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Post by Fusioner on Aug 12, 2005 9:26:33 GMT -5
Scientists find errors in global warming data www.usatoday.comSatellite and weather-balloon research released Friday removes a last bastion of scientific doubt about global warming, researchers say. Surface temperatures have shown small but steady increases since the 1970s, but the tropics had shown little atmospheric heating - and even some cooling. Now, after sleuthing reported in three papers released by the journal Science, revisions have been made to that atmospheric data. Climate expert Ben Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, lead author of one of the papers, says that those fairly steady measurements in the tropics have been a key argument "among people asking, 'Why should I believe this global warming hocus-pocus?' " After examining the satellite data, collected since 1979 by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellites, Carl Mears and Frank Wentz of Remote Sensing Systems in Santa Rosa, Calif., found that the satellites had drifted in orbit, throwing off the timing of temperature measures. Essentially, the satellites were increasingly reporting nighttime temperatures as daytime ones, leading to a false cooling trend. The team also found a math error in the calculations. "Our hats are off to (them). They found a real source of error," says atmospheric scientist John Christy of the University of Alabama at Huntsville, whose team produced the lower temperature estimates. When examining the balloon data, Yale University researchers found that heating from tropical sunlight was skewing the temperatures reported by sensors, making nights look as warm as days. Once corrected, the satellite and balloon temperatures align with other surface and upper-atmosphere measures, as well as climate change models, Santer says. Global warming's pace over the past 30 years has actually been quite slow, a total increase of about 1 degree Fahrenheit. It is predicted to accelerate in this century. Mark Herlong of the George C. Marshall Institute declined to comment. The group, financed by the petroleum industry, has used the data disparities to dispute the views of global-warming activists. In recent years, however, the institute has softened its public statements, acknowledging that the planet is indeed getting warmer but still maintaining that the change is happening so slowly that the impact is minimal. Some people deny... Other's just lie about the facts
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 17, 2005 20:25:34 GMT -5
Senators Attest to Alaska Climate Changenews.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050818/ap_on_go_co/climate_change_alaskaANCHORAGE, Alaska - Anyone doubting the effects of human activity on global climate change should talk to the people it affects in Alaska and the Yukon, U.S. Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said Wednesday. Fresh from a trip to Barrow, America's northernmost city, McCain said anecdotes from Alaskans and residents of the Yukon Territory confirm scientific evidence of global warming. "We are convinced that the overwhelming scientific evidence indicated that climate change is taking place and human activities play a very large role," McCain said. McCain, accompanied by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spoke to villagers in Canada whose spruce trees are being attacked by the northward spread of spruce beetles. On Alaska's northern coast, they met Native Alaskans dealing with melting permafrost and coastal erosion. "I don't think there is any doubt left for anyone who actually looks at the science," Clinton said. "There are still some holdouts, but they are fighting a losing battle. The science is overwhelming, but what is deeply concerning is that climate change is accelerating." Graham, who declared himself "on the fence" about climate change legislation, said an academic debate about global warming is different in the North. "If you can go to the Native people and listen to their stories and walk away with any doubt that something's going on, I just think you're not listening," he said. McCain and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., are sponsoring legislation that would limit greenhouse gas emissions from utilities and industry. The Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would cap U.S. emission levels at levels recorded in 2000. Opponents of the legislation, including Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, attribute warming to cyclical geophysical forces. McCain said the trip has been valuable for the accumulation of evidence that can be used to push the bill. Ultimately, he said, Americans will demand laws to decrease emissions, just as they demanded campaign financing reform. "It's coming up from the bottom," he said. "It's the special interests vs. the people's interests and I still have enough confidence in our system of government that the people's interest will ultimately prevail." Collins said the senators were approached by Alaska guides who thanked them for taking time to look at how climate change affects Alaska. They echoed what indigenous people in Canada told the senators. "I don't think anyone who has talked to these individuals as well as the scientists would have any doubt that this is a real and growing problem," she said. McCain said his bill continues to face opposition from industry, but that may change from businesses that operate overseas. "They have to do business in Europe, and thereby comply with the requirements for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," he said. "You will see more and more international corporations going in that direction because they have to." Graham couched the argument for climate change, as well as another major Alaska issue, petroleum drilling of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as a national security measure. Continued dependence on foreign fossil fuels makes America vulnerable, he said. "The sooner we get started with alternative energy sources and recognize that fossil fuels makes us less secure as a nation, and more dangerous as a planet, the better off we'll be," Graham said. Opponents who ignore evidence of humans contributing to climate change, Clinton said, are participating in a trend of turning Washington, D.C. into what she calls an "evidence-free zone." "You just keep saying something no matter how untrue and unfactual it might be, over and over and over again, and try to drive the politics to meet your ideological or commercial agenda," she said. "That is a grave disservice to our country." The senators planned to travel to Seward later Wednesday.
