From the “I told you Angry Penguins were the new icon” department
The world’s polar regions are warming up faster than the global average, but the western edge of the Antarctic Peninsula is especially steamy. Over the past 50 years, winter temperatures have shot up by an almost unbelievable 6°C—more than five times the global average, according to a paper just published in Science.
The new study, part of a special report on oceans and climate, focuses on the Antarctic Peninsula not only because it represents an extreme, but because it gives scientists a chance to look at a marine ecosystem under rapid climate change (the other polar hotspots, in Siberia and western North America, are well inland).
Rapidly rising temperatures—mostly driven by warmer ocean currents–have transformed the West Antarctic Peninsula’s landscape. The massive ice shelves that sit just offshore at the peninsula’s southern end have begun collapsing en masse . Overall, say the authors, 87% of the region’s glaciers are in retreat, the ice season has shortened by 90 days and, they write ominously, “These changes are accelerating.”
That being the case, it’s not surprising that the creatures who live here are under enormous stress. Adélie penguin populations, which need ice and cold weather to survive, have plummeted by 90% in the northern part of the peninsula over the past three decades, says lead author Oscar Schofield, a marine scientist at Rutgers University, while chinstrap penguins, which prefer more temperate climates, have increased. “The penguin populations near Palmer Station [the largest U.S. base in that part of the continent] have flipflopped,” says Schofield. “The area will probably be completely devoid of Adélies in five or ten years.”
whale(snip)
Steven Mosher
The world’s polar regions are warming up faster than the global average, but the western edge of the Antarctic Peninsula is especially steamy.
This is not a particular surprise. Decline in GMF Z-component is a good proxy of the temperature increasing trend. Here is shown GMFz at western peninsula and at the opposite side of the Antarctic circle:
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/NFC8.htm
The Antarctic peninsular lines up rather well with Patagonia South America. The similar geologies scream out: tectonics!
The new “steamy” …… -102F
Why not declare Antarctica a place of refuge for the important species and build a replica of the United Nations building there with its own eco-power supply system. Then perhaps those members of its many organizations can travel to that wonderful place and take up residences all subsidized by one final contribution by a formerly very rich nation.
Here’s another view of Antarctic Sea Ice Extent;
http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/ice_ext_s.png
which uses AMSR-E data, generated by the University of Bremenpart as part of the GMES project Polar View and the Arctic Regional Ocean Observing System (Arctic ROOS):
http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/
Here’s their Antarctic Sea Ice concentration map;
http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/antarctic_AMSRE_nic.png
here is an animation Antarctic sea ice concentration for the last 21 days in AVI format:
http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/Icefilm_Antarctic_21days.avi
and here is an animation of Antarctic sea ice concentration for Jan 2003 to date also in AVI format:
http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de:8084/amsr/Icefilm_Antarctic.avi
I’ve got to go for a bike ride, as it’s a beautiful day, but later I am going to take a good look at that last animation, as it probably has some interesting stories to tell…
Interesting story on ABC Catalyst linking extreme snow increase at Law Dome over the past 30 years, and correlating this to drought over WA
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2929759.htm
It’s atmost certain that the changes in the ocean currents and atmospheric circulation around Antartica caused the Pennisula to warm, along with more snow at Law Dome (and increased ice extent).
What is all the fuss about ?
nope. no thermal activity in the vincinity.
the area is obviously an extension of an undersea ridge/spreading area
It was clear after Climategate that the Warmists would have to increase their propaganda: more papers of increasingly dubious worth, more bizarre statements, more trolls on skeptic blogs, more media activism, and so on. At the same time, socialist politicians are paying less and less attention to the wishes of their constituents. The money involved here is beyond gigantic. Where is this going to end?
So the Arctic is losing ice and the Antarctic is gaining? hmm… sound bi-polar to me.
Just for curiosity’s sake, from what temperature reading did the temp climb by 6 degrees? Is it, for instance, from -1 C to +5? Or – I think more likely – from around -40 C to -34?
18 June: ABC Australia: One carbon footprint in the grave
It appears that even death will not release us from the problem of our carbon footprint, with the Sydney Catholic Church opening an environmentally friendly burial ground…
The natural burial park in Sydney’s west will not have headstones, but people can find their family members using GPS technology.
A GPS stick will be buried with the bodies and an electronic organiser is lent to visiting family members who want to find the exact location of the grave…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/18/2931241.htm?section=justin
And that 5 degree mystery warmth from -67F to -62F is killing off the peguins?
Please just shoot me now.
