Tim Radford – Ocean current sends out chilling warning

New research forecasts much colder weather in northern Europe if rising CO2 emissions continue to impact on the Atlantic ocean current. LONDON, 8 January, 2017 – Here is the long-term weather forecast for the North Atlantic, in a world in which carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere double: a powerful ocean current called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) will continue …

Reynard Loki – Trump Declares All-Out War on Environment With Fossil Fuel-Loving, Climate Change-Denying Cabinet Nominees

Scientists warn in a major new reportthat the increasingly rapid melting of Arctic ice could potentially be irreversible and have severe implications not just for Arctic ecosystems, but for the entire planet. “The warning signals are getting louder,” said Marcus Carson of the Stockholm Environment Institute and one of the lead authors of the report, adding that these developments “also …

STACY MORFORD – When Permafrost Melts, What Happens to All That Stored Carbon?

The Arctic’s frozen ground contains large stores of organic carbon that have been locked in the permafrost for thousands of years. As global temperatures rise, that permafrost is starting to melt, raising concerns about the impact on the climate as organic carbon becomes exposed. A new study is shedding light on what that could mean for the future by providing …

Alex Kirby – Arctic Tipping Points Put Earth at Risk

LONDON—If the world fails to slow the pace of climate change very soon by cutting emissions of the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet, Arctic tipping points threaten to overwhelm the region, new research reveals. Not only that—the authors of the Arctic Resilience Report say the changes that are liable to affect the high northern latitudes could also trigger …

Chris Mooney and Jason Samenow – The North Pole is an insane 36 degrees warmer than normal as winter descends

This story has been updated. Political people in the United States are watching the chaos in Washington in the moment. But some people in the science community are watching the chaos somewhere else — the Arctic. It’s polar night there now — the sun isn’t rising in much of the Arctic. That’s when the Arctic is supposed to get super-cold, …

Tim Radford – Arctic Ocean could be ice-free before mid-century

LONDON, 5 November, 2016 – Two scientists have worked out what it would take to melt all the ice in the Arctic Ocean. If their sums are right, then by the time human beings have burned enough fossil fuels to add 1,000 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, the Arctic Ocean will be free of ice in September …

PETER WADHAMS – As Arctic Ocean Ice Disappears, The Global Climate Impacts Intensify

THE NEWS LAST WEEK THAT SUMMER ICE COVERING THE ARCTIC OCEAN WAS TIED FOR THE SECOND-LOWEST EXTENT ON RECORD IS A SOBERING REMINDER THAT THE PLANET IS SWIFTLY HEADING TOWARD A LARGELY ICE-FREE ARCTIC IN THE WARMER MONTHS, POSSIBLY AS EARLY AS 2020. After that, we can expect the ice-free period in the Arctic basin to expand to three to four months a …

ROBERT HUNZIKER – Loss of Planet Reflectivity an Impending Catastrophe

The planet’s air conditioning system is on the blink, working intermittently, losing its glinting, lustrous white reflectiveness, as it turns deep blue, absorbing 90% of sunlight rather than reflecting it back into outer space. The repercussions of Arctic sea ice loss are immense. “Our planet has actually changed colour,” Peter Wadhams, A Farewell to Ice (Allen Lane an imprint of …

ROBERT HUNZIKER – Epicenter of Obliteration – Arctic Ice

“Obliteration” is intentionally Machiavellian, and over-reaching, but the hard truth is that obliteration (extinction) could really, truly happen, assuming certain things happen, or not, depending…. In such case, in order to gain a full understanding of Arctic ice loss as it relates to obliteration, query the world’s foremost Arctic expert, Peter Wadhams, professor of Ocean Physics, University of Cambridge. All …

Melting Greenland ice sheet may affect global ocean circulation, future climate

Scientists from the University of South Florida, along with colleagues in Canada and the Netherlands, have determined that the influx of fresh water from the Greenland ice sheet is “freshening” the North Atlantic Ocean and could disrupt the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an important component of global ocean circulation that could have a global effect. Researchers say it could …