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 18, 2005 19:53:52 GMT -5
U.S. Coral Reef Ecosystems in Declinenews.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050818/ap_on_sc/coral_reefsWASHINGTON - Coral reef ecosystems, among the oldest and most diverse forms of life, are declining in U.S. waters because of overfishing, climate change, marine diseases, land-based pollution, storms and grounded ships. Such ecosystems "clearly are beset by a wide array of significant threats," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a report Thursday. About three-quarters of all the threats to coral reefs have not changed since the agency's last overview three years ago. Nearly half of those are considered medium to high threats. Only in one place, Guam, did a threat level go from low to high, because of coral bleaching from rising ocean temperatures. Coral reefs provide food and shelter to fish and protect shores from erosion. The 522-page report says many of the programs that scientists use to monitor coral reefs only began in the past two to five years, so some of the data is inconclusive. But the agency's head, Conrad Lautenbacher, said the findings offer "a baseline we can use to compare future results." The data comes from more than 160 scientists and coral reef managers who have monitored the water quality, the sea floor and fish and other species that live in coral. They also have expanded their digital mapping of shallow water coral reef ecosystems. Globally, only about 30 percent of the world's coral reefs are healthy, according to a study last year by 240 scientists in 96 countries. That is down from 41 percent in 2002. That report listed global warming — blamed for higher water temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations — as the top threat. It found that the Caribbean had lost 80 to 98 percent of its elkhorn and staghorn coral, which are both among the most common species.
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 21, 2005 20:30:56 GMT -5
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9032645/West Coast states unite on cleaner car rulesOregon, Washington set to adopt California’s vehicle emission standards “Despite what the Bush folks say, more people are realizing that global warming is a problem that we need to begin to address,” he said. Climatologists have warned that if allowed to continue, rising temperatures caused by driving and other human activities will cause melting glaciers, rising sea levels and weather changes.
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 24, 2005 13:01:06 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050824/ap_on_he_me/melting_arcticPanel Sees Growing Melting Arctic ThreatWASHINGTON - The rate of ice melting in the Arctic is increasing and a panel of researchers says it sees no natural process that is likely to change that trend. Within a century the melting could lead to summertime ice-free ocean conditions not seen in the area in a million years, the group said Tuesday. Melting of land-based glaciers could take much longer but could raise the sea levels, potentially affecting coastal regions worldwide. And changes to the permafrost could undermine buildings, drain water into bogs and release additional carbon into the atmosphere. "What really makes the Arctic different from the rest of the non-polar world is the permanent ice in the ground, in the ocean, and on land," said Jonathan T. Overpeck of the University of Arizona and chairman of the National Science Foundation's Arctic System Science Committee that issued the report. "We see all of that ice melting already, and we envision that it will melt back much more dramatically in the future, as we move towards this more permanent ice-free state," Overpeck said in a statement. The panel's findings were published in Tuesday's issue of Eos, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical Union. The report comes just days after environmental ministers and officials from 23 countries met in Greenland to call on governments to stop arguing over global warming and start acting. That session was held in the town of Ilulissat, near the edge of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier that has retreated nearly seven miles since 1960 and has become a symbol of fears that the planet is approaching a dangerous warming. The report was issued following a weeklong meeting of scientists that examined how the Arctic environment and climate interact and how that system would respond as global temperatures rise. In the past, Arctic climate has included glacial periods with ice sheets extending into North America and Europe, and other times of relative warming. After studying how various parts of the climate system interact, the researchers said there are two major feedback systems influencing the region — ocean circulation in the North Atlantic and the amount of precipitation and evaporation that takes place. Feedback can accelerate changes in the system, they said. For example, the white sea ice reflects solar radiation back into space, but as the ice melts the dark water will absorb some of the light, warming and melting more ice. The scientists said they did not see any natural mechanism that could stop the loss of ice. "I think probably the biggest surprise of the meeting was that no one could envision any interaction between the components that would act naturally to stop the trajectory to the new system," Overpeck said. In addition to sea and land ice melting, Overpeck said that the frozen soil layer called permafrost will melt and eventually disappear in some areas. That could release additional greenhouse gases stored in the permafrost for thousands of years, he said.