The Atlantic is on a carbon roll….with dolls this time:
18 June: The Atlantic: Derek Thompson: Why Carbon Pricing Matters
At the current rate, global carbon dioxide emissions will triple by the year 2100. Many scientists project a five-to-six degree increase in temperatures over the next century, which would trigger unknowable shifts in sea levels, air quality and natural resources. If we want to slow global warming, we have to slow carbon emissions…
The Debate
There are basically three arguments against carbon pricing that enclose each other like Russian nesting dolls. The Big Doll objection is that global warming is not real. The Medium Doll objection is that global warming is real, but we’re exaggerating its negative consequences — or we’re not sure emissions are to blame. The Small Doll objection is that global warming is real, and we’re not exaggerating its negative consequences, but we should focus on less ambitious solutions, like targeted subsidies for low-carbon technologies (e.g., cash for wind farms, sun panels, grassy roofs…).
The Big Doll objection is almost certainly wrong. The Medium Doll objection is serious, but at the very least, climate change policy should be considered as social insurance against the likelihood of global climate catastrophe. The Small Doll objection is misguided because it assumes the government knows which technologies to fund…
But an appropriate carbon price can achieve two goals. First, we nudge the private economy toward green tech in anticipation of rabid (sic) worldwide demand for clean energy in the next century. Second, government can use any profits from carbon prices to pay down the deficit and even reduce other taxes on Americans
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/06/why-carbon-pricing-matters/58386/
The increased number of researchers in West Antarctica has lead to the warming. This request for more research and human presence would probably increase the temperatures there by another 6C within the next 30 years if granted. The obvious solution would be to remove the researchers from this endangered environment and allow it to recover. The temperatures would probably decline 6C within 2 years.
“he Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) is the most common of all penguins in Antarctica. They nest near the shore in groups of 6 to 100s called rookeries. There are tens of thousands of them in the vicinity of Dumont d’Urville, even under the buildings of the station ! They get used to humans pretty quickly.
World population: estimated to 2 million breeding pairs. See here for more info.
Archipelago’s population: 29 182 breeding pairs in 1984, 30 369 in 1990.
Threats: none. Population in slight increase (1% a year) almost everywhere, but colonies near bases tend to be stable or decrease (McMurdo).
“
Pat @4:48 pm:
“…government can use any profits from carbon prices to pay down the deficit and even reduce other taxes on Americans…”
Question. What color is the sky on your planet?☺
“Joe Lalonde says:
June 18, 2010 at 4:41 pm
And that 5 degree mystery warmth from -67F to -62F is killing off the peguins?
Please just shoot me now.”
Joe Lalonde says:
June 18, 2010 at 4:41 pm
And that 5 degree mystery warmth from -67F to -62F is killing off the peguins?
Please just shoot me now.
“”” pat says:
June 18, 2010 at 4:48 pm
………………
But an appropriate carbon price can achieve two goals. First, we nudge the private economy toward green tech in anticipation of rabid (sic) worldwide demand for clean energy in the next century. Second, government can use any profits from carbon prices to pay down the deficit and even reduce other taxes on Americans. “””
Ahem ! what happened to our need for energy THIS century ? Who is the WE that is going to nudge “the private economy” toward Green Tech.
The Private Economy will go where it makes business sense to go; and in this case the “GO” can be to some other place with more common sense that the USA.
When will it dawn on these Marxists, that “The Private Economy” pays for itself; plus paying for the “public economy” and if Government decides to do in the “private economy” with do nothing, achieve nothing taxes, there will be nothing to tax.
Where did you get the idea that Americans give a hoot about WHAT the Governmnet taxes; what we care about is how much they tax; and WHAT THEY SPEND IT ON. And some of us would like them to spend it on what the Constitution tells them they are supposed to do; and stay the hell out of stuff that is none of their business.
What can be said about these poor penguins? The West Antarctic ice sheet is prone to collapse. It has done so repeatedly since the Pleistocene, most recently 1500 years ago. Its weakness is that it is surrounded by water on three sides which leaves it open to vagaries of warm ocean currents. Near the Amundsen Sea there are land winds that blow away the cold surface water. Deep Antarctic bottom water rises to take its place but it is warmer and starts to melt the ice from below. Anybody here know how to control that wind?
No CO2 driving temperature visible in Antarctica,in the last 1,000 years:
http://www.globalwarmingskeptics.info/forums/thread-188-post-4994.html#pid4994
There is concern in the Antarctic Convergence of Russian factory ship catching up tremendous amounts of krill. Do you suppose a decline in the penguins might have more to do with that than any (assumed, but not documented ) warming?
“The penguin populations near Palmer Station [the largest U.S. base in that part of the continent] have flipflopped,” says Schofield. “The area will probably be completely devoid of Adélies in five or ten years.”
============
Any “flipflop”, of course, has never been recorded in the history of competing species until…. we messed it all up.
Leave the poor penquins alone, they don’t want/need your “help”.
Pamela Gray says:
June 18, 2010 at 10:51 am
“Adélie penguin populations, which need ice and cold weather to survive, have plummeted by 90% in the northern part of the peninsula over the past three decades, says lead author Oscar Schofield, a marine scientist at Rutgers University, while chinstrap penguins, which prefer more temperate climates, have increased. ‘The penguin populations near Palmer Station [the largest U.S. base in that part of the continent] have flipflopped,’ says Schofield. ”
This is dripping with irony. Oscillations anyone? Salmon records (which also demonstrated flipflopping) recorded by fisherman from Alaska to the tip of California revealed a new understanding of oceanic system. What was discovered was the PDO.
