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Greenland melting due equally to global warming, natural variations

By Guest PostJune 17, 2014Environmentbausteine adenin, canadian arctic, CO2, global warming, greenland, leticia gonzalez, most favorite celebrity, qinghua ding, thiocytosin molekuel, tropical pacific ocean, uv licht

The rapid melting of Greenland glaciers is captured in the documentary “Chasing Ice.” The retreat of the ice edge from one year to the next sends more water into the sea.

Now University of Washington atmospheric scientists have estimated that up to half of the recent warming in Greenland and surrounding areas may be due to climate variations that originate in the tropical Pacific and are not connected with the overall warming of the planet. Still, at least half the warming remains attributable to global warming caused by rising carbon dioxide emissions. The paper is published May 8 in Nature. (more…)

Researchers say polar bears are victims in public war of words

By Guest PostJanuary 25, 2014Environment, NatureBritain, canada, canadian arctic, cites, climate change, doug clark, geographer, martina tyrrell, media campaign, polar bear, public, sea ice, university of exeter, university of saskatchewan, war of words, warming arctic, wildlife conservation

Polar bears and Inuit communities have become victims in the public war of words on climate change and wildlife conservation, according to researchers from Britain and Canada.

University of Exeter geographer Dr Martina Tyrrell and Dr Doug Clark from the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Environment and Sustainability examined the fallout from a media campaign in the run-up to the March 2013 proposal to severely limit or prohibit trade in polar bears under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). (more…)

NASA Finds Sea Ice Driving Arctic Air Pollutants

By Guest PostMarch 4, 2012Environmentamundsen gulf, arctas, arctic ocean, arctic sea, Arctic sea ice, arizona, atmosphere, atmospheric model, beaufort sea, bromex, bromine, bromine explosion, bromine monoxide, bromine plume, bromine release, canada, canadian arctic, chemical process, depletion, Germany, ground-level ozone, mercury experiment, molecules, NASA, ozone, pollutant, radiation, reduction, salt, sea ice, son nghiem, texas, toxic mercury, troposphere, united kingdom, united states

PASADENA, Calif. – Drastic reductions in Arctic sea ice in the last decade may be intensifying the chemical release of bromine into the atmosphere, resulting in ground-level ozone depletion and the deposit of toxic mercury in the Arctic, according to a new NASA-led study.

The connection between changes in the Arctic Ocean’s ice cover and bromine chemical processes is determined by the interaction between the salt in sea ice, frigid temperatures and sunlight. When these mix, the salty ice releases bromine into the air and starts a cascade of chemical reactions called a “bromine explosion.” These reactions rapidly create more molecules of bromine monoxide in the atmosphere. Bromine then reacts with a gaseous form of mercury, turning it into a pollutant that falls to Earth’s surface. (more…)

Global Extinction: Gradual Doom as Bad as Abrupt

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2012Environment, Sciencebrooks ellwood, canadian arctic, carbon dioxide, charles henderson, coal deposit, dead zone, earth, ellesmere island, extinction, factor, fossil, geologic history, geology, global extinction, greenhouse, greenhouse gas, h richard lane, harry rowe, indian ocean, katherine freeman, marine life, mass extinction, national science foundation, ocean, permian period, permian triassic boundary, sedimentary rock, siberian traps, siberian volcanic activity, south china, steven bates, tethys, the great dying, thomas algeo, timothy lyons, united states, university of calgary, university of cincinnati, volcanic deposit, volcanic rock, volcanism in siberia, warming, west blind fiord

*In “The Great Dying” 250 million years ago, the end came slowly*

The deadliest mass extinction of all took a long time to kill 90 percent of Earth’s marine life–and it killed in stages–according to a newly published report.

It shows that mass extinctions need not be sudden events.

Thomas Algeo, a geologist at the University of Cincinnati, and 13 colleagues have produced a high-resolution look at the geology of a Permian-Triassic boundary section on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. (more…)

New CU-led Study May Answer Long-Standing Questions About Enigmatic Little Ice Age

By Guest PostJanuary 30, 2012Environmentalps, Arctic sea ice, baffin island, bette otto bliesner, canadian arctic, China, climate feedback system, climate model, cooling effect, darren larsen, dead plant material, european glacier, feedback, gifford miller, greenland, ice, ice cap, kurt refsnider, langjökull ice cap, little ice age, london, melting icecaps, middle age, Netherlands, north atlantic ocean, norway, ocean, sea, sediment core, simulation, solar radiation, south america, thames river, tropical volcanic eruptions, volcanic aerosols, waterways, yafang zhong

A new University of Colorado Boulder-led study appears to answer contentious questions about the onset and cause of Earth’s Little Ice Age, a period of cooling temperatures that began after the Middle Ages and lasted into the late 19th century.

According to the new study, the Little Ice Age began abruptly between A.D. 1275 and 1300, triggered by repeated, explosive volcanism and sustained by a self- perpetuating sea ice-ocean feedback system in the North Atlantic Ocean, according to CU-Boulder Professor Gifford Miller, who led the study. The primary evidence comes from radiocarbon dates from dead vegetation emerging from rapidly melting icecaps on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, combined with ice and sediment core data from the poles and Iceland and from sea ice climate model simulations, said Miller. (more…)

Melting Ice on Arctic Islands a Major Player in Sea Level Rise

By Guest PostApril 25, 2011Environmentalaska, alex gardner, Antarctica, canadian arctic, canadian arctic archipelago, canadian arctic islands, climate, earth, gravimetry, gravitational field, greenland, ice caps, lake erie, melting glaciers, melting of glacier ice, mountain glaciers, numerical simulation, patagonia, sea-level rise, temperatures, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Melting glaciers and ice caps on Canadian Arctic islands play a much greater role in sea level rise than scientists previously thought, according to a new study led by a University of Michigan researcher.

The 550,000-square-mile Canadian Arctic Archipelago contains some 30,000 islands. Between 2004 and 2009, the region lost the equivalent of three-quarters of the water in Lake Erie, the study found. Warmer-than-usual temperatures in those years caused a rapid increase in the melting of glacier ice and snow, said Alex Gardner, a research fellow in the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences who led the project. The study is published online in Nature on April 20. (more…)

Arctic Rocks Offer New Glimpse of Primitive Earth

By Guest PostAugust 16, 2010Sciencebaffin island, baffin island lavas, baffin island rocks, canadian arctic, carnegie institution, don francis, earth, geochemical evidence, helium-3, helium-4, mantle, matthew jackson, new window, radioactive, reservoir, richard carlson, thorium, uranium

Scientists have discovered a new window into the Earth’s violent past. Geochemical evidence from volcanic rocks collected on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic suggests that beneath it lies a region of the Earth’s mantle that has largely escaped the billions of years of melting and geological churning that has affected the rest of the planet. Researchers believe the discovery offers clues to the early chemical evolution of the Earth.

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