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 27, 2005 7:26:23 GMT -5
July set record for tropical stormswww.msnbc.msn.com/id/8973827/WASHINGTON - The five named tropical storms recorded in July were the most on record for that month, and worldwide it was the second warmest July on record, the National Climatic Data Center reported Tuesday. In the United States it was the 12th warmest July on record, with the national average temperature 1.5 degree Fahrenheit above normal for the month. The West was most affected by the excessive heat in July from the 11th to 27th. More than 200 cities broke daily high temperature records, with Denver, Colo., having its second warmest July since 1872 and equaling the all-time highest daily temperature record of 105 degrees. Las Vegas, Nev., equaled its all-time record daily maximum temperature of 117 degrees, and had five consecutive days with temperatures exceeding 115. U.S. rainfall was about average for the country as a whole, with unusually dry conditions across the Rockies, High Plains and the Mid-to-Upper-Mississippi Valley. There was above average wetness in the Southeast, in large part related to landfalling tropical storms. Storm frontTropical Storm Cindy formed early on July 5 and then moved northward to make landfall near Grand Isle, La. Heavy rainfall and inland flooding accompanied Cindy as it tracked northeastward across the eastern U.S. When Tropical Storm Dennis formed, also on July 5, it was the earliest date on record for a fourth named storm. Dennis grew into the earliest category 4 hurricane on record and made landfall near Pensacola, Fla., on the 10th, spreading heavy rainfall inland. July also included Emily and Franklin. The formation of Tropical Storm Gert on the 24th made it a record five storms in the month. Worldwide, the average temperature for July was 1.08 degrees above normal in records dating back to 1880, the second warmest July on record. The warmest was in 1998 with readings 1.17 above average for the month. Record low for sea iceLand surface temperatures were warmer than average in Scandinavia, much of Asia, North Africa and the western U.S., while below average temperatures occurred in northern Canada and northern Alaska. Sea ice across the Northern Hemisphere oceans, as measured by satellites, was lowest on record for July. For the last nine years, sea ice has been below the monthly mean for July. Sea ice generally reaches an annual minimum in September. For the period January-July the average temperature of the planet was 1.06 degree above average, third warmest on record. The warmest was 1998 at 1.24 degree above normal.
