Arctic Temperatures Hit 80F

[Kernel Sanders]

"We've lost huge proportions of what was formerly the trail in the park. It's disappeared — gone," Scott said by phone from Iqaluit, capital of the Arctic territory of Nunavut.

Most visitors walk through the park — which is slightly smaller in area than Israel — starting from the southern edge, near the town of Pangnirtung.

The problems started last month with two weeks of record temperatures on Baffin Island that reached as high as 81 Fahrenheit, well above the July average of 54 F.

That, Scott said, triggered massive melting that sent "a huge pulse of water through the park," washing away 37 miles of a trail used by hikers and destroying a bridge over a river that is otherwise impassable.

Earlier this week, once the extent of the damage had become clear, 21 visitors had to be evacuated by helicopter.

"We're not as worried about the flash flooding as we are about the instability of the ground and the slumping and the cracks appearing all along that entire" length of trail, said Scott.

Temperatures in large parts of the Arctic have risen far faster than the global average in recent decades, a development that many experts say is linked to climate change.

Last week, giant sheets of ice totaling almost 8 square miles broke off an ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic and more might follow later this year, scientists said.

Source [MSNBC]

Odd considering that the Earth isn't warming up. Oh wait, that isn't the talking point anymore. Ah, yes - now the Earth is warming, but not because of us. The millions of factories and billions of cars out there? No effect whatsoever. Nope. None.

 

[UtahBill]

Trying to keep track of the earth's temperature is difficult. We don't have enough sensors or the computing capability to accurately portray it.
It would be like having one thermometer in your basement and trying to determine average temperature throughout the house.
Measurements taken in cities are misleading. Melting permafrost is definitely an indication that something is not right...

 

[rivrrat]

Trying to keep track of the earth's temperature is difficult. We don't have enough sensors or the computing capability to accurately portray it.
It would be like having one thermometer in your basement and trying to determine average temperature throughout the house.
Measurements taken in cities are misleading. Melting permafrost is definitely an indication that something is not right...

It's just an indication of climate change, the likes of which this planet has gone through numerous times.

 

[UtahBill]

It's just an indication of climate change, the likes of which this planet has gone through numerous times.

Yes, numerous times, but what we know happened during those events are not at the forefront of our thinking. Millions died during each occurrence. Early on, it was just animals. Later ones, millions of humans died.
Watch the "little ice age" when it shows up again on science channel, or the one about black plague.
Climate change as historical events should be taught in High School, to make us think about what CAN happen at any time.

 

[Gill]

Source [MSNBC]

Odd considering that the Earth isn't warming up. Oh wait, that isn't the talking point anymore. Ah, yes - now the Earth is warming, but not because of us. The millions of factories and billions of cars out there? No effect whatsoever. Nope. None.

So-called climate change or global warming has nothing to do with the warm temperatures on Baffin Island:

Yvonne Billan-Wallace is a meterorologist from Edmonton.

She says the warmer weather is not a result from climate change. "Basically what's happened is that, we had a beautiful large upper ridge that set over the Baffin Island which is giving you some sunny long days. That's just basically brought a lot of warm air from the south and warmed up the temperatures."

Record breaking temperatures on Baffin Island

And... as you can see on the following graph of global temperatures, the climate has been cooling since at least 2002.

 

[American]

It's just an indication of climate change, the likes of which this planet has gone through numerous times.

SHHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

[Gladiator]

Trying to keep track of the earth's temperature is difficult. We don't have enough sensors or the computing capability to accurately portray it.
It would be like having one thermometer in your basement and trying to determine average temperature throughout the house.
Measurements taken in cities are misleading. Melting permafrost is definitely an indication that something is not right...

Another indicaton of the Arctic temperatures is the amount of ocean surface covered with ice, at the North Pole. This information is from satelite photos, and shows there has been a near record reduction in Ice Coverage in August. Currently trending toward a record level low of ice-covered ocean at the North Pole, but temperatures should cool down soon, and a record low ice averted, set in 2007.

This is a graph that is updated every few days:

http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png


"Earlier in August, three oil industry vessels bound for Canada became stuck in ice about 60 miles north of Point Barrow. The Coast Guard sent the icebreaker Healy to help, but before it could arrive from 300 miles away, the wind shifted and pushed the ice apart, freeing the vessels.

"They were able to get away," Brooks said. "The problem with this ice is it's very unpredictable."

Because of such risks, the Coast Guard established temporary bases this month in Barrow, the country's highest-latitude town, and at the North Slope's Prudhoe Bay, the nation's largest oil field. The bases will operate for a few weeks while Guard officials evaluate the need for the agency's services.

The Northwest Passage is also increasingly popular with tourists.

Chuck Cross has been leading excursions to the North Pole with his Bend, Ore.-based Polar Cruises since 1991, and he's noticed a big change over the years.

