Real Climate Science

Greenhouse physics forecasts a future without polar bears

The recent observation that this winter’s Arctic sea ice mass tied as the lowest ever recorded prompted speculation about how polar bears will be affected. Poor winter ice development could lead to rapid and prolonged summer ice retreat. Because polar bears depend on sea ice to catch seals, reduced summer sea ice availability would be difficult for polar bears and many would starve.

The atmospheric circulation patterns and very warm temperatures that created this winter’s weak ice development may reflect the natural chaos in the climate system as much as global warming. Therefore, it is not “this year’s” ice forecast that worries those of us concerned about polar bears.

http://www.kansascity.com/

According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”.

“Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/e

The snowpack at Timpanogos Divide is at the highest level in recorded history — exactly 200 percent of normal. Utah County has a history of flooding, sometimes even destroying homes. And the snowpack should have begun melting already, but it hasn’t, thanks to weeks of storms.

http://www.heraldextra.com/

The spring season is just taking off at Arapahoe Basin. April and May are packed with events, and the deep spring snow that has fallen on the slopes is forecasted to continue. Arapahoe Basin is enjoying their best snow season since 1996 and the third best season on record. To date, A-Basin has received 370 inches of snow – 130% of average. And to get you to A-Basin, the free Summit Stage will continue running until May 29.

http://www.theskichannel.com/

DENVER — A study of two Rocky Mountain ski resorts says climate change will mean shorter seasons and less snow on lower slopes.

The study by two Colorado researchers says Aspen Mountain in Colorado and Park City in Utah will see dramatic changes even with a reduction in carbon emissions, which fuel climate change.

If carbon emissions increase, the average temperature at Park City will be 10.4 degrees warmer by 2100, and there likely will be no snowpack, according to the study. Skiing at Aspen, with an average temperature 8.6 degrees higher than now, will be marginal.

http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/131044

Snow was 15 feet deep Friday at the summit of Buffalo Pass

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The snow at the summit of Buffalo Pass never has been deeper than it was Friday morning.

Mike Gillespie, Colorado Snow Survey supervisor for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Denver, confirmed that the snow depth at the Tower measuring site stood at 180 inches, or 15 feet, setting a record for measured snow depths there that go back to the mid-1960s. The previous record was the 175-inch snow depth recorded on April 25, 1978.

http://www.craigdailypress.com/

http://www.newspressnow.com/localnews/27682922/detail.html

“No. I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons in any circumstance. Uh, if involving, you know, civilians. . . . Let me scratch all that. There’s been no discussion of nuclear weapons. That’s not on the table.”

http://www.concordmonitor.com/

The leading experts have warned us of the desperate state of the Arctic.

1. Last year was the hottest year ever – NASA
2. Ice thickness and volume is at a record low – Piomas
3. Ice extent is at a record low – NSIDC
4. This winter was so hot in the Arctic, GISS had to add a new color to their maps – pink.
5. The ice is rotten. – Barber
6. Least 5+ year old ice on record – NSIDC
7. MYI doesn’t survive summers like it used to – NSIDC
8. Big El Nino on the way this summer – Hansen

Given all of this expert information, there can be little doubt that the Arctic will hit a massive new record low this summer.

“Tremendous cold” to melt the Arctic by 2012.

THE ARCTIC MELTDOWN

Global warming is a direct threat to biodiversity in all corners of the world, but nowhere are its effects more visible than in the Arctic, where the impacts of the climate crisis are hitting earlier and with greater intensity than anywhere else. Winter temperatures have increased by almost 10 degrees Fahrenheit since 1949. And by the end of this century, the Far North’s annual average temperatures are expected to rise 9 degrees or more over land and up to 13 degrees over water.

We can see the frightening effects of the Arctic’s rising temperatures in the quick and devastating melt of the region’s sea ice. In 2008, Arctic summer sea ice reached the second-lowest extent recorded since the dawn of the satellite era — and winter sea ice reached its lowest recorded extent in 2011. Now climate scientists say the Arctic could be completely ice free in the summer by 2012.

A DEATH SENTENCE FOR SPECIES
With its unforgiving winds, tremendous cold, winters that never see the sun, and summers that never see the end of it, the Arctic seems like a hard place to eke out a living. Yet it’s home to highly specialized species that have evolved to make the most of their harsh environment, including its vast expanses of sea ice. Without enough sea ice, the entire Arctic ecosystem will unravel and its species will die.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/