Climategate--The Final Chapter
03-28-2016, 05:08 PM
#691
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2008
Posts: 3,716
Sea ice visualization on March 24, 2016.
Image: NASA
Headshot_2015_andrewfreedman_1
By Andrew Freedman
3 hours ago
Arctic sea ice hit its lowest annual maximum on record as of March 24, after one of the most unusually mild winters that many Arctic residents and longtime observers have ever seen. The sea ice maximum, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, was even lower than the record level seen just last year, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado.
According to the NSIDC, the sea ice extent on March 24 was 5.607 million square miles, or 14.52 million square kilometers.
SEE ALSO: Unusually warm Arctic winter stuns scientists with record low ice extent for January
“I’ve never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic,” said NSIDC director Mark Serreze. “The heat was relentless.”
Below-average ice conditions were seen everywhere except in the Labrador Sea, Baffin Bay, and Hudson Bay, the NSIDC found.
To put the record low into perspective, consider that this was 431,000 square miles, or 1.12 million square kilometers below the 1981-2010 average of 6.04 million square miles, or 15.64 million square kilometers. That's about the size of the states of Texas, Arizona and Kansas combined.
It was just below the level reached in 2015, by about 5,000 square miles, or 13,000 square kilometers.
This year’s maximum occurred twelve days later than the 1981 to 2010 average date of March 12, although the date has varied dramatically throughout the satellite record.
Sea ice extent in 2015-16 compared to other recent record low years.
Image: NSIDC
Sea ice extent was particularly low in the Barents Sea, north of Scandinavia, with large below average anomalies in the Kara Sea as well.
According to the NSIDC, unusually mild air temperatures were the main factor that prevented the sea ice pack from expanding and locking in for the winter. Above average temperatures "plagued the Arctic all winter," the release said.
The temperature anomalies this winter were simply staggering. Air temperatures in the lower atmosphere from December through February (the three meteorological winter months) were above average everywhere in the Arctic, with the largest anomalies near the North Pole and from the Kara Sea toward Svalbard, Norway.
“I’ve never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic”
Some areas saw temperatures during the period average about 6 degrees Celsius, or 11 degrees Fahrenheit, above average.
Similar anomalies were seen in the first two weeks of March from the North Pole toward northern Greenland. An absurdly large temperature anomaly was seen during this period near Svalbard, which is the northernmost settled area in the world, with temperatures there up to 12 degrees Celsius, or 22 degrees Fahrenheit, above average for the time of year.
Global average surface temperature departures from the 1951-1980 average during February 2016.
Image: NASA GISS
In recent years, numerous studies have been published that show rapid Arctic warming may be altering weather patterns far from the Arctic Circle, including potentially altering the jet stream winds that steer storms across the U.S. and Europe.
While this is still an active area of research, it's becoming clearer that whatever happens in the Arctic likely does not remain safely locked away in that region.
The Arctic is in crisis.
“The Arctic is in crisis. Year by year, it’s slipping into a new state, and it’s hard to see how that won’t have an effect on weather throughout the Northern Hemisphere,” said Ted Scambos, NSIDC lead scientist, in a statement.
The air temperature at the North Pole even reached or possibly exceeded the freezing point at least twice during the January to February period as powerful ocean storms pulled mild air from the Atlantic northward into the high Arctic.
"These unusually warm conditions have no doubt played a role in the record low ice extent this winter," the NSIDC stated.
Globally, January and February were the two most unusually warm months since instrument records began in the late 19th century.
In addition to the temperatures, prevailing winds also contributed to the sea ice record, including southerly winds in the Kara and Barents seas that helped keep the ice edge north of its typical position.
A thin cover of nilas, consisting of many ice floes that have finger-rafted together along the floe edges, floats over the East Beaufort Sea.
Image: NASA/Operation Ice Bridge.
"This area has also seen an influx of warm Atlantic waters from the Norwegian Sea," NSIDC stated.
The record low sea ice maximum does not guarantee that sea ice will dwindle to a record low extent this summer, though. The summer melt season is also determined by prevailing weather patterns and when widespread sea ice surface melting commences.
If melting begins relatively early in the melt season, then the snow and ice surface will darken and absorb more incoming solar radiation, thereby speeding up the melt.
"With the likelihood that much of the Arctic cover is somewhat thinner due to the warm winter, early surface melting would favor reduced summer ice cover," the NSIDC stated.
