For a few days in July of 2012, it was so hot in the Arctic that nearly the entire surface of the Greenland ice sheet turned to slush.
It was so uncharacteristically warm that scientists, emerging from their tents high on the peak of the ice sheet, sank up to their knees in the suddenly soft snow. And then, that snow started melting.
Greenland’s ice is melting faster than it has in 350 years—what it means
Below are the hourly temperatures at Greenland Summit Camp during 2012. There were a total of six hours above freezing. They occurred on July 11, 2012 from 1PM to 6PM. The maximum temperature recorded was 0.8C.
By contrast, there were 8,754 hours recorded below freezing, with an average temperature of -29C for the year 2012.
ftp://aftp.cmdl.noaa.gov/data/meteorology/in-situ/sum/met_sum_insitu_1_obop_hour_2012.txt
Greenland is gaining ice.
Greenland Ice Sheet’s 2017 weigh-in suggests a small increase in ice mass | NOAA Climate.gov
Greenland’s surface accumulated more than 500 billion tons of new ice in each of the last two years.
The ice sheet is melting faster than in the last 350 years—and driving sea levels up around the world.
Sea level is rising at the same rate as 150 years ago.
Sea Level Trends – NOAA Tides & Currents
Temperatures at the Summit Camp have been averaging about -40C over the past month, and have not gotten above -20C.
This is what the meltdown currently looks like at -35C.
National Geographic describes this as “the fastest melting in 350 years”
The Battery graph has a more interesting side.
It shows a pattern that has to be explained.
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?plot=50yr&id=8518750
Mean of 50 year (that is 1995 contains 1960-2010)
There is a periodic change in sea level rise .
It can be found in most gauges with long history.
(Please do not show them for anyone who believes in CO2 as ruling the climate.)
Caused by the lunar standstill precession, a n to s 18.6 year cycle. Goes major/minor/major… and is well known to SLR researchers. Why a minimum 60 year period is needed for trend analysis (two ‘full’ precession cycles).
New settled science — when it is warmer than average, it is caused by Mann made warming, and when it is colder than average, it is caused by natural variability. As proof, I give you the coverage on Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier. It was supposedly receding because of global warming, but is growing again because of a natural cycle — North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).
No, no, no Mohatdebos, you just don’t understand. The issue is “climate change” which can be up, down or sideways. The old label “global warming” was far too restrictive. With the new label, CO2 is responsible for everything, up, down, or sideways.
Hi Tony (& readers),
In the last few months the DMI changed its site (radically). I can no longer find the DMI Greenland Surface Mass Balance graph. Can anyone point me to where that may currently live?
Thanks in advance!
http://polarportal.dk/en/greenland/surface-conditions/
Thanks Tony!
It’s climate if it’s hot.
If it’s cold, it’s not!
“A surprise:’ One of Earth’s fastest-shrinking glaciers is suddenly growing again”
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/nasa-study-shows-melting-glacier-miraculously-growing-again/70007801
Global warming poster child not so much now.
How can anyone take seriously a report about the “OMG Project – Oceans Melting Greenland” – sheesh!
Any glaciologist with any experience knows that the calving front of a tidewater glacier is not determined by the ocean temperature (which is largely buffered by all the icebergs floating in it). It is a function of ice-stream supply, which is a reflection of long-term snow/ice accumulation in the headwaters of the glacial stream.
When the calving front of the glacier advances toward the sea, it reflects an increase in ice accumulation decades earlier in the headwaters. Conversely, a receding calving front reflects a reduction in ice accumulation decades earlier.
Hate to say it, but “It’s just simple physics”
OMG……just another indication they are not about science. The whole mission is public relations and their AGW activism. What a sham.
I had questions about their explanation of the glacier advancing due to colder water. Your explanation makes more sense.
GeologyJim is correct!
Glaciers are just rivers of ice. As with any river, an increase of flow at the mouth is due to an increase in precipitation upstream. It’s as simple as that.
It can still be the fastest melting provided of course that it is snowing more. As more snow falls on to Greenland the flow of ice to the sea may increase. Then it breaks off and melts. See, fastest melting in 350 years. Not because its warm, but because its snowing a lot.
“sank up to their knees in the suddenly soft snow.”
That means fresh overnight snow, in July. Ice doesn’t melt into ‘soft snow’. Snow starts off ‘soft’ then compacts into ice over time. Compacted snow melts, it doesn’t become soft again. It remains hard crunchy ice crystals until it turns in to liquid water. Ice will get softer but one doesn’t sink into it let alone up to one’s knees. Do these people think all their readers live in the south and are unfamiliar with snow?
“And then, that snow started melting.”
Fresh snow can melt easily on a sunny day even if the air temperature is slightly below freezing.
So on one day, almost 7 years ago, in July, the time of year when some of the snow might melt, there was an afternoon that some of the freshly fallen snow melted. And that one afternoon of warm weather is “climate”.
If Greenland ice worked the way they portray it should, all the worlds water would eventually end up impounded there and then the lopsided mass would cause a wobble in the Earth’s rotation.
They are describing surface melting, which is not happening.
It’s climate if it’s hot.
If it’s cold, it’s not!
A wobble?
Greenland is an island and according to modern understanding of US AGW can tip over due to the extra accumulation of snow.
see “Guam will Capsize and Tip Over into the ocean Hank Johnson” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cesSRfXqS1Q
If Guam can tip over due to all the extra development, why not Greenland due to extra ice?
But I have seen Elephants and Giraffe’s in previous photos :)
They were chewing up the golf course and had to be placed in pens.
Look over on the right-hand horizon.
Mike Lee held a fantastic speech about climate change and how to compensate all negative effects of the green new deal
by using the same high scientific standards AGW usually does.
A must watch.
Somehow, I am reminded of a Gilligan’s Island episode where they think the island is sinking – – only to find out that Gilligan has been moving the measuring stick into progressively deeper water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLjadAyHLgI
Good news, for a change, from the front page of CNN:
Greenland’s most critical glacier is suddenly gaining ice, but that might not be a good thing …..
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/27/world/climate-change-greenland-glacier-growing-wxc-trnd/index.html
How can a golfer figure out what club to use when the flags are going in different directions? Tough conditions for the Greenland Open.
I live in Orono, ME. In the spring the lake ice corns up and I ski on it. Yesterday it reached 43 degrees in with 100% sun. When I went to ski it had been above freezing for 6 hours in the blinding sun. Unfortunately, the ice was still too hard to ski on.