Loss of Arctic sea ice is changing northern hemisphere ocean currents and atmospheric circulation patterns. A massive influx of warm water as much as 9° F above normal has flowed up the west coasts of both Greenland and Norway towards the Arctic ocean causing a new northern hemisphere weather pattern called the warm Arctic cold continents pattern to develop.
Temperature anomaly in ° C at 100 meters depth in far northern waters.
...Democratic and Republican, liberal and conservative and Tea-Party and Green and Libertarian, young and old, and for generations to come. And yes, it is because of the election results. With the Republicans back in charge of the House, and beholden to both the batshit-crazy anti-science know-nothings of their base on the one hand, and the fossil-fuel corporate giants who poured so much outside money into their campaigns, on the other, it is absolutely guaranteed that no meaningful action on climate change, cap-and-trade, and alternative-energy production will be taken over the next two years. Even if the Democrats come roaring back in 2012, it will still take another year before they could cobble together and pass a useful bill to address this problem, and years after that to produce a meaningful impact.
Melt water, Greenland summer 2010
Photo: Sarah Das, WHOI
Record high temperatures over Greenland in spring and summer brought record melting of Greenland's ice cap in 2010.
Cumulative net annual area changes for the 35 widest marine-terminating glacier outlets
Increasing flow of warm melt waters into cracks and crevasses may lead to ice cap destabilization, rapid outlet glacier flow, rapid ice cap decline and rapid sea level rise.
Melt water, Greenland summer 2010
Photo: Sarah Das, WHOI
Record high temperatures over Greenland in spring and summer brought record melting of Greenland's ice cap in 2010.
Cumulative net annual area changes for the 35 widest marine-terminating glacier outlets
Increasing flow of warm melt waters into cracks and crevasses may lead to ice cap destabilization, rapid outlet glacier flow, rapid ice cap decline and rapid sea level rise.
I had one of those conversations with a co-worker today.
about Climate Change.
The "Earth Cycles" rhetoric is gearing up for 2 years of give-aways, it seems.
My co-worker, despite having several science degrees, including one in physics and one in meteorology, is still under the belief that Climate Change is just a matter of Natural Cycles. Mankind has nothing to do with it.
Well I struck upon an idea, that I thought might appeal to his "inner scientist" --
The Idea of Inertia.
The "Inertia" of the Ice Thickness, specifically. The "heat reservoirs" in the ocean warm top layers; the "cold reservoirs" in the various Ice Caps, around the world, too.
And the Fact that the Arctic Ice Cap has been rapidly thinning for a while now -- got his attention. He was unaware of this Fact.
And the associated permafrost melting, with its expected Methane release got his attention too. He was unaware of that Methane was a potent Greenhouse Gas, nor about the frozen Methane Hydrates on the Ocean floors, either.
The "inner scientist" seemed to be listening ...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released its Arctic Report Card for 2010 [101-page pdf]. It's so simple and straightforward that even Sen. Jim Inhofe could get it. But then he would have to admit that his long-standing claims of climate change being a hoax are themselves a hoax, one perpetrated with the inherited money of billionaires and self-interested corporations who have spread lies and smeared scientists during a two-decade-long propaganda campaign.
Although Inhofe gets much of the press because of his aggressive stance in this matter, he's not alone in the informal caucus of climate-change deniers in Congress who have done all in their power to throw up obstacles against even the mildest ameliorative action, much less the tough legislation actually needed to make a difference.
Like the climate zombies they hope to join, plenty of candidates for Congress this year parrot the lies. Speaking Wednesday before a fund-raiser that Inhofe attended in Loveland, Colo., Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck said:
“Sen. Inhofe was the first person to stand up and say this global warming is the greatest hoax that has been perpetrated,” Buck said according to several reports. “The evidence just keeps supporting his view, and more and more people’s view, of what’s going on.”