In an illustration of feedback loops at work in the Arctic, the areas that had below average sea ice tended to be much milder and have more moisture in the air than areas that had a healthier amount of sea ice, the NSIDC found. This was the case near Svalbard, for example.
Global warming is driving Arctic sea ice into a steep decline, to the point where cruise lines are now selling tickets for voyages through the famed Northwest Passage, which had remained closed throughout recorded human history.
“It is likely that we're going to keep seeing smaller wintertime maximums in the future because in addition to a warmer atmosphere, the ocean has also warmed up," said Walt Meier, an ice researcher with NASA, in a statement. "That warmer ocean will not let the ice edge expand as far south as it used to,” Meier said.
Since the start of the satellite era in 1979, there has been a loss of 620,000 square miles of wintertime sea ice cover, which is about twice the size of Texas.
Topics: arctic, arctic sea ice record, Climate, sea ice, World
https://youtu.be/ferqrZi4WF4
Image: NASA
Headshot_2015_andrewfreedman_1
By Andrew Freedman
3 hours ago
Arctic sea ice hit its lowest annual maximum on record as of March 24, after one of the most unusually mild winters that many Arctic residents and longtime observers have ever seen. The sea ice maximum, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, was even lower than the record level seen just last year, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado.
According to the NSIDC, the sea ice extent on March 24 was 5.607 million square miles, or 14.52 million square kilometers.
SEE ALSO: Unusually warm Arctic winter stuns scientists with record low ice extent for January
“I’ve never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic,” said NSIDC director Mark Serreze. “The heat was relentless.”
Below-average ice conditions were seen everywhere except in the Labrador Sea, Baffin Bay, and Hudson Bay, the NSIDC found.
To put the record low into perspective, consider that this was 431,000 square miles, or 1.12 million square kilometers below the 1981-2010 average of 6.04 million square miles, or 15.64 million square kilometers. That's about the size of the states of Texas, Arizona and Kansas combined.
It was just below the level reached in 2015, by about 5,000 square miles, or 13,000 square kilometers.
This year’s maximum occurred twelve days later than the 1981 to 2010 average date of March 12, although the date has varied dramatically throughout the satellite record.
Sea ice extent in 2015-16 compared to other recent record low years.
Image: NSIDC
Sea ice extent was particularly low in the Barents Sea, north of Scandinavia, with large below average anomalies in the Kara Sea as well.
According to the NSIDC, unusually mild air temperatures were the main factor that prevented the sea ice pack from expanding and locking in for the winter. Above average temperatures "plagued the Arctic all winter," the release said.
The temperature anomalies this winter were simply staggering. Air temperatures in the lower atmosphere from December through February (the three meteorological winter months) were above average everywhere in the Arctic, with the largest anomalies near the North Pole and from the Kara Sea toward Svalbard, Norway.
“I’ve never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic”
Some areas saw temperatures during the period average about 6 degrees Celsius, or 11 degrees Fahrenheit, above average.
Similar anomalies were seen in the first two weeks of March from the North Pole toward northern Greenland. An absurdly large temperature anomaly was seen during this period near Svalbard, which is the northernmost settled area in the world, with temperatures there up to 12 degrees Celsius, or 22 degrees Fahrenheit, above average for the time of year.
Global average surface temperature departures from the 1951-1980 average during February 2016.
Image: NASA GISS
In recent years, numerous studies have been published that show rapid Arctic warming may be altering weather patterns far from the Arctic Circle, including potentially altering the jet stream winds that steer storms across the U.S. and Europe.
While this is still an active area of research, it's becoming clearer that whatever happens in the Arctic likely does not remain safely locked away in that region.
The Arctic is in crisis.
“The Arctic is in crisis. Year by year, it’s slipping into a new state, and it’s hard to see how that won’t have an effect on weather throughout the Northern Hemisphere,” said Ted Scambos, NSIDC lead scientist, in a statement.
The air temperature at the North Pole even reached or possibly exceeded the freezing point at least twice during the January to February period as powerful ocean storms pulled mild air from the Atlantic northward into the high Arctic.
"These unusually warm conditions have no doubt played a role in the record low ice extent this winter," the NSIDC stated.
Globally, January and February were the two most unusually warm months since instrument records began in the late 19th century.
In addition to the temperatures, prevailing winds also contributed to the sea ice record, including southerly winds in the Kara and Barents seas that helped keep the ice edge north of its typical position.
A thin cover of nilas, consisting of many ice floes that have finger-rafted together along the floe edges, floats over the East Beaufort Sea.
Image: NASA/Operation Ice Bridge.
