Alaskan glaciers melting 100 times faster than previously thought

 

Alaskan glaciers are melting 100 times faster than experts previously thought. Scientists looked at how tidewater glaciers melt underwater. Their results were startling. A new way of measuring how some glaciers melt below the surface of the water has uncovered a surprising realization: Some glaciers are melting a hundred times faster than scientists thought they were. In a new study published today in Science, a team of oceanographers and glaciologists unpeeled a new layer of understanding of tidewater glaciers—glaciers that end in the ocean—and their dynamic processes.

“They’ve really discovered that the melt that’s happening is dramatically different from some of the assumptions we’ve had,” says Twila Moon, a glaciologist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
 

Some of this calving and glacial melt is a normal process that glaciers undergo during seasonal transitions from winter to summer, and even through the summer. But a warming climate accelerates glacier melting across the globe, potentially through melting across the surface of the glacier, but also through underwater melting.

Glaciers can extend hundreds of feet below the surface, explained Ellyn Enderlin, a glaciologist at Boise State University who was not involved with the study. Finding higher rates of submarine melting tells us that “glaciers are a lot more sensitive to ocean change than we’ve even thought.” Understanding the melting processes and calculating the amount of melt accurately is essential for planning for sea level rise.
“We are just super jazzed that we can even do this,” said David Sutherland, an oceanographer at the University of Oregon. “We weren’t 100 percent sure it was going to work.”

 

Measuring melting masses of ice

LeConte was an ideal glacier to study because it is really accessible for a tidewater glacier, Sutherland said. A complex environment, the project required so many lines of data that several teams of oceanographers and glaciologists collected data simultaneously at the glacier.

Calculating how fast a glacier melts requires more finesse than measuring a melting ice cube in a glass of water. With a glacier, you have to know how fast the ice moves into the fjord, as well as what proportion is melting and what proportion is breaking off, or calving.

It was “pretty simple in my head, and sounded good on paper,” laughs Sutherland. But navigating a boat into the fjord, where the LeConte Glacier slips into the sea, is tricky on a good day. Scientists spent weeks aboard the boat working 24 hours a day, with each scientist taking 12-hour shifts.

Mountain goats scrambled on ridges above and whales frequented the fjord, with seabirds dipping into the water. “When you aren’t wishing for better weather…it was a pretty awesome place to be,” says Sutherland.

From the 80-foot MV Stellar, oceanographers performed sonar surveys underwater, like the ones used to measure ocean depths. Instead of directing the sonar toward the ocean floor, though, they angled the sonar to collect the 3D underwater portion of the glacier face. Scientists repeated their observations during two summers, obtaining multiple scans each trip.
 

Simultaneously, a team of glaciologists camped on a ridge overlooking the glacier. They “babysat” a delicate radar instrument to measure the natural movement of the glacier. Time-lapse cameras were used to measure glacier flow so that they knew how fast the ice moves toward the ocean.

From the datasets, researchers were able to calculate a total melting rate for the underwater portion of the glacier: two orders of magnitude higher than they expected.
Several processes of melting happen at a tidewater glacier, which is why scientists tackled the melting mystery from multiple angles.
When a plume of freshwater from surface melt enters the fjord, it hits the fjord close to the glacier face. The more buoyant freshwater rises to the surface and then undercuts, or erodes the glacier face.

And then you have this submarine melting that occurs wherever the ocean touches the surface of the glacier. The really cool part of the new method, said Sutherland, is that you can pinpoint the exact location where higher melt occurs.

“A pretty large percentage of the ice that flows into the ocean is melted away by the warm ocean water right away, on contact".
But they calculated that the glacier melted underwater at a rate of almost 5 feet per day in May and up to 16 feet per day in August last summer. Later in the season, the warmer water increased the underwater melting.
So we have learned that the rate of glacier melting under the water is far faster than the rate of melting above water. The scientists agreed, 'its a call to action'.

 

99.9999% chance humans are causing global warming, and other science-based facts on climate change for Earth Day

MMM
Doyle Rice and Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
Climate change is real and increasingly a part of our daily lives. New research and studies out in just the past six months highlight the latest facts about the human-caused shift to our global weather systems and its effects on our planet. 

First among them, there's no longer any question that rising temperatures and increasingly chaotic weather are the work of humanity. There's a 99.9999% chance that humans are the cause of global warming, a February study reported. That means we've reached the "gold standard" for certainty, a statistical measure typically used in particle physics. 

The mechanism is well understood and has been for decades. Humans burn fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which release carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and other gases into the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. CO2 is the greenhouse gas that's most responsible for warming.

