriguing, because Ananthaswamy says in the next paragraph that these findings are backed up from a similar study done in the 1960s. However, upon close examination of the primary source journal, Gnandesikan et al. state that the study from the 1960s may be unreliable due to differences in measurement techniques. They go on to say later on in the article that a “clear mechanism for changing chlorophyll during this period” could not be properly explained, because in the 1960s cyclones were less frequent worldwide (Gnandesikan et al. 2010). This would raise several questions, including if ocean colour really had a significant impact, or if the study’s findings were the result of climatic variability (Gnandesikan et al. 2010).
In conclusion, I have found that it is, after all, in the secondary source writer’s best interests to write something that appeals to the most people. An author must write a convincing article, enough to allow the reader to form his or her own opinion after learning something about the presented issue. A secondary source writer does not often have the luxury of projecting uncertainty to their readers. On the other hand, primary source research papers will always have some degree of built-in uncertainty. A successful secondary source writer is one who can present all the facts in an engaging manner to readers. Most casual readers, myself included, won’t have the time or will wish to put the effort into reading a dry and not very exciting primary source paper. Ananthaswamy does a decent job of doing this for his readers, however one should always check bold claims such as “plankton are responsible for encouraging hurricanes” (Ananthaswamy 2010) or risk not being properly informed. And in the end, that’s the total opposite of what a reader wants to be.
References
Ananthaswamy, Anil. "Deep blue oceans spawn fewer tropical storms - environment - 16 August 2010 - New Scientist." Science news and science jobs from New Scientist - New Scientist. N.p., 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19319-deep-blue-oceans-spawn-fewer-tropical-storms.html
Ho, Dr. Mae-Wan. "Oceans and Climate Change." The Institute of Science In Society. N.p., 21 July 2006. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OceansGlobalWarming
Roach, John. "Is Global Warming Making Hurricanes Worse?." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines | National Geographic News. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0804_050804_hurricanewarming.html.
Primary Source
Gnanadesikan, Anand, Kerry Emmanuel, Gabriel Vecchi, Whit Anderson, and Robert Hallberg. "How ocean color can steer Pacific tropical cyclones." Geophysical Research Leters 37 (2010): n. pag. How ocean color can steer Pacific tropical cyclones. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.
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