"This area has also seen an influx of warm Atlantic waters from the Norwegian Sea," NSIDC stated.
The record low sea ice maximum does not guarantee that sea ice will dwindle to a record low extent this summer, though. The summer melt season is also determined by prevailing weather patterns and when widespread sea ice surface melting commences.
If melting begins relatively early in the melt season, then the snow and ice surface will darken and absorb more incoming solar radiation, thereby speeding up the melt.
"With the likelihood that much of the Arctic cover is somewhat thinner due to the warm winter, early surface melting would favor reduced summer ice cover," the NSIDC stated.
In an illustration of feedback loops at work in the Arctic, the areas that had below average sea ice tended to be much milder and have more moisture in the air than areas that had a healthier amount of sea ice, the NSIDC found. This was the case near Svalbard, for example.
Global warming is driving Arctic sea ice into a steep decline, to the point where cruise lines are now selling tickets for voyages through the famed Northwest Passage, which had remained closed throughout recorded human history.
“It is likely that we're going to keep seeing smaller wintertime maximums in the future because in addition to a warmer atmosphere, the ocean has also warmed up," said Walt Meier, an ice researcher with NASA, in a statement. "That warmer ocean will not let the ice edge expand as far south as it used to,” Meier said.
Since the start of the satellite era in 1979, there has been a loss of 620,000 square miles of wintertime sea ice cover, which is about twice the size of Texas.
Topics: arctic, arctic sea ice record, Climate, sea ice, World
https://youtu.be/ferqrZi4WF4
03-28-2016, 05:21 PM
#692
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Joined APC: Oct 2014
Position: Downward-Facing Dog Pose
Posts: 1,537
Funny how the fear-mongers don't like to talk about nor ever mention the corresponding and massive INCREASE in Antartic sea ice, isn't it?
Oh lookie! Even NASA says so.
Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches New Record Maximum | NASA
Oh lookie! Even NASA says so.
Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches New Record Maximum | NASA
03-28-2016, 05:22 PM
#693
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2006
Position: 767 FO
Posts: 8,047
I don't know, do you still think Solyndra was a good business investment for tax dollars? But yes I trust Exxon more than any politician or bureaucratic hack. Ultimately the private sector is held accountable, as your attempt to smear Exxon with the tobacco.
03-28-2016, 05:29 PM
#694
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Joined APC: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,785
"Studies show that globally, the decreases in Arctic sea ice far exceed the increases in Antarctic sea ice."
Or the links contained therein.
Global Sea Ice Diminishing, Despite Antarctic Gains
03-28-2016, 05:35 PM
#696
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Joined APC: Oct 2014
Position: Downward-Facing Dog Pose
Posts: 1,537
03-28-2016, 05:52 PM
#697
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Joined APC: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,785
"Fyfe prefers the term slowdown over hiatus and adds the usual caveats lest he be taken away from the global warming cash cow: it in no way undermines "global warming theory.""
03-29-2016, 07:09 AM
#698
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Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,166
The most telling example of why the global warming alarmists motives are questionable (aside from the fact that they ignore the scientific method and all science that proves them wrong) are the "solutions" they attempt to push.
If co2 was the biggest threat (even though the amount that is pushed into the atmosphere is negligible) you would think that shutting down coal power plants and replacing them with clean, cheap and efficient nuclear power would be their number one goal. However, most "solutions" involve Bernie Sanders style carbon taxes on beef, air conditioners and banning trucks. While the real fix of nuclear power is the evil we dare not speak of.
The most striking example of this swindle is that the big polluter nation's such as China and India are exempt from such restrictions.
What this swindle has become is nothing more than socialism on a global scale. The rich nation's will pay the poor nation's under the lie of "climate Justice".
If co2 was the biggest threat (even though the amount that is pushed into the atmosphere is negligible) you would think that shutting down coal power plants and replacing them with clean, cheap and efficient nuclear power would be their number one goal. However, most "solutions" involve Bernie Sanders style carbon taxes on beef, air conditioners and banning trucks. While the real fix of nuclear power is the evil we dare not speak of.
The most striking example of this swindle is that the big polluter nation's such as China and India are exempt from such restrictions.
What this swindle has become is nothing more than socialism on a global scale. The rich nation's will pay the poor nation's under the lie of "climate Justice".
03-29-2016, 09:11 AM
#699
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Joined APC: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,785
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_U...nge_Conference
China is also far ahead of the U.S. on green energy technology.
http://www.care2.com/causes/china-ma...te-change.html
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