Study lead author Benjamin Santer of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, told Reuters that “the narrative out there that scientists don’t know the cause of climate change is wrong." 

Hottest on record
The past five years have been the five warmest since record-keeping began in the late 1800s. The Earth has experienced 42 straight years (since 1977) with an above-average global temperature, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Based on five separate data sets that keep track of the Earth's climate, the global average temperature for the first 10 months of 2018 was about 1.8 degrees above what it was in the late 1800s. That was when industry started to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

A major ice sheet in western Antarctica is melting,
A major ice sheet in western Antarctica is melting, and its collapse could raise the global sea level nearly 2 feet, though that could take centuries. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Australia experienced record summer heat in January of this year. The town of Port Augusta reached the hottest day since record-keeping began in 1962 with a temperature of 121, according to the Guardian.

The heat was so intense it caused bats to fall from trees, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Carbon dioxide up 46%
Increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases being released into the atmosphere by industry, transportation and energy production from burning fossil fuels are enhancing what's known as the planet's natural greenhouse effect.

Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent among all greenhouse gases produced by human activities, attributed to the burning of fossil fuels.

The atmospheric carbon dioxide level for March was 411.97 parts per million and continue to rise. It has now reached levels in the atmosphere not seen in 3 million years.

That's an increase of 46% from just before the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, when CO2 levels were around 280 parts per million. Levels began to rise when humans began to burn large amounts of fossil fuels to run factories and heat homes, releasing CO2 and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

Scientists say to keep a livable planet, we need to cut the level to 350 parts per million.

Rising seas
A consequence of higher temperatures is the melting of the polar ice caps, which is causing sea levels to rise. The world's oceans have risen about an inch in the past 50 years due to melting glaciers alone, a study published this month in the journal Naturefound.

The Earth's glaciers are now losing up to 390 billion tons of ice and snow per year, the study suggests.

Global warming has caused over 3 trillion tons of ice to melt from Antarctica in the past quarter-century and tripled ice loss there in the past decade, another study, released in June, said.
Thanx   Doyle  Rice  & Elizabeth  Weiser

Crusader   Jenny , Nanook  , Knight Mika & Knight  Moto

Jake is proud his dogs are Knight mascots

Knight Mika and Knight Moto

Canada’s climate is warming twice as fast as global average

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada
News release
April 2, 2019 – Ottawa, Ontario

Canadians are experiencing the costs of climate-related extremes first hand, from devastating wildfires and flooding to heatwaves and droughts. As the planet warms, extreme weather events will become increasingly common. The knowledge provided by our scientists has helped us understand that climate change is real and driven by human activity. The Government of Canada will continue to work with Canadian scientists, by listening to their expertise and evidence-based advice to help us continue to take ambitious action to reduce emissions and fight climate change.

Just released, Canada’s Changing Climate Report provides the first in-depth, stand-alone assessment of how and why Canada’s climate has changed, and what changes are projected for the future. Undertaken by some of Canada’s finest scientists, this report provides an independent analysis and evaluation of the scientific confidence based on the scientists’ expert judgement. The assessment was led by Environment and Climate Change Canada, with contributions from Fisheries and Ocean Canada, Natural Resources Canada and university experts.

The assessment confirms that Canada’s climate has warmed in response to global emissions of carbon dioxide from human activity. The effects of widespread warming are already evident in many parts of Canada and are projected to intensify in the near future. A warmer climate will affect the frequency and intensity of forest fires, the extent and duration of snow and ice cover, precipitation, permafrost temperatures, and other extremes of weather and climate, as well as freshwater availability, rising of sea level, and other properties of the oceans surrounding Canada.

This is the first report completed as part of the National Assessment Canada in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action, led by Natural Resources Canada. It provides the climate science foundation for the forthcoming reports by addressing the impacts of climate change on our communities, environment, and economy, as well as how we are adapting to reduce risk.

Quotes
“Climate change is real, and Canadians across the country are feeling its impacts. The science is clear, we need to take action now. Practical and affordable solutions to fight climate change will help Canadians face the serious risks to our health, security and economy, and will also create the jobs of tomorrow and secure a better future for our kids and grandkids.”
– Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“This report is a wakeup call for all Canadians. It is clear that climate change is real, human made, and requires urgent action. Our plan to fight climate change lays out measures across the country to take action on this urgent issue. Our plan will help build a cleaner and greener future that will provide new jobs for our kids and grandkids.”
– Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

“Climate has an impact on the crops we grow and the resilience of our infrastructure. That is why the work of Canada’s climate researchers is so important. They study climate impact, adaptation and mitigation so we can make evidence-based decisions to help people and communities across Canada thrive.”
– Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport

“Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. Canada’s climate science, whether on ecosystem health or atmospheric models, is internationally recognized and provides solid knowledge on which to take action.”