"It's amazing to me when I go to the pole how thin the ice is, huge open spots of water in some areas," he said. "Before, you spent more time getting there and more time in the ice. We'd have helicopters looking for breaks in the water for us."

Melting Arctic Ice Opens New Ship Frontier, Rapid Thaw Creates Navigable Ocean In Extreme North - An Area Rich In Natural Resources - CBS News







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[American]

Source [MSNBC]

Odd considering that the Earth isn't warming up. Oh wait, that isn't the talking point anymore. Ah, yes - now the Earth is warming, but not because of us. The millions of factories and billions of cars out there? No effect whatsoever. Nope. None.

Maybe the reason the Russians are arguing over the Arctic with the Canadians is because the Russians see a real estate bonanza developing.

 

[Gladiator]

Will Global Warming cause the Tree Line to move Northward?

Here ia a link to the Arctic Tree Line:

Arctic Map

Got up to 37 Degrees in Barrow, Alaska yesterday, a little chilly, normal high is 41.

Barrow, Alaska (99723) Conditions & Forecast : Weather Underground


On the other side of the Arctic Circle, Liverpool Airport, in Alert, on Ellesmere Island, UK, weather is above freezing, with some rain in the forecast.

There is a pay service for Arctic Weather Forecast, but I did not pay for that.

Here is a shaded map of temperatures around the arctic, by year.

Arctic Change: Climate Indicators - Surface Air Temperatures


"'It is a neck-and-neck race between 2007 and this year over the issue of ice loss,' said Mark Serreze, of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Boulder, Colorado. 'We thought Arctic ice cover might recover after last year's unprecedented melting - and indeed the picture didn't look too bad last month. Cover was significantly below normal, but at least it was up on last year.

'But the Beaufort Sea storms triggered steep ice losses and it now looks as if it will be a very close call indeed whether 2007 or 2008 is the worst year on record for ice cover over the Arctic. We will only find out when the cover reaches its minimum in mid-September.'"


Meltdown in the Arctic is speeding up | Environment | The Observer





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[Gladiator]

Trying to keep track of the earth's temperature is difficult. We don't have enough sensors or the computing capability to accurately portray it.
It would be like having one thermometer in your basement and trying to determine average temperature throughout the house.
Measurements taken in cities are misleading. Melting permafrost is definitely an indication that something is not right...

""The polar regions, especially the Arctic, are very sensitive indicators of climate change. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has shown that these regions are highly vulnerable to rising temperatures and predicted that the Arctic would be virtually ice-free in the summer months by 2070. Other scientists claim it could become ice-free as early as 2040. Latest satellite observations suggest that the Arctic could be mainly ice-free even earlier."

"Envisat observations from mid-August depict that a new record of low sea-ice coverage could be reached in a matter of weeks. The animation above is a series of mosaics of the Arctic Ocean created from images acquired between early June and mid-August 2008 from the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument aboard Envisat. The dark grey colour represents ice-free areas while blue represents areas covered with sea ice."


ENN: Arctic ice on the verge of another all-time low


Joint Arctic Weather Project PDF file:

http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic4-1-18.pdf


Alert, Canada warming up on Thursday to above freezing:

Weather Report for Alert, Canada


Gates of the Arctic US National Park, inside the Arctic Circle, South of Prudhoe Bay, North of Faribanks, Alaska. 5 day forecast:

5 Day Weather Forecast for Gates of the Arctic,AK - Qwikcast.com




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[Gladiator]

It's just an indication of climate change, the likes of which this planet has gone through numerous times.

There are several questions that have not been definitively answered.

Is there actual global warming? If so, how fast is it? How fast will the oceans rise?

Is man's burning of Carbon in fossil fuels, creating more CO2, so that there is a warming imbalance of greenhouse gasses?

If man is part of the Global Warming, what other gasses, like Methane Gas, are bigger contributors than CO2?

If Man's production of CO2 is a major factor in Global Warming, how urgent is it that man take action?

I don't think Al Gore understands Cause and Effect. Al Gore is a good student, and can repeat back what others have taught him. But Al Gore did not seem to understand the importance of the reduction of Ice at the North Pole. Al did make special arrangements for the release of previously secret Navy records of ice thickness.

I think the implications of the Arctic summer Ice melt may have more meaning than Al Gore understands. So I am studying a little, to see if there is a deeper dynamic..

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[Gladiator]

I reviewed the transcript of Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth.

http://www.admc.hct.ac.ae/hd1/blog/gw/An Inconvient Truth Transcript.pdf

The part about the Arctic is about 2/3 down. He did not give much of an explantion of the Summer and Winter Ice coverage differences, but he did mention the Summer Arctic Ice.

