Climate: Are Rio Grande cutthroat trout living on the edge?

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

New study adds wealth of temperature and streamflow data to help guide cutthroat trout management and conservation decisions

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A Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Photo courtesy Andrew Todd.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — Some of southern Colorado’s Rio Grande cutthroat trout are likely living on the edge of the climate cliff and will have a hard time surviving as global temperatures rise.

Flows are already very low in many streams where the rare fish live, so even a small change in flow could push some populations into the abyss. The long-term global warming forecast by most climate models could render many mainstem, connecting habitats unsuitable for the fish, which survive best in a narrow temperature range, according to a new study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists. (more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, climate and weather, Colorado, Drought, endangered species, Environment, global warming | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Global warming: USGS study shows 20 percent decline in Rocky Mountain snow cover since 1980

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

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Sparse January snow across the Colorado Plateau in January 2013. Bob Berwyn photo.

Drop linked primarily with warmer spring temperatures

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Long-time skiers often say that skiing was better in the good old days, and new research from the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that those claims are based on more than nostalgia — notwithstanding the occasional bumper crop of powder like in 2010-2011.

After taking an in-depth look at snowfall and temperature records, federal scientists said warmer spring temperatures since the 1980s have caused an estimated 20 percent loss of snow cover across the Rocky Mountains of western North America — especially at lower elevations where temperatures have the greatest effect. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, El Niño, Environment, global warming, La Niña, seasons, Snow and weather, water | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Sloooowwww spring

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Seasons …

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Some green grass, but at this rate, the aspens won’t bud out until June.

FRISCO —Chilly morning, warm afternoon, but spring is definitely in the air — finally! The creeks are running high and most of the local ponds are now ice-free, including Officers Gulch. All in all, a lovely day in the Colorado high country. If you like these snapshots, visit our online gallery at FineArt America for a great selection of Summit County landscape photography. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Summit County Colorado, wildflowers | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Environment: Can wildfires affect climate?

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A new U.S. Forest Service research paper outlines how wildfires can affect climate. Photo courtesy NOAA.

Smoke particles can cool ground temperatures and suppress cloud formation

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Along with resulting in huge on-the-ground disturbance, wildfires also have an impact in the atmosphere. With wildfires expected to increase in a warming world, U.S. Forest Service researchers recently set out to document what some of those effects might be with a synthesis of recent research, focusing on the effect of emissions from wildfires on long-term atmospheric conditions.

“While research has historically focused on fire-weather interactions, there is increasing attention paid to fire-climate interactions,” said Yongqiang Liu, lead author and team leader with the SRS Center for Forest Disturbance Science. “Weather, the day-to-day state of the atmosphere in a region, influences individual fires within a fire season. In contrast, when we talk about fire climate, we’re looking at the statistics of weather over a certain period. Fire climate sets atmospheric conditions for fire activity in longer time frames and larger geographic scales,” Liu said.

Key findings included:

  • The radiative forcing of smoke particles can generate significant regional climate effects, leading to lower temperatures at the ground surface.
  • Smoke particles mostly suppress cloud formation and precipitation. Fire events could lead to more droughts.
  • Black carbon, essentially the fine particles of carbon that color smoke, plays different roles in affecting climate. In the middle and lower atmosphere, its presence could lead to a more stable atmosphere. Black carbon plays a special role in the snow-climate feedback loop, accelerating snow melting. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, wildfires | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

April 2013 ranks as 13th-warmest on record

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Widespread above-average sea surface temps reported in monthly report

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Despite some pockets of chilly weather, April 2013 global temps ranked as the 13th-warmest on record. Graphic courtesy NOAA/NCDC.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Despite a wide swath of cooler-than-average temperatures stretching from Alaska across parts of Canada and into Central North America, the average global temperature for April was well above average, ranking as the 13th-warmest April on record.

For the year to-date, global temperature across land and ocean surfaces are tied with 2009 as the eighth warmest on record, at 1.01 degrees above the 20th century average.

It also marked the 37th consecutive April and 338th consecutive month (more than 28 years) with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average April temperature was April 1976 and the last below-average temperature for any month was February 1985.