Thanx– Dr. Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor

Knight Sha
Come America    ,let's join our sister country in this fight .

The Earth has a big 'To Do' list

 

Since the end of the last ice age, humans have developed tools and machines and have modified the land for agriculture and long-term settlement. As the population has grown and new technologies have spread across cultures and continents, more and more of the planet’s resources have been pressed into serving the species. In the process, human activities have disrupted the natural order of the environment by depopulating and eliminating species and adding harmful chemicals to the air, water, and soil—activities that are changing the climate and the structure and function of ecosystems, as well as the biological communities they contain. Solving the critical environmental problems of global warming, water scarcity, pollution, and biodiversity loss are perhaps the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Will we rise to meet them?

 

 GLOBAL WARMING

Collectively, the weight of human beings and their activities are changing the face of Earth. The lights of cities can be seen from orbit; large areas that were once forests, wetlands, and grasslands have been transformed into agricultural land; and the gases produced by vehicles and other machines are slowly altering the planet’s atmosphere, by adding chemicals that strengthen the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat energy. By the end of the 20th century, greenhouse gas emissions from human activities had become so great that they had begun to influence temperature and precipitation patterns, and scientists and other experts began to worry how these changes would affect natural ecosystems, the reliability of crop production, and our future way of life.

 

BIODIVERSITY

Each organism on Earth represents the successful lines of millenia of natural selection, and each species fills specific roles in the ecosystems it inhabits and shapes. We still rely directly on many wild plants and animals for food, and many have been the source of important pharmaceuticals or the inspiration for technological breakthroughs. Beyond their economic value to humans, plants and animals bring us joy and enrichment in their beauty and novelty. Our lives would certainly be less beautiful and interesting without songbirds, majestic giraffes, wildflowers, thrilling sharks, or life and oxygen producing rainforests, wouldn’t they?
While organisms have always come and gone over the course of our planet’s history, modern biodiversity loss is human-caused and extinctions are occurring about 1,000 times faster than natural rates. Animals from whales to bees, and plants of all shapes and sizes are threatened by human development, overexploitation, pollution, and global warming. We have permanently lost so many unique and fascinating organisms, and many others are teetering at the brink of extinction. The to-do list for protecting our precious biodiversity is long, but international agreements, nature preserves, and action to halt poaching and other forms of overexploitation are already making an impact.

WATER CRISIS
Water is essential to life. Less than 1% of Earth’s water is usable fresh water. Unlimited access
to clean, safe water is taken for granted in many places, but water scarcity is a growing concern worldwide. Overuse, increasing demand, pollution, poor management, lack of infrastructure, and changes in weather patterns due to global warming are key stressors that affect the availability of fresh water. Many major cities across the globe are at risk of a water crisis, and water stress is projected to increase in most countries in the coming decades, threatening regional stability and raising the possibility of forced migrations. In addition, the issue of water availability is not just a human problem—our demands on lakes, rivers, and streams can dramatically harm ecosystems and the natural processes that require water.
Water scarcity is a growing concern worldwide. Unsustainable and ever-growing demands on our freshwater resources have taxed aquifers and surface waters in many places, harming ecosystems and threatening future economic growth. A regional water crisis, often triggered by drought, can result in famine, forced migration, and other humanitarian emergencies.

THE EARTH HAS A BIG 'TO DO LIST' AND ONLY ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS TO ACCOMPLISH IT.
It requires a complete change of attitude and a lifestyle change. During the war years our grandparents learned to ration food, clothes and necessities of life. They survived quite well and we need to adopt that kind of attitude now.
Conserve water and energy as much as possible. Don't take long road trips unless you have to. Use public transit whenever it's possible. Recycle or re-use everything you can.  Do community service like volunteering to clean up litter or plant trees. Pass on climate information to others. And most important …. lobby or petition your state and federal governments to join the rest of the world in coming to a concrete agreement on how we will slow global warming and stop the climate from changing. It's essential that we join hands around the world and make this our global priority.

 

Trump environment speech: As the president touts his record, here's what his administration has done

The Trump administration has worked to repeal more than 80 environmental regulations, while installing former fossil fuel lobbyists in key positions in government
Clark Mindock New York ⦁ @ClarkMindock Donald Trump, who once mocked the very idea of global climate change, is set to deliver a speech touting his record on the environment, and the supposed leadership America has had on that issue during his presidency.

