Articles include: offshore wind; drought in the US west; Russia’s new nightmare; net zero GHGs; preparing for a disaster season; Study: invasive species in Africa
Tag: Polar Regions
Study: NYTimes Climate Fwd June 2, 2021
Study: Melting ice in Antarctica could trigger chain reactions, bringing monsoon rains to the ice cap
In an ever-warming climate, ripple effects or chain reactions could lead to altered weather patterns across the globe thanks to a melting Antarctic ice sheet, a new study says.
The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, found that as Earth continues to heat up, the land underneath the Antarctic ice sheet will become more exposed. As a result of that process, wind patterns will shift, and rainfall will increase over Antarctica, which could trigger processes that speed up ice loss.
“We found that ice sheet retreat exposing previously ice-covered land led to big increases in rainfall, which through a feedback mechanism dramatically warms the ocean,” Catherine Bradshaw, senior scientist at the UK Met Office and lecturer at the University of Exeter told CNN.
Study: Emissions Cuts Could Drop the Impact of Melting Ice on Oceans by Half
New York Times: Emissions Cuts Could Drop the Impact of Melting Ice on Oceans by Half. A new study said that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could reduce sea level rise from melting ice sheets from about 10 inches to about five by 2100.
Scientists on Wednesday reported another reason the world should sharply rein in global warming: doing so would likely cut in half the current projected amount of sea level rise from the melting of ice this century.
In a study that averaged results of hundreds of computer simulations from research teams around the world, the scientists said that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could reduce sea level rise from melting glaciers and the vast Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets from about 10 inches to about five by 2100.
Study: Climate Tipping Point – 2 articles
Phys.org: ‘Doomsday’ climate tipping points have wiggle room: Study. Global warming thresholds that could tip massive ice sheets into irreversible melting or see the Amazon rainforest shrivel into savannah have “grace periods”, giving humanity more time to draw down planet-warming carbon emissions, researchers have calculated. More than a dozen tipping points triggered mainly by rising temperatures could unleash catastrophic changes in Earth’s climate system. As the Paris Agreement goal of a 1.5 degree Celsius cap above pre-industrial levels slips out of reach, this is potentially very good news—although no reason to relax—scientists said. Ice sheets atop Greenland and West Antarctic hold enough frozen water to lift oceans a dozen meters (40 feet), drowning cities and redrawing the planet’s coastlines. But new research led by Paul Ritchie and Peter Cox from the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences at Exeter University asks a different question. “Our analysis shows that it is possible to overshoot tipping point thresholds without leading to an abrupt and permanent climate change—as long as the overshoot is for a short period of time,” Cox, senior author of a study published Wednesday in Nature, told AFP. [No study link provided.]
Vice: The Climate Tipping Point Nobody’s Talking About. Efforts to mitigate climate change can worsen “relational tipping points” with Indigenous peoples that were crossed long ago, says one expert. Rapid deforestation. Permafrost melt. Ice sheet decline. These are just a few of the “tipping points” in Earth’s climate system that could trigger runaway changes if crossed. As global temperatures continue to rise due to human activity, scientists warn that tripping these ecological wires will exacerbate the climate crisis in dramatic and irreversible ways. In a 2019 article published in WIREs Climate Change, Whyte introduces the idea of “relational tipping points,” which are not measured by sea ice extent or global forest cover, but by qualities central to Indigenous kin relationships: consent, trust, accountability, and reciprocity, among others.
Above the Fold – Children’s News, April 22, 2021
Articles include: Report: Lead in Pennsylvania water; tougher air pollution limits needed; Report: climate’s impact on children’s health and justice; Report: dogs and human fertility; Study: father’s drinking and children’s health; North Pole pollution; lead pipes in Buffalo, NY; climate change guide for kids; Study: forever chemicals and the immune system; school in Portland, OR, and munitions facility; PCBs in Vermont school; Study: tap water research; Study here and here: toxic nanotech graphene face masks.
The Daily Climate, April 21, 2021
Articles include: cannabis; melting ice and bowhead whales; emissions increasing as pandemic wanes; economic effects of climate change; scripture to mobilize faithful; cities moving from gas to electricity; more renewable energy; investment firms and climate change; demand for coal rising; microbes that eat methane; food systems produce 1/3rd of GHGs; flood protection policy.
The Daily Climate, April 20, 2021
Articles include: Exxon & carbon capture; offshore wind; glaciers melting in the Andes; coal financing; cities hardest hit by climate change; Biden trying to reinstate US climate change leadership; shrinking sea meadows and GHGs; Canadian budget; Euro lawsuits derail clean energy; DOI heads towards clean energy; climate change and coffee; melting Arctic & Russia.
Ars Technica: Missing Arctic ice fueled the “Beast of the East” winter storm. Less ice means more moisture in the air, but connecting it to weather is difficult.
Extreme weather has become the new normal—whether it’s precipitation, drought, wind, heat, or cold. The question of how the ever-shrinking layer of Arctic sea ice has contributed to any of these changes has prompted some lively discussion over the past few years. Researchers have proposed that a weakened jet stream driven by vanishing Arctic sea ice might play a large role in extreme winter events like the descending polar vortex that struck North America earlier this year. But the idea hasn’t held up well in light of more recent evidence.
But now, researchers have identified a direct link between extreme winter weather and sea ice loss. The 2018 “Beast of the East” winter storm hit Europe with record-breaking snowfall and low temperatures. And potentially as much as 88 percent of that snowfall originated from increased evaporation of the Barents Sea.
The working hypothesis is that Arctic sea ice acts as a cap for Arctic waters, limiting evaporation. Less sea ice and warmer Arctic temperatures mean more evaporation, potentially explaining the increased severity of winter storms like the Beast of the East. Until now, it has been tough to measure direct evidence linking sea ice loss to extreme European winters, but recent advances in technology are making this a little less challenging.
Tool: Yale Climate Connections, April 16, 2021
Articles include: 12 books on repairing our relationship with our only planet; How addressing climate change can also improve public health; Researchers examine how world-apart ice sheets influence each other; New York City group retrofits apartments without displacing residents; Trees planted along Colorado’s Yampa River will help protect it in hot, dry weather; What can you do with old wind turbine blades? One option: Upcycle them; Managers of Assateague Island prepare for more sea-level rise, worsening storms; Online tool helps people make their homes energy efficient.