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 28, 2005 12:05:01 GMT -5
New Orleans orders mandatory evacuationwww.msnbc.msn.com/id/9063708/'Once in a lifetime storm' storm reaches Category 5NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin ordered an immediate mandatory evacuation Sunday for all of New Orleans, a city sitting below sea level with 485,000 inhabitants, as Hurricane Katrina bore down with wind revved up to nearly 175 mph and a threat of a massive storm surge. The mayor called the order unprecedented, but said Katrina’s storm surge would likely top the levees that protect the city from the surrounding water of Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi River and marshes. The bowl-shaped city must pump water out even during normal times, and the hurricane threatened pump power. “We are facing a storm that most of us have long feared,” Nagin said. This is a record breaking storm... It has built from a tropical storm in the Bahamas into a Category 1 hurricane when it crossed southern Florida. When it moved into the Gulf of Mexico, where water temperatures are at record highs, and wind shears are very low... It built very quickly into a very powerful Category 5 hurricane. Sea levels have slowly risen since the New Orleans levees were built, and the levees themselves have settled lower with time. Add a major hurricane, and the resulting storm surge (predicted at 18-22 feet).... There is going to be massive damage. Brace yourselves people, it's here
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 28, 2005 12:32:33 GMT -5
Category Five Hurricane: Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destructon of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required. Katrina is coming to clean house with sustained winds near 175 mph www.srh.noaa.gov...STORM SURGE FLOOD AND STORM TIDE IMPACTS... KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO COAST AS A CATASTROPHIC LIFE THREATENING HURRICANE. WHILE EXACT LOCATION LANDFALL IS UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME...SIGNIFICANT AND LIFE THREATENING STORM SURGE 18 TO 22 FEET ABOVE NORMAL IS POSSIBLE NEAR AND TO THE RIGHT OF THE LANDFALL AREA. A FEW AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE STORM SURGE FLOODING AS HIGH AS 25 FEET ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES NEAR AND TO THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. RESIDENTS IN AREAS PRONE TO STORM SURGE FLOODING SHOULD LEAVE NOW! HEED EVACUATION RECOMMENDATION FROM LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS. SECONDARY ROADS OUTSIDE LEVEE PROTECTION WILL LIKELY BECOME IMPASSABLE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. Nobody has ever seen anything like this down there. These storm surge predictions do not include the waves (10+ feet) that ride on top of the surge. The storm surge is an actual local rise in the sea level caused by the very low atmospheric pressure in the center of the storm, it raises the ocean level like liquids in a drinking straw. Katrina is producing the lowest sustained pressure readings I have ever followed, and the pressure was still dropping as of 2-1/2 hours ago.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050828/ap_on_re_us/katrina_french_quarterFrench Quarter Dead As Katrina Nears Roommates Michael Seward, 45, and Jesse Rowe, 28, went out Sunday to buy a battery-powered radio. They don't have a car to get out of town, but they feel perfectly safe in their second-story apartment. "The house we live in was built for Napoleon's nephew," Seward said. "It's been here a while." Seward pointed out that the Quarter was on some of the highest land in the city, "on the upper lip of the bowl." Rowe said "hysterical" family and friends were calling to beg them to flee to Mississippi. Seward, who fled from Mississippi, quipped: "That's a fate worse than death." Not everybody who stayed did so by choice. Tim Smith, a machine technician from New York City, was in town for a family reunion when Katrina began its turn toward New Orleans. With no rental car and after several hours trying to get bus or train tickets, he decided to ride the storm out in his Bourbon Street hotel room. "I was in 9-11," he said defiantly. "I mean, we're concerned, but we're not going to lose our minds over it. It's nature. Nature's got to take its course." Mary Lind was trying to reassure Smith and his family, telling them they'd be fine if they stay away from the windows. Lind, who lives in a 174-year-old pink brick house, was also staying, much to her family's chagrin. "My son's having a fit," the 56-year-old real estate agent said as she drove to Matassa's for some last-minute provisions. "We're kind of a different breed of people down here, people in the Quarter. Heck, if we can put up with Mardis Gras, we can put up with a hurricane." You can't tell some people anything... They have never seen _ANYTHING_ like this... They are gonna get SPANKED!!!
