Arctic

By Jennifer Routledge, Trent University | – The global climate is changing and the Arctic is warming rapidly. These are objectively true statements that most people have come to accept. But it is also true that Earth’s climate has never been stagnant and climate anomalies have been frequent throughout the past. How then, do we […]

Archaeology

416,000 Years Ago, All Greenland’s Ice Melted and Raised Sea Levels 5-20 Feet: A Warning from the Past

The Conversation

By Paul Bierman, University of Vermont, and Tammy Rittenour, Utah State University | – About 400,000 years ago, large parts of Greenland were ice-free. Scrubby tundra basked in the Sun’s rays on the island’s northwest highlands. Evidence suggests that a forest of spruce trees, buzzing with insects, covered the southern part of Greenland. Global sea […]

Arctic

Climate Crisis: Meltwater is Creating Millions of Hairline Cracks in Greenland’s Ice Sheet, Destabilizing it with a form of Hydro-Fracking

The Conversation

(The Conversation) – Alun Hubbard, University of Tromsø | – I’m striding along the steep bank of a raging white-water torrent, and even though the canyon is only about the width of a highway, the river’s flow is greater than that of London’s Thames. The deafening roar and rumble of the cascading water is incredible […]

Arctic

Arctic Ocean could be Ice-Free in summer by 2030s, with Global, Damaging and Dangerous Consequences

The Conversation

By Jonathan Bamber, University of Bristol | – (The Conversation) – The Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by the 2030s, even if we do a good job of reducing emissions between now and then. That’s the worrying conclusion of a new study in Nature Communications. Predictions of an ice-free Arctic Ocean have a […]

Arctic

Climate Emergency: Once Lush Oregon Faces a future of Wildfires, Drought and Vanishing Mountain Glaciers

Oregon Capital Chronicle

By: Lynne Terry – Coastal erosion in Gleneden Beach in March 2021 caused houses to sit on the edge of the cliff. (Courtesy of Hailey Bond) ( Oregon Capital Chronicle ) – It’s likely to be hot again this summer in Oregon, and that trend is likely to continue. An Oregon State University […]

Antarctica

Antarctica’s Heart of Ice has skipped a Beat. The only Medicine is Halting Fossil Fuels

The Conversation

By Edward Doddridge, University of Tasmania | – (The Conversation) – The rhythmic expansion and contraction of Antarctic sea ice is like a heartbeat. But lately, there’s been a skip in the beat. During each of the last two summers, the ice around Antarctica has retreated farther than ever before. And just as a change […]

Antarctica

New Research shows how rapidly Ice Sheets can Retreat: Antarctica’s Melt alone could raise Sea Level 171 Feet

The Conversation

By Christine Batchelor, Newcastle University and Frazer Christie, University of Cambridge | – The Antarctic Ice Sheet, which covers an area greater than the US and Mexico combined, holds enough water to raise global sea level by more than 57 metres if melted completely. This would flood hundreds of cities worldwide. And evidence suggests it […]

Antarctica

Arctic and Antarctic Ice Sheets in Danger if we blow Past Paris Limit of 1.5° C. (2.7° F) extra Heating

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Jun-Young Park et al. write in Nature Communications that the collapse of the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets may come sooner than climate scientists had expected if humanity misses the Paris Climate Treaty goal of keeping extra global heating to 2.7° F. (1.5° C ) above the pre-industrial average. Humanity […]

Antarctica

Do we Have Until 2050 to become Carbon Neutral? What if 27 Climate Feedback Loops are Working together to Shorten our Deadline?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Feedback loops are central notions in science. There are two kinds, negative and positive. Negative feedback loops, despite their name, are actually good if you are looking for stability. So for instance say you are too hot, so you sweat. The sweat evaporates, cooling you off. In fact, it could […]