Supporting their view if you ignore reports such as NOAA's:
| In 2010, the Arctic-wide warming seen in recent years is continuing, impacting every aspect of the Arctic environment and beyond. Sea-ice extent remains at record lows, which is opening northern shipping routes. Some wildlife populations are increasing, such as some sea birds and whales, while many others are in decline or negatively impacted. With more warmth, permafrost is melting in many places. Northern forest fires are occurring more frequently. Duration of snow cover is decreasing. And many glaciers are losing mass. Impacts on commercial fisheries are complex, depending on the species and location. What does all this mean? The Arctic is continuing to move into a new and different climate state. Loss of Greenland glacial ice impacts sea level. Arctic sea-ice coverage is shrinking, and the ice remaining is much thinner than it was in the past. Ice-free areas of the ocean are warmed by the sun during the summer, releasing that heat to the atmosphere in autumn. This weakens the winds that normally circle the North Pole, allowing outbreaks of cold, Arctic air to the south. Will this trend continue? As the Arctic becomes warmer, it is increasingly difficult to rebuild the thick, multi-year sea-ice cover seen in previous decades. Therefore, recent conditions seen throughout the Arctic environment are likely to persist into the future. |
See DWG's diary for a discussion and many more details from the report.
• • • • •
At Daily Kos on this date in 2002:
Jesus, it's about time the mainstream media woke up to the BS spewing from this administration. Given the fact that Gore got crucified for his half-truths and occasional lies, it's nice to see someone giving Bush a taste of that medicine:
Read the article, it's a litany of lie, after half-truth, after obfuscation, after exaggeration. Hopefully other news outlets will follow suit. |
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has just published its 2010 update on the Arctic environment. This report was produced in collaboration with scientists from the United States, Canada, Russia, and European Union. The bottom line in this report can be summarized in a single sentence:
Return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely.
Warming of the atmosphere and sea water in the northern hemisphere are expected to produce long-term changes in the polar region, including the loss of summer sea ice, depletion of Greenland glacial ice, permafrost melt, and stress on many animal populations. Scientists first raised the possibility of an Arctic "death spiral" several years ago, which was dismissed as a passing fantasy by the ethically-challenged, half-term governor of Alaska. The possibility of an Arctic "death spiral" now looks highly likely.
The volume of Arctic sea ice hit the record minimum this September according to Mark Serreze, director of the U.S. National Snow and Ice data Center (NSDIC).
The volume - extent and thickness - of ice left in the Arctic likely reached the lowest ever level this month, Serreze told IPS.
"I stand by my previous statements that the Arctic summer sea ice cover is in a death spiral. It's not going to recover," he said.
Source: Polar Science Center, Univ. of Washington
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Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland has calved a massive iceberg. Cracks in the glacier's floating tongue prompted scientists to install monitors last summer to watch for sections beginning to separate.
Today the sun emerged after a few days of cloudiness that had shrouded the glacier from satellite view, revealing a dramatic break-up.
"In the Solar Thermal Electrochemical Photo (STEP) carbon capture process, the sun’s visible light and heat are used to capture large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it to solid carbon for storage or carbon monoxide for fuel generation. Image copyright: Stuart Licht, et al. ©2010 American Chemical Society."
Potentially this is good news, but don't get too excited. It's not just about carbon dioxide. And even if it works, there are aspects to consider.
Moreover, unofficial satellite temperature calculations (by climate change skeptic Dr. Roy Spencer) of the lowest atmospheric layer around the earth's surface show the past 3 days may be the hottest days ever measured on earth. Try this link to make your own graph.
The orange line on top is 2010. The blue line that set the previous high is 2009. The other lines are 1998-2008.
Pending disappearance of Arctic ice has one more knock on effect.
Complete article quoted, as it's a 'media release'.
Potential implication of Arctic ice loss becomes more dire with each passing bit of data I seem to find.
Media release 17 September 2009
Arctic sea ice pumps 50% more carbon dioxide into the oceans
Arctic sea ice plays a critical and hitherto unknown role in the removal of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, as revealed in a study just published by an international research team that includes Prof. Ronnie Glud of SAMS.
The Nordic Seas have some of the highest uptake rates of carbon dioxide in the global ocean. Prior to this study, the mechanism by which the CO2 is absorbed into the ocean was believed to be driven largely by biological draw-down: micro-organisms remove inorganic carbon compounds from the water column, encouraging more CO2 to dissolve from the atmosphere.