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Post by Fusioner on Aug 29, 2005 2:08:07 GMT -5
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Post by Fusioner on Sept 21, 2005 19:31:37 GMT -5
Global warming cause of intense hurricanes? Ocean temperature could be the factor behind the record seasonwww.msnbc.msn.com/id/9429241/By Robert Bazell Correspondent NBC News Updated: 7:49 p.m. ET Sept. 21, 2005 NEW YORK - In recorded history, two storms as powerful as Hurricanes Rita and Katrina have never hit the United States in one season. A coincidence, perhaps, but scientists say ocean temperature could be big factor. “If you think of a hurricane like a car,” explains NASA’s Dr. David Adamec, “there are a lot of parts that keep it going, but the sea surface temperature and the heat that is provided by the ocean, that is the gasoline that fuels it.” In the Gulf of Mexico, there is a lot of fuel right now. To measure sea temperature, researchers use buoys that transmit readings directly, as well as remote sensing satellites. Those readings have found record temperatures in the gulf and Atlantic Ocean this year. “The sun was having an easy time reaching the sea surface and just warmed up the water,” says Adamec, “and just made it ripe for a lot of strong intense hurricanes this year.” The big question is will the trend continue in future years? Scientists say one season, even like this one, cannot indicate anything about climate change. But those same measurements show that in the past 50 years the oceans have gotten one degree warmer. That may not sound like much, but the experts say it is a lot of energy. Indeed, recent studies show that, worldwide, the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has doubled with that one degree change and that’s a source of worry. “At the moment we’ve only warmed up one,” says Dr. Stephen Schnieder, a climatologist at Stanford’s Institute for International Studies. “What happens when we warm up three or five degrees — which is projected in the next several decades to the end of the century?” It’s global warming that many experts say results partly from humans releasing greenhouse gases — possibly creating even more violent storms in the future. See RITA: fusioner.proboards60.com/index.cgi?board=news&action=display&thread=1127277792
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Post by Fusioner on Sept 27, 2005 14:53:50 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050927/ap_on_sc/greenhouse_gasesGov't: Effect of Greenhouse Gases RisingWASHINGTON - The effect of greenhouse gases on the Earth's atmosphere has increased 20 percent since 1990, a new government index says. The Annual Greenhouse Gas Index was released Tuesday by the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide accumulate in the atmosphere as a result of industrial and other processes. They can help trap solar heat, somewhat like a greenhouse, resulting in a gradual warming of the Earth's atmosphere. The Earth's average temperature increased about 1 degree Fahrenheit during the 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that continuing increases could have serious effects on crops, glaciers, the spread of disease, rising sea levels and other changes. In its new analysis the laboratory, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, compares the amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons in the air. Those gases have been sampled for many years. The index was set to a reading of 1 as of 1990 and the lab said it is currently 1.20, indicating an increase of 20 percent. "The AGGI will serve as a gauge of success or failure of future efforts to curb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas increases in the atmosphere both by natural and human-engineered processes," said David Hofmann, CMDL director. The index is expected to be updated each April. "This index provides us with a valuable benchmark for tracking the composition of the atmosphere as we seek to better understand the dynamics of Earth's climate," said NOAA Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. In the current reading, for every million air molecules there are about 375 carbon dioxide molecules, two are methane and less than one is a nitrous oxide molecule. The CFC's make up less than one molecule in a billion in the atmosphere but play a role in regulating Earth's climate and are a key factor in the depletion of the protective ozone layer, NOAA researchers say. The gases produce an effect known as radiative forcing. It is a shift in the balance between solar radiation coming into the atmosphere and Earth's radiation going out. Radiative forcing, as measured by the index, is calculated from the atmospheric concentration of each contributing gas and the per-molecule climate forcing of each gas. The lab said most of the increase measured since 1990 is due to carbon dioxide, which now accounts for about 62 percent of the radiative forcing by all long-lived greenhouse gases. NOAA said the 1990 baseline was chosen because greenhouse gas emissions targeted by the international Kyoto Protocol also are indexed to 1990. ___ On the Net: NOAA Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Lab: www.cmdl.noaa.gov
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Post by Fusioner on Sept 27, 2005 14:56:31 GMT -5