Given the absence of El Niño, global sea surface temperatures were especially notable, ranking as the seventh-warmest on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center, which this week released its monthly global climate analysis. (more…)

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Wildlife advocates want more polar bear protections

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A United States Fish & Wildlife Service polar bear biologist labels blood samples taken from a bear being examined.
Photo Credit: Karen Rode/USFWS.

New report says threats have increased since bears were listed in 2008

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — While nobody thinks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can slow or stop global warming, wildlife conservation advocates say the agency must do more to try and save polar bears from extinction.

The great Arctic predators have become a poster child for the impacts of global warming, but five years after they were put on the Endangered Species List, the USFWS has not developed a recovery plan.

According to the Center for Biologicial Diversity, the federal agency also should be considering new scientific evidence that threats to polar bears have increased, warranting a change from “threatened” to “endangered” status. (more…)

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Study: Sea level changes may affect tropical rainfall patterns

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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How will global warming affect global atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns? Photo courtesy NASA’s Blue Marble collection.

At lower sea levels, exposed land masses could affect convection

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Even though scientists are continuously fine-tuning their global warming models, climate change is likely to dish up some big surprises in the decades ahead.

In one recent study, researchers with the University of Hawaii and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found evidence that past changes in sea level rise had a somewhat unexpected influence across the center of the Indo-Pacific warm pool — a vast region of warm ocean waters in the western Pacific region that is the main source of heat and moisture to Earth’s atmosphere. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, global warming | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

European forecasters look to NAO for climate clues

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Seasonal shifts in the North Atlantic Oscillation have a strong effect on European weather.

New study helps track seasonal shifts in North Atlantic storm track

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Just as weather forecasters in the western U.S. look at El Niño and La Niña to help get a handle on season outlooks, European meteorologists are carefully analyzing the North Atlantic Oscillation for climate clues. The job is easier in some years, according to a new study carried out by the National Oceanography Centre.

The research shwoed that the relationship between our winter weather and the strength of the airflow coming in from the Atlantic – one of the factors used by forecasters to predict the weather – is stronger in some years than others. The results were recently published in the Royal Meteorological Society publication Weather.

“There are two major atmospheric pressure systems centred around Iceland and the Azores that are very influential for the weather in Europe. Air flows between these two systems, bringing mild air from the North Atlantic to Europe,” said co-authors Joël Hirschi and Bablu Sinha from the National Oceanography Centre. (more…)

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Colorado: Sequestration threatens more stream gages

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A gage along Straight Creek, near Dillon, Colorado.

More cuts possible for critical stream monitoring efforts

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — It’s hard enough to make water management decisions if you have all the information at your fingertips, but the job is about to get even more difficult for resource managers.

The U.S.Geological Survey recently announce it will discontinue operation of up to 375 streamgages nationwide due to budget cuts as a result of sequestration. Additional streamgages may be affected if partners reduce their funding to support USGS streamgages.

Currently, the USGS is looking at shutting down three gages in Colorado: on Halfmoon Creek, near Malta, on the Arkansas River below John Martin Reservoir and along the Gunnison River, near Grand Junction. (more…)

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Climate: Study quantifies sea level rise from melting glaciers

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

‘A little bucket with a huge hole …’

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Alpine glaciers like the Dachstein have been melting quickly. A new study shows that ice melt from glacial regions outside Greenland and Antarctica contribute significantly to sea level rise. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — The world’s major ice sheets — on Greenland and Antarctica — haven’t really started a major meltdown yet. But the rest of the world’s glacial regions have been losing ice at a rate of about 260 billion metric tons annually, raising sea level by about 0.03 inches per year — about a third of the observed sea level rise.

The biggest ice losses are happening in Arctic Canada, Alaska, coastal Greenland, the southern Andes and the Himalaya. Combined, the areas contribute as much to sea level rise as melting from the major ice sheets, which lock up about 90 percent of the Earth’s land ice, according to a a new study led by Clark University and involving the University Colorado Boulder.

“Because the global glacier ice mass is relatively small in comparison with the huge ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica, people tend to not worry about it,” said CU-Boulder Professor Tad Pfeffer, a study co-author. “But it’s like a little bucket with a huge hole in the bottom: it may not last for very long, just a century or two, but while there’s ice in those glaciers, it’s a major contributor to sea level rise,” said Pfeffer, a glaciologist at CU-Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. (more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Environment, global warming | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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