MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
This has been all over the climate news blogs today. This research points out how the loss of Arctic Sea ice in the Fram Straight between Greenland and Svalbard can change how much heat is transported by the Gulf Stream. The white paper was just published by Alfred Wegener Institute.
For AWI geologist Juliane Müller the Fram Strait is a key region in the global oceanic circulation. "On the east side of this passage between Greenland and Svalbard warm Atlantic water flows to the north into the Arctic Ocean while on the west side cold Arctic water masses and sea ice push their way out of the Arctic into the North Atlantic. A considerable portion of the Atlantic water cools here on its way to the north and sinks to deeper layers. The circulation of the water caused in this manner drives the global band of oceanic currents like a giant pump and influences, among other things, how much heat the Gulf Stream transports towards Europe," says the scientist.
If the pulse frequency of this circulation pump changes, this gives rise to direct changes in the climate -- for instance, at the end of the past glacial period and during the transition to our present-day interglacial. "In the past 30,000 years the Gulf Stream has lost an extraordinary amount of force at least twice -- once 17,600 years ago and about 12,800 years ago. Both times the climate in Europe consequently cooled down significantly -- and now we also know why," says Juliane Müller.
It is an interesting read and the graphics show the Gulf Stream not reaching as far as it currently does.
Comments
Here is more on the influence of ocean currents on climate.
https://www.skepticalscience.com/ancient-ocean-currents-changed-ice-ages.html
by trkingmomoe on Fri, 08/22/2014 - 10:28pm
While I am at it. There was a third paper released also from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor also yesterday. CO2 maybe released faster then in current predictions.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/uom-sct081514.php
by trkingmomoe on Fri, 08/22/2014 - 11:02pm
Fascinating stuff, momoe. Thanks for sharing.
by Verified Atheist on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 8:09am
You are welcome. I didn't know if anyone would be interested in this. It is a big international problem that don't get much media coverage in this country. People just can't wrap their minds around it because of the misinformation that has been put out by corporate interests for the last 40 years. It isn't happening in their front yards so they don't understand the urgency.
The Greenland ice sheet is now melting 5 1/2 times faster then when Al Gore made his movie. It doubles in it's speed every few years. Right now it is raining on the ice sheet in the south west corner of Greenland which it never does. Normally it snows all the time on the ice sheet even in the summer months. This just adds to the summer ice melt that provides the lubrication for the glaciers to move on. The ash from all the fires in the tundra located in Siberia and Canada has settled on the western side of ice sheet causing it to reflect less sun light. You can see the dark ash on the satellite pictures and it looks like dirty snow. Those areas are absorbing the sun's energy. This means loosing coastal areas a lot sooner then the models showed in the movie.
Weather is becoming more extreme. The jet stream is now weaker and slowing down which makes storms move slower. The scientist are worried about desertfication of California. There was a paper released on the rising of the mountains from the loss of the weight of the water and ice. Also the sinking of some valleys from the pumping of all the water from the aquifers in California. This comes from satellite surveys. Aquifer is not a renewable source. Once it is gone, it is gone.
We are in for a difficult time with land loss, weather, food and big hits to the economy.
.
by trkingmomoe on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 2:07pm
Back in my younger days,1974 to 1975, I learned to ski while stationed in Europe.
My first lessons were up in the Zugsptiz above Garmish ... it was a glacier that filled the entire bowl/slope. Now, there's hardly much of the glacier and it's under covers during the summer to keep the sun from melting what's left.
And the Stubital glacier I skied in early October of 1975 in Austria is hurting today as well.
I wonder if people realize the only way to revitalize a glacier is for another ice age to occur ???
by Beetlejuice on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 2:40pm
The ice sheets are our air conditioners that keep our climate balanced. With out them it could be too warm for us to survive. There is too much CO2 and methane in cold storage on the earth right now that will be released in the melt and surface heating. It is now thought that it was extreme methane release, that has been found in core samples dated at the end of the Paleogene period, may of helped caused the extinction of 2/3 of the plants and animals.
For now our winters will be colder and our summers hotter. The increase in water vapor in the atmosphere will cause wetter storms with extreme weather.
by trkingmomoe on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 10:05pm
Although the situation is dire, it might not be as bad as you think.
by Verified Atheist on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 1:40pm
This explains the methane eruptions in the Arctic Ocean.
This research group filmed these methane bubbles during their research in the Arctic.
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2014/08/horrific-methane-eruptions-in-east-siberian-sea.html
by trkingmomoe on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 11:53pm
Sounds like a Rachel Carson ... Silent Spring ... moment. Key point being the fishys.
I suspect cod is the predominate fish species in that region. So if the water temp is changing, then the schools will migrate to where the water temp is to their liking. Only problem would be an abundant food source in the new feeding area.
Or are cod tolerate of water temp changes along with food sources ?
by Beetlejuice on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 2:28pm
The coral reef is struggling to survive in Australia. We have been seeing an increase every year in the Gulf Coast of red tide. This is a toxic bloom of algae. It kills fish and people can't even go to the beach because breathing the sea mist causes illness from the toxins that are given off. Lake Erie had a toxic bloom of algae, this summer, that killed fish and also the toxin got into Toledo's water supply and people could not use it for days. One of the theories on the methane release that I commented on up thread may of been caused by organisms that live in the oceans that make methane. There was simply a massive bloom of them because of environment changes. These organisms are increasing in the warm seas.
Fish are very sensitive to temperature changes. The little tiny shell fish that create oxygen in the oceans are decreasing because of increase water temperature in some places. These little guys use up CO2 that is stored in the water and make oxygen in it's place.
So it is not just the matter of fish migrating to other areas, they just might find it hard to survive with out enough oxygen.
by trkingmomoe on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 11:27pm