Not only is Arctic sea ice extent very low, the sea ice is getting thinner and thinner, as illustrated by the image below, by Wipneus, showing the dramatic recent decline of Arctic sea ice thickness.
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| Naval Research Lab 30-day animation (new model) up to Nov 1, 2016, with forecast up to Nov 9, 2016 |
Paul Beckwith: "Arctic sea ice regrowth is eff'd this year, in fact is truly horrible. As the ice extent, defined as regions with at least 15% ice, tries to expand via sea water freezing, it is melted out by extremely high sea surface temperatures. Then the cooled surface water mixes via wave action with warmer water down to as much as 200 meters and the warm mixtures at the surface continue the process of sea ice melting. Without strong ice regrowth, we will reach the state we are heading to. Namely, zero sea ice. We must break this vicious cycle, by declaring a global climate emergency, and implementing the three-legged-stool solution set."
As global warming raises the temperature of the sea surface and the atmosphere over the sea surface, ever stronger winds develop, in turn resulting in stronger waves and higher amounts of water in clouds.
The image below shows forecasts for November 9, 2016, of waves as high as 13.76 m (green circle, left panel) and of total amounts of water (from surface to space) as much as 1.38 kg/m² (green circle right panel, near Novaya Zemlya).
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| [ click on images to enlarge ] |
The dire state of the sea ice indicates that the water of the Arctic Ocean is getting warmer and warmer.
On October 31, 2016, the Arctic Ocean was as warm as 17°C or 62.7°F (green circle near Svalbard), or 13.9°C or 25°F warmer than 1981-2011. This indicates how much warmer the water is beneath the surface, as it arrives in the Arctic Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean.
Below is an update of the situation on methane. Contained in existing data is a trend indicating that methane levels could increase by a third by 2030 and could almost double by 2040.
Why is methane so important? On a 10-year timescale, methane causes more warming than carbon dioxide. Unlike carbon dioxide, methane's Global Warming Potential rises as more of it is released. Methane's lifetime can be extended to decades, in particular due to depletion of hydroxyl in the atmosphere.
Ominously, the image below shows that on November 9, 2016, methane levels were very high over the Laptev Sea (solid magenta color north of Siberia).
The image below shows that methane levels on November 9, 2016, were as high as 2633 parts per billion (at a slightly higher altitude corresponding to a pressure of 469 mb).
Temperatures over the Arctic Ocean are forecast to remain high, reflecting the very high temperature of the water.
The danger is that, as global warming continues and as the Arctic snow and ice cover keeps shrinking, warming of the Arctic Ocean will speed up and destabilize methane hydrates contained in sediments at its seafloor, triggering huge methane eruptions that will further accelerate warming. This could contribute to make global temperature rise by as much as 10°C or 18°F over the coming decade.
The danger is that, as global warming continues and as the Arctic snow and ice cover keeps shrinking, warming of the Arctic Ocean will speed up and destabilize methane hydrates contained in sediments at its seafloor, triggering huge methane eruptions that will further accelerate warming. This could contribute to make global temperature rise by as much as 10°C or 18°F over the coming decade.
The situation is dire and calls for comprehensive and effective action, as described in the Climate Plan.
As on the physical side of Earth's heat up continues to trip irreversible points > recovery < seems that politics-to-war world of Midas Touched Man has blown through the chance of smooth sailing democratic change for aim~symbiotic, to snap root core of value of contract law to Test ta Real.
ReplyDeleteIf it is true, as I read earlier this year, that the cataclysmic Albertan forest fires of 2016 were the result of carbon dumped into the atmosphere 30 to 40 years ago, then there is essentially no such thing as "effective action" that can be taken to stop the climate-related disasters of the next decade from taking place.
ReplyDeleteThe sad fact is that such action should have been taken long before now. Even now, cutting world wide emissions by the 50% or more required to even make a dent in runaway global warming is a political non-starter that has zero chance of happening in a world in which rapacious neoliberal economic policies are the norm nearly everywhere.
Sure, it is theoretically POSSIBLE that craven, corrupt politicians like Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Theresa May might wake up tomorrow with an epiphany on climate change, just as it is theoretically POSSIBLE that Scarlett Johansen might call me up tomorrow and ask me to go out on a date with her. Ain't gonna happen in this or any other lifetime.
There's only one way out of this mess. So far I'm not seeing those who hold high places even begin to start. Lots of talk and hand shaking going on.
ReplyDeleteTalk is cheap. Handshakes are for acquaintances and something else that starts with an A. Everyone's got one of the latter. Too bad so many seem to think they should act like one. As if having one isn't enough.
This is something that should be explored as a method to combat methane emmisions. http://www.epmag.com/coffee-grounds-could-foretell-future-methane-emissions-825246
Hemp should be farmed worldwide right now. Its an excellent carbon capture tool that's been overlooked and needlessly vilified for decades now. There's still hope. Still, no matter what we do it's going to get uncomfortable before we fix our ancestors' mess. I'll own it... My mess as well. 30 years of uninformed desicions out of the 41 I've existed thus far. Perhaps more. It's hard to do more when the society we've lived in hasn't really offered many affordable and earth friendly alternatives. Oh well. Fingers crossed. Toes crossed. Silly of me since superstition isn't real. Crazy world. Be well.