Agreed. And here’s another irony: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_1.htm
Excerpt:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Piri Reis map shows the western coast of Africa, the eastern coast of South America, and the northern coast of Antarctica. The northern coastline of Antarctica is perfectly detailed. The most puzzling however is not so much how Piri Reis managed to draw such an accurate map of the Antarctic region 300 years before it was discovered, but that the map shows the coastline under the ice. Geological evidence confirms that the latest date Queen Maud Land could have been charted in an ice-free state is 4000 BC.
The official science has been saying all along that the ice-cap which covers the Antarctic is million years old.
The Piri Reis map shows that the northern part of that continent has been mapped before the ice did cover it. That should make think it has been mapped million years ago, but that’s impossible since mankind did not exist at that time.
Further and more accurate studies have proven that the last period of ice-free condition in the Antarctic ended about 6000 years ago. There are still doubts about the beginning of this ice-free period, which has been put by different researchers everything between year 13000 and 9000 BC.
The question is: Who mapped the Queen Maud Land of Antarctic 6000 years ago? Which unknown civilization had the technology or the need to do that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aside from the ‘weird’ aspect, what happened to the penguins when it was ice-free?
Pamela Gray says:
June 18, 2010 at 10:51 am
“Adélie penguin populations, which need ice and cold weather to survive, have plummeted by 90% in the northern part of the peninsula over the past three decades, says lead author Oscar Schofield, a marine scientist at Rutgers University, while chinstrap penguins, which prefer more temperate climates, have increased. ‘The penguin populations near Palmer Station [the largest U.S. base in that part of the continent] have flipflopped,’ says Schofield. ”
This is dripping with irony. Oscillations anyone? Salmon records (which also demonstrated flipflopping) recorded by fisherman from Alaska to the tip of California revealed a new understanding of oceanic system. What was discovered was the PDO.
Try this for ‘irony’: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_1.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Piri Reis map shows the western coast of Africa, the eastern coast of South America, and the northern coast of Antarctica. The northern coastline of Antarctica is perfectly detailed. The most puzzling however is not so much how Piri Reis managed to draw such an accurate map of the Antarctic region 300 years before it was discovered, but that the map shows the coastline under the ice. Geological evidence confirms that the latest date Queen Maud Land could have been charted in an ice-free state is 4000 BC.
The official science has been saying all along that the ice-cap which covers the Antarctic is million years old.
The Piri Reis map shows that the northern part of that continent has been mapped before the ice did cover it. That should make think it has been mapped million years ago, but that’s impossible since mankind did not exist at that time.
Further and more accurate studies have proven that the last period of ice-free condition in the Antarctic ended about 6000 years ago. There are still doubts about the beginning of this ice-free period, which has been put by different researchers everything between year 13000 and 9000 BC.
The question is: Who mapped the Queen Maud Land of Antarctic 6000 years ago? Which unknown civilization had the technology or the need to do that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, aside from the ‘weird,’ where did the penguins go when Antarctica was that warm, i.e., ice-free?
George E. Smith
Surely you can’t be opposed to the “stimulus” money being used for these worthy projects?
http://libertypundits.net/article/top-ten-stimulus-projects-from-radioactive-rabbit-droppings-to-the-sex-lives-of-female-college-freshmen/
Wouldn’t it be more prudent to have a shovel ready job every week to put Americans back to work?
Week 1) HUD (or create a new dept) would instruct 30 million Americans via PSA on PBS (that would assure a minimum of 1000 would see the PSA vs 200-300 if on NPR), preferably unemployed home owners, to break all windows in their homes. A mass workforce would be required to repair those windows, including injuries resulting from breaking said windows which would stimulate the healthcare industry. Imagine the trickle down effect!
Week 2) Employ the 23% of unemployed construction workers to fill in the Grand Canyon. There are only so many roads and bridges anyway.
Week 3) Require General Motors and Chrysler to hire all remaining displaced workers. After all, aren’t corporations in business to provide jobs? Since the government owns GM & Chrysler, this could become reality if we’d just stop bickering about who’s going to pay for it. As Ed Shultz recently opined, we need a dictator to call the shots.
Week 4) Appoint a green jobs czar (isn’t there one now?) to hire the millions needed for this important booming segment of the economic engine in America.
Week 5) Confiscate all profits from corporations and give to the unemployed and low income (under $250,000). This would only be allowed one week per year, except during national emergencies such as when employment exceeds 8%. The 47% of the working population who don’t pay income taxes would also qualify, means tested of course.
And so on and so forth. Basically, just print more money, grow government and create a nation of dependents. Simple!