The speech comes amid a massive rollback of environmentalregulations, with more than 80 protections slashed in the two years since Mr Trump took office.

In addition, the president has installed climate change deniers and oil and gas industry allies in the top echelons of his government. That includes climate change denier William Happer, of the White House’s National Security Council, as well as cabinet members like interior secretary David Bernhardt, whose previous work included lobbying on behalf of fossil fuel companies. Andrew Wheeler, the current chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, also worked for fossil fuel interests before joining the Trump administration.
          The speech will “recognise his administration’s environmental leadership and America’s     role in leading the world,” a White House official told The Guardian during a preview of the address last week.

The official said that Mr Trump plans to tout America’s clean air and water, in spite of the country’s mediocre record on the issue compared to other major countries. 

            So, as the president prepares to deliver his speech, here are some key things to keep in mind:

The Trump administration has rolled back 83 environmental rules since January 2017. An analysis by the New York Times found that a total of 22 of those rollbacks target air pollution and emissions rules, and 18 target oil and gas drilling or extraction rules. Meanwhile, another 13 have to do with infrastructure, 10 concern animals, five have to do with toxic substances, and relate to water pollution. There are eight other regulations that have been targeted.

While Mr Trump and his administration have touted America’s water and air as some of the cleanest in the world, the US actually ranks 37th dirtiest on that scale out of 195 countries for ozone, or smog. That’s according to the nonprofit Health Effects Institute’s State of Global Air report form 2019.


During the first two years of Mr Trump’s presidency, according to the Associated Press, the US had more days of unhealthy air than during the final four years of Barack Obama’s presidency. 

Donald Trump's nominee for UN ambassador Kelly Craft publicly contradicts his stance on climate change

The Trump administration has embarked on an effort to significantly change the rule defining which wetlands and waterways get Clean Water Act protections — also known as the waters of the US rule. The changes would erase protections for 51 per cent of wetlands, and 18 per cent of streams that don’t have relatively permanent surface water connection to nearby waterways, according to an analysis by the US Geological Survey. That could have a significant impact for wetlands, which are protected waterways because they are important pollution filters, wildlife habitats and storm water buffers.

The Trump administration has pushed to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the Obama-era energy regulations that sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The Trump administration has introduced its own rule to replace it — the Affordable Clean Energy rule — that would still reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to doing nothing, but the US Environmental Protection Agency itself estimates that there would be 1,400 more deaths each year from environmental quality issues compared to the previous rule.

The Trump administration has begun the process — or at least claimed to have started the process — of pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, the landmark international climate agreement that Barack Obama had put significant effort into developing. If the US is successful in pulling out of the deal, it could leave the country as the only nation in the world not party to it (Nicaragua and Syria, the two holdouts previously, have both signalled their intention to join).

Since January 2017, Mr Trump and his administration have pushed forward with offshore drilling leasing, and regulations rollbacks, including efforts to reduce safety regulations that were put into place after the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Mr Trump has also overseen efforts to expand drilling in the Arctic, and to open up areas of US coastline for offshore drilling that have never been open to that drilling before, including off the Atlantic coast and off of the coast of Florida.

Meanwhile, the administration has pushed forward with plans to open up large swaths of land in the US to drilling. More than 1.5 million acres were leased for drilling last year alone, including in portions of the US that are seen as integral to US wildlife management, areas that are considered national treasures, and areas of historical significance to Native Americans.
⦁
The Trump administration has embarked on an effort to clean up marine debris, much of that coming from Asia.

The Trump administration has helped to secure funding to restore the Florida Everglades, which are severely threatened by climate change and could put nearby communities like Miami in great danger as sea levels rise.

Thank Clark Mindock
Knight Jonny

Where were you ??

 

You still don't get it ….do you??

Early man discovers fire and climate change

Retraction: - It's almost too late.
Just 12 years left to change things.

Why should we care about climate change? ...Take a look at Alaska


 

A new record high temperature has been set in the US state of Alaska, part of which lies inside the Arctic Circle. A temperature of 90F (32C) was reached at Anchorage airport on Thursday, the US Weather Service tweeted.

The previous high was just under 30C, and the average at this time of year is 18C.
Alaska had earlier broken records throughout a hot spring, particularly in the Arctic zone which is especially sensitive to fluctuations in climate.

 

The dramatic warming Alaska has experienced in recent years is linked partly to a decline in sea ice and Arctic Ocean warming. This has wreaked havoc on local communities, wildlife and the state's economy.
Climate change played a role in the deaths of thousands of puffins in Alaska, scientists said in May.
They said they believed the birds had starved to death when the fish they eat migrated north with rising sea temperatures.