New York Daily News - www.nydailynews.com Heated battle September 24, 2005 By ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. Global warming has made hurricanes worse. Virtually all accepted climate models say warming ocean-surface temperatures amplify the intensity (though not necessarily the frequency) of hurricanes and other storms. Hurricanes are giant engines fueled by heat, and warm water is steroids for storms. Records indicate that this summer may have been the hottest on record, and both Katrina and Rita have behaved as the models predict: forming in the Atlantic, moving over Florida as Category 1 storms and morphing into Category 5 upon hitting the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The jury on global warming has come in. In 2001, more than 2,000 climate scientists from 100 nations announced a worldwide scientific consensus that global warming is upon us, that it's caused primarily by industrial emissions and that its impact will be catastrophic. The only remaining global warming skeptics within the scientific community are a tiny group of industry financed scientists popularly known as ''biostitutes.'' But you don't need a weatherman to know which way the mercury is headed. Nine of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 1995, with Northern Hemisphere temperatures this decade the highest in 2,000 years. The polar ice caps, permafrost and glaciers are disappearing on every continent. Fresh water supplies are dwindling, and deserts are growing. Oceans are rising. Heat waves, fires and droughts are decimating agricultural and timber lands. Recent reports have underscored the connection between global warming and hurricanes. A study from MIT in the journal Nature found that over the past 50 years hurricane wind speeds have increased by 50% and their duration by 60% - in lock-step with rising global temperatures. That study found that storm destructiveness has doubled in the past 30 years with the fastest increase in the last decade as global warming accelerated. A September 2004 study in the Journal of Climate also predicted that Gulf C! oast storms will grow more ferocious as global temperatures rise. Thanks to global warming, Katrina and Rita are harbingers of much worse to come. Kennedy teaches law at Pace University and is counsel to the environmental group Riverkeeper. You can view the entire article at www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/349443p-298167c.html . Thanks for reading the New York Daily News
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Post by Fusioner on Sept 28, 2005 16:23:40 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050928/sc_nm/environment_alaska_dcAlaska landscape transformed by warmer climate ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Sinking villages perched on thawing permafrost, an explosion of timber-chewing insect populations, record wildfires and shrinking sea ice are among the most obvious and jarring signs that Alaska is getting warmer as the global climate changes, scientists say. "We are the canary in the mine, unfortunately, and the harbinger of what is yet to come for the rest of the world," said Patricia Cochran, executive director of the Anchorage-based Alaska Native Science Commission. Atmospheric temperatures in the remote state have risen 3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 3 degrees C) over the past five decades, according to the recently released Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a comprehensive study by scientists from eight nations. That heating, most pronounced in winter and spring, is much more dramatic than in the rest of the world, which has had an average increase in land surface temperatures of 1 degree F (0.6 C) over the last century, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Many scientists believe the earth is warming because of the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that trap solar heat in the atmosphere. A massive beetle infestation has swept through millions of acres (hectares) in south-central Alaska over the past decade, scientists said, because significantly warmer weather is delaying the usual winter die-off of insect populations. The insects' voracious attack on spruce bark has left forests tinder-dry while general heat-induced stress have weakened forests, with lightning strikes making them a fire hazard in the Chugach Mountain foothills, said Glenn Juday, a professor of forest ecology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. "All the trees in the boreal forest are showing unusual symptoms of warmth-related health problems," Juday said, noting that Alaska had its biggest and third-biggest fire seasons in the past two summers. "The warmer it gets the more we burn," Juday said. In the cooler interior regions, buildings are slumping and roads are buckling as permafrost -- frozen soil -- thaws and turns into softer, spongy soil. The Inupiat village of Shishmaref on a narrow Chukchi Sea barrier island is preparing to move as the town sinks into the ground. "For those of us who live in the changing conditions every day, there's no question. We see it. We feel it every single day," Cochran said. Satellite records released on Wednesday showed that sea ice coverage in the arctic region has fallen for the last four years with "unusually early springtime melting in areas north of Siberia and Alaska," according to a study by the University of Colorado, NASA and the University of Washington. Shrinking sea ice has created hardships for sea animals like polar bears that find their prey at the ice's edge. Heated-up waterways are throwing off long-established salmon cycles and, according to one scientist, have allowed a warmth-loving, salmon-wrecking parasite to thrive in the Yukon River. Warming is accentuated in high-latitude regions like Alaska in part because of thinner atmospheres in the polar region, concentrating greenhouse gases, and in part because of the nature of atmospheric currents, according to studies. Such changes have also contributed to falling ice coverage in the Arctic Sea, with spring and summer melting happening 17 days earlier than usual, according to the satellite study. The disappearance of ice and snow uncovers dark surfaces of the ground and sea, which absorb more solar heat and warm up the landscape, said Vladimir Romanovsky, a permafrost expert at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute.
