Given that the burning of fossil fuels is expected to double the carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere this century (unless the world takes decisive action to stop it), scientists predict drastic effects.
Because oil is always at a temperature above the boiling point of some of its compounds, the more volatile constituents constantly escape into the atmosphere unless confined.
So the argument is that one-off carbon offsetting projects do not deliver real benefits to the atmosphere unless governments undertake much wider efforts to curb deforestation.
"Oxygen is so reactive that it shouldn't be in the atmosphere unless it's being produced by something like photosynthesis," Dr. Seager said.
The researchers said all signs pointed to a continuing increase in these winds, and further concentration over Antarctica, unless greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were reduced.
Mr Murray is highly critical of the SNP's record in government, which he describes as "nothing short of diabolical", but he concedes that unless the political atmosphere in Scotland changes, Nicola Sturgeon's party is likely to record another significant victory next year.
"We're taking carbon that used to be sequestered and putting it in the atmosphere, and unless we stop we're fucked," he says.
The story can be told in fewer than a hundred and forty characters: We're taking carbon that used to be sequestered and putting it in the atmosphere, and unless we stop we're fucked.
Lunar night temperatures are low enough for the argon to condense but not the neon, hydrogen, or helium, which originate in the solar wind and remain in the atmosphere as gases unless implanted in soil particles.
Carbon emitted today will continue to warm the planet for millennia, unless active measures to remove it from the atmosphere are undertaken at some later date.