Gore Called the Arctic the Canary in the Coal Mine. To mean that when the Arctic Ice cap has problems, this is a harbinger of bigger planetary problems. So he understod the importance of the Arctic Ice.

Perhaps the Ice Coverage methods used to measure Arctic Ice were not as well accepted when the movie was made, as the Ice Coverage mesaurements seem to be accepted today. The ice coverage measurements have been kept for some 15 years, by Satelite. Gore did not mention the Ice Coverage measurements, but did mention the problem of ice coverage reduction and the problems of polar bears drowning if they have to swim more than 60 miles, to find ice, big enough for a nap and a seal.

Here is a Link to a Canadian Arctic Circle weather conditions and maps.

Resolute Airport - Eastern Arctic - Current Conditions


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[Gladiator]

It's just an indication of climate change, the likes of which this planet has gone through numerous times.

Apparently CO2 Forcing, as a cause of Global Warming, has been proven wrong, based on inaccurate calculations.

Also man-made gasses are not creating any additional greenhouse effect for global warming, and the Greenhouse Gas Warming temperture comparrison of the Earth's Surface, and upper atmophere, temperature differences, are disproven, as of 2 May 06.

http://www.debatepolitics.com/Environment/34664-global-warming-scam.html#post1057712825


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[metreon]

And... as you can see on the following graph of global temperatures, the climate has been cooling since at least 2002.

The longer-term trend is upward, however. As shown in the 6 yr. selection from the data set below in your chart above, cyclical ups and downs occur routinely, but are still subordinate to a long-term upward trend. The 30 year trend in the same data set, shows this more clearly:

Ice core data corroborates that trend over a longer span of time, although, the temperature data there is, of course, derived indirectly.

If you look strictly at arctic air temperatures from other data sets over the last 100 years, there is also an upward trend, but also with decadal variations that go in opposition to the long-term trend:

This roughly corresponds to the declining extent of arctic sea ice over the same period. There is no doubt the correlation is not linear, as a decadal reversal of upward tempertures can be seen in the 1950's with no corresponding change in the decline of sea ice. If anything, the decline of sea ice seems to accelerate. Yet the long-term trend does correspond. That would suggest melting has more to do with the entire heat in the system rather than just the localized effect of air temperature. Feedback mechanisms associated with declining sea ice may reinforce the capture and preservation of heat in that environment as well, possibly explaining the sudden drop off of sea ice in the last few years, even in the face of declining air temperatures.

 

[Heretic]

The scientists at Hadley respond to the "we're cooling" nonsense here.

The global climate is currently being influenced by the cold phase of this oscillation, known as La Niña (see Expert speaks on La Niña). The current La Niña began to develop in early 2007, having a significant cooling effect on the global average temperature. Despite this, 2007 was one of the ten warmest years since global records began in 1850 with a temperature some 0.4 °C above average. Indeed, the years 2001-2007 recorded an average of 0.44 °C above the 1961-90 average, which is 0.21 °C warmer than corresponding values for the years 1991-2000

Another way of looking at the warming trend is that 1999 was a similar year to 2007 as far as the cooling effects of La Niña are concerned. The global temperature in 1999 was 0.26 °C above the 1961-90 average, whereas 2007 was 0.37 °C above this average - 0.11 °C warmer than 1999.

 

[RightinNYC]

Using an individual instance of a record high or record low to try to prove that global warming is or isn't happening isn't very convincing.

 

[metreon]

It's just an indication of climate change, the likes of which this planet has gone through numerous times.

True, but that observation doesn't offer much interpretive insight into what such change bodes for a complex civilization and the existing ecosphere. Moreover the rate of climate change seems to be greater than can be confirmed for earlier global warming episodes.

The earth has also been pummelled before by extinction-event meteors and has had a molten crust, but both of those events would only bring tragedy today. No one yet fully knows what the consequences of rapid warming will do to the ecosphere, and although it would not be as sudden as a large meteor strike or as severe as a molten crust, its impact upon existing economic systems could still be substantial.

If everyone was still living in yurts and teepees, hunting and gathering, climate change probably wouldn't matter much. But modern economies are highly specialized and global dislocations of climate-dependent industries, like farming, could push the world into economic turmoil if appropriate transitions are not anticipated. Moreover, watersheds are also dependent on climate, so some regions could even find themselves with too little water to support estabished populations. Too much water in populated areas unprepared for flooding could be equally problematic.

Even if climatic shifts are anticipated and there is an orderly redistribution of industry, because the climate change would be global in nature, any redistribution of economic activity might also bring a redistribution of political power. If climate change serves to impoverish the free and empower dictators, then the geopolitical consequences might also make climate change a fearful prospect.

 

[MDM]

Ha! Bringing data into a scientific discussion. How silly!

I shall only be convinced by politically-motivated talking points.

Nice try guys.