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Post by Fusioner on Sept 29, 2005 1:28:27 GMT -5
nsidc.org/news/press/20050928_trendscontinue.htmlnews.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050928/wl_canada_nm/canada_environment_arctic_col_1Warming causes record Arctic ice melt: U.S. reportnsidc.org/news/press/intensifies/SeaIceDeclineIntensifies.pdfSummer Arctic sea ice falls far below average for fourth year, winter ice sees sharp decline, spring melt starts earlierFor the fourth consecutive year, NSIDC and NASA scientists using satellite data have tracked a stunning reduction in arctic sea ice at the end of the northern summer. The persistence of near-record low extents leads the group to conclude that Arctic sea ice is likely on an accelerating, long-term decline. “The sea ice cover seems to be rapidly changing and the best explanation for this is rising temperatures,” Serreze said. The trend in sea ice decline, lack of winter recovery, early onset of spring melting, and warmer-than-average temperatures suggest a system that is trapped in a loop of positive feedbacks, in which responses to inputs into the system cause it to shift even further away from normal. One of these positive feedbacks centers on increasingly warm temperatures. Serreze explained that as sea ice declines because of warmer temperatures, the loss of ice is likely to lead to still-further ice losses. Sea ice reflects much of the sun's radiation back into space, whereas dark ice-free ocean absorbs more of the sun's energy. As sea ice melts, Earth's overall albedo, the fraction of energy reflected away from the planet, decreases. The increased absorption of energy further warms the planet. “Feedbacks in the system are starting to take hold,” argues NSIDC Lead Scientist Ted Scambos. Moreover, these feedbacks could change our estimate of the rate of decline of sea ice. “Right now, our projections for the future use a steady linear decline, but when feedbacks are involved the decline is not necessarily steady—it could pick up speed.” In addition, arctic temperatures have increased in recent decades. Compared to the past 50 years, average surface air temperatures from January through August, 2005, were 2 to 3 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than average across most of the Arctic Ocean. “The year 2005 puts an exclamation point on the pattern of Arctic warming we’ve seen in recent years,” said Mark Serreze of NSIDC.
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Post by Fusioner on Sept 29, 2005 16:01:41 GMT -5
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050929/ap_on_re_us/socal_wildfiresWildfire Devours 17,000 Acres Near L.A. LOS ANGELES - A wind-whipped wildfire grew rapidly along the city's northwestern edge Thursday, threatening hundreds of homes and forcing evacuations as firefighters worked under hot, dry conditions. Winds that had spread flames a day earlier were calmer, but the fire turned out to be far larger than originally thought. Firefighters increased their estimates of the wildfire's size to around 17,000 acres after daylight surveys, more than double the early morning figure of 7,000 acres, said Fire Capt. Carlos Calvillo. More than 1,000 firefighters worked against the tricky combination of dry brush, low humidity and temperatures in the high 90s along the line that divides Los Angeles and Ventura counties. "We are not going to stop this fire until we get a break in the weather," Fire Capt. Mark Savage said. Shelters were opened in both counties, and many residents responded quickly to evacuation orders. "I wasn't going to get stupid about it. There was only one way out, and it was getting real hot," said Jeff Johns, 48. About 45 evacuees gathered at Canoga Park High School in the San Fernando Valley, where the Red Cross had set up cots and provided meals. "Our house is still OK, but, oh, God, it's not a good feeling," said Phil Goldenberg, 53, who was at the school's gym with his wife and son. The blaze destroyed a home and a detached garage and was threatening numerous other canyon homes in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, officials said. A building at a lab that designed rocket engines during the Cold War was also destroyed. Firefighters said they didn't know what was inside the structure. One firefighter was struck on the head by a 40-pound boulder and was taken to a hospital, officials said. Firefighters feared the blaze would spread to Malibu, the celebrity-packed community about 10 miles away, as other fires fanned by Santa Ana winds have in the past. Firefighters did not know what started the blaze Wednesday. A blaze in Riverside County, meanwhile, spread over 1,160 acres between the cities of Redlands and Moreno Valley, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles. That fire destroyed three chicken coops at a ranch believed to house 70,000 to 90,000 chickens. So far this year, wildfires have charred 8.16 million acres nationwide, compared with 7.74 million acres by the same time last year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
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