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Video - Arctic Emergency: Scientists on Melting Arctic Ice

September 06, 2014 Add Comment Edit

In this video climate scientists address how rising temperatures in the Arctic are contributing the melting sea ice, thawing permafrost, and destabilization of a system that has been called "Earth's Air Conditioner". They make the point that global warming is here and is impacting weather patterns, natural systems, and human life around the world - and the Arctic is central to these impacts.

Scientists featured in the film include:

- Jennifer Francis, PhD. Atmospheric Sciences Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University.

- Ron Prinn, PhD. Chemistry TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

- Natalia Shakhova, PhD. Marine Geology International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

- Kevin Schaefer, PhD. Research Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center.

- Stephen J. Vavrus, PhD. Atmospheric Sciences Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison

- Nikita Zimov, Northeast Science Station, Russian Academy of Sciences.

- Jorien Vonk, PhD. Applied Environmental Sciences Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University

- Jeff Masters, PhD. Meteorology Director, Weather Underground

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Implications of Arctic Heat: Less Ice and More Global Warming

March 11, 2014 Add Comment Edit

The Arctic continues to warm and ocean sea ice continues to retreat at an alarming pace. This has dramatic implications that are both global and local. Arctic ice has been both retreating and thinning in volume for four decades.

As reported in the Ecologist, the latest study by Stroeve et al. from the University College London, was published in Geophysical Research Letters. This study shows that the ice-free period is increasing by 5 days every decade. In some regions of the Arctic, the autumn freeze is now up to 11 days later every decade.

The research examined satellite imagery of the Arctic for the last 30 years. They found that the ice is melting and the increasing exposure to sunlight means that greater quantities of energy are being absorbed by the Earth.

"The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has been declining for the last four decades", said Professor Stroeve. "And the timing of when melt begins and ends has a large impact on the amount of ice lost each summer."
The Arctic is now warmer now than it has been for 40 millennia. This has a cascade of negative impacts which are both local and global.

Globally a warmer Arctic translates to less sea ice which means less reflection of sunlight and more absorption which translates to more heat. This is known as the albedo effect which is defined as the amount of solar energy (shortwave radiation) reflected from the Earth back into space. It is a measure of the reflectivity of the earth's surface. The lower the albedo the more we can expect planetary temperatures to increase. Locally this warming threatens the animals that depend for their existence on a stable cycle of seasons.

The rate of acceleration suggests that the polar ocean could be entirely free of ice in late summer in the next four decades. When ice loss is factored from the perspective of the albedo effect, this will further accelerate global warming.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Alaska's Record Breaking Heat in January Offers More Evidence for a Dramatically Warmer Arctic

February 19, 2014 Add Comment Edit

While the continental US was being slammed with a succession of cold spells and winter storms in January, Alaska was experiencing some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded for the month. Temperatures were as much as 40°F (22°C) above normal. The all-time warmest January temperature ever observed in Alaska was tied on January 27 when the temperature peaked at 62°F (16.7°C) in Port Alsworth.

The NASA map (above left) shows the temperature anomalies in Alaska for January 23–30, 2014. Those areas which experienced higher than average temperatures compared to the 2001–2010 average for the same week are highlighted in red. The map is based on data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.

The record heat and rain caused rivers to rise and avalanches which buried highways under as much as 100 feet (30 meters) of snow. The warmer temperatures were caused by a persistent ridge of high pressure off the Pacific Coast.

These findings are consistent with the general warming trend being observed in the Arctic. A recent University of Waterloo study of more than 400 lakes of the North Slope of Alaska, found less ice and a shorter ice season in 2011 compared with 1950. Over the same time-span, the winter ice season has been reduced by almost one month (24 days). Lakes in the region froze almost six days later and broke up about 18 days earlier in the winter of 2011 compared to the winter of 1950. The ice has also gotten 38 centimeters thinner over that period.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Save the Arctic from a "Death Spiral"

February 11, 2014 Add Comment Edit

In last 30 years, we’ve lost as much as three-quarters of the floating sea ice cover at the top of the world. Satellite images reveal that the volume of that summer sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk so fast that scientists say it’s now in a ‘death spiral’. Due to human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, the Arctic may soon be ice free in the summer for the first time in over 800,000 years.

This will be devastating for polar bears, narwhals, walruses and other species that live there. It will also have profoundly destructive consequences for people all around the world as the Arctic helps to regulate global weather patterns and as a consequence has a powerful impact on global agriculture.

It is a tragic irony that the dirty energy companies that are causing the Arctic to warm at twice the rate of the rest of the world, are also looking to plunder oil and other resources that lie underneath the disappearing ice.

Arctic ecosystems are among the most fragile on Earth and according to recently declassified government documents, dealing with oil spills in the freezing waters is “almost impossible.” If there is one thing we have learned it is that spills are unavoidable and in the Arctic this will be far more destructive than anywhere else on the planet.

We cannot allow the Arctic to be exploited for its natural resources. We cannot allow the loss of the indiginous people's way of life by giant fishing companies. They have fished sustainably in the Arctic for thousands of years.

As part of its efforts to defend the Arctic, Greenpeace is asking people to sign a petition to create a global sanctuary around the North Pole, ban offshore drilling and other destructive industries in the Arctic. Thirty years ago they launched a similar campaign to protect the Antarctic. They were instrumental in helping to create a world park around the South Pole, now they are asking for people to come together to do the same for the Arctic Ocean.

Help Greenpeace to ban destructive industries in the Arctic and create a global sanctuary around the North Pole dedicated to peace and science. Join millions of people around the world and sign the petition to protect the Arctic.

Click here for more information.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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