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…)

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EU ice2sea report offers new estimates of sea level rise

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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The EU’s ice2sea program helps to determine potential future impacts of rising sea levels.

Research focuses on contribution of melting glaciers, ice caps and ice shelves

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — After four years of studies and more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, The EU-funded ice2sea program has concluded that melting ice may not contribute as much to sea level rise as some other studies have suggested.

Under a moderate greenhouse gas emissions scenario, the contribution from continental ice will likely amount to between 3.5 and 36.8 centimeters (1.4 to 14.5 inches) by 2100, the program’s leaders said this week, unveiling a new report that summarizes their research. The report is online at the ice2sea home page.

Some of the ice2sea studies have:

The new report includes several case studies outlining the impacts of sea level rise to specific areas, including economically valuable developed areas like the port of Rotterdam and the Thames Estuary, as well as natural areas with unique natural values, like the Machair ecosystems in Ireland and Scotland that thrive in a delicate balance of land and sea. (more…)

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Climate: U.S. temps cooler than average in April 2013

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Upper Midwest experiences record and near-record cold

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Extremely cold temperatures in the heartland of the USA pushed the average temperature across the country to well below normal for April 2013. Graph courtesy NOAA.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — For the first time in quite a while the U.S. experienced a month with temperatures running below the historic average. The average temperature across the contiguous 48 states for April 2013 was 49.7 degrees, 1.4 degrees below the 20th century average. It was the 23d-coolest April on record and the coolest since 1997, when the average temperature was 48 degrees, according to the National Climatic Data Center’s monthly summary.

For January through April, temps for the Lower 48 states are near the 20th century average.

The coldest readings prevailed across the central part of the country, especially north, where North Dakota reported its coldest April on record with an average temperature of 31 degrees — 9.9 degrees below the 20th century average. South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all tallied top-10 coldest readings for the month. (more…)

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Global warming: Mt. Everest’s glaciers melting away

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Temperatures up, precipitation down in key Asian watersheds

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A new study finds a decline in snow and ice on Mount Everest (second peak from left) and the national park surrounding it. Photo courtesy Pavel Novak.

FRISCO — Even at the frozen roof of the world in the mighty Himalaya, global warming is evident.

The snow line in the Mt. Everest region has moved uphill by 180 meters (590 feet). Glaciers in the region are shrinking, some by as much as 13 percent in the past 50 years, and precipitation has declined, according to a team of scientists who will present their findings this week at the Meeting of the Americas in Cancún, Mexico.

Glaciers smaller than one square kilometer are disappearing the fastest and have experienced a 43 percent decrease in surface area since the 1960s, according to Sudeep Thakuri, who is leading the research as part of his PhD graduate studies at the University of Milan in Italy. Based on the detailed measurements of satellite images, the pace of melting speeding up, Thakuri said. (more…)

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Common species will also be lost with global warming

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Even common backyard plants and animals will be affected by global warming. Bob Berwyn photo.

New study projects percent of all plant species will lose half their climatic range

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Plenty of relatively rare plants and animals have already been flagged because of threats from global warming, but even common backyard plants and animals are likely to decline this century as their climatic ranges shift.

Plants — being sessile— reptiles and particularly amphibians are expected to be at highest risk. Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, Amazonia and Australia would lose the most species of plants and animals. And a major loss of plant species is projected for North Africa, Central Asia and South-eastern Europe, according to new research from the University of East Anglia published May 12 in the journal Nature Climate Change. (more…)

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Coral reefs: ‘Business as usual won’t cut it’

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Coral reef ecosystems are facing serious threats from global warming as well as local impacts. Photo courtesy Renata Ferrari.

Study says concerted global and local action required

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — A detailed new study supports the idea that protecting coral reefs from local impacts like over-fishing and polluted runoff is a key part of any strategy to try and bolster reefs in the face of climate change.

The researchers concluded that, even though coral reefs are in decline, their collapse can be avoided with concerted global and local action.

“People benefit by reefs’ having a complex structure—a little like a Manhattan skyline, but underwater,” said Peter Mumby, of The University of Queensland and University of Exeter. “Structurally complex reefs provide nooks and crannies for thousands of species and provide the habitat needed to sustain productive reef fisheries. They’re also great fun to visit as a snorkeler or diver. If we carry on the way we have been, the ability of reefs to provide benefits to people will seriously decline.” (more…)

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Climate: New study helps illustrate how CO2 affects Arctic

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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A new study suggests the Earth’s climate system is more sensitive to CO2 changes than assumed by the IPCC’s 2007 global climate report.

Researchers establish longest regional climate record using sediment cores from an Arctic Lake that’s been undisturbed for 3.6 million years

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Sediment cores from a crater lake in Siberia are helping scientists understand how varying concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide affect the Arctic climate.

The sediment cores help establish the longest continuous climate record from the region, showing that the Arctic was a very warm place during a period about 3.5 to 2 million years ago, when CO2 levels were similar to today’s.

The research leads to the conclusion that even small fluctuations in CO2 can result in big changes in the Arctic, according to Julie Brigham-Grette, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The study indicates Arctic may have been much warmer during that era than other climate studies suggest, and that the planet’s climate system is probably more sensitive to CO2 levels than assumed in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (more…)

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Climate: Atmospheric CO2 reaches 400 ppm

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Concentration will wane from seasonal high point, but long-term trend is up

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Mauna Loa. Photo courtesy USGS.

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Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere this week reached a level last recorded 2 to 5 million years ago.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Climate scientists have been closely tracking atmospheric carbon dioxide levels for a long time, but this week, the colorless, odorless gas made big headlines.

An atmospheric observatory on Mauna Loa for the first time measured daily concentrations of CO2 at slightly above 400 parts per million, a dubious milestone which, better than any other number, captures the extent to which we are changing the world. (more…)

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The subnivium, a secret world beneath the snow, is at risk from global warming

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Declining spring snowcover will impact plants and animals use deep snow cover as a refuge from winter cold

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Spring snow cover in the northern hemisphere is in decline. Graphic courtesy Rutgers Global Snow Lab.

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Melting snow reveals the subniveal world.

By Bob Berwyn

FRISCO — Beneath winter’s deep snows there is a secret world of frozen insects and amphibians in quasi-hibernation, where small mammals scoot about eating bugs and fungi. It’s an ecoogical world that’s mostly invisible but functions as a critical part of larger ecosystems. The subnivium, as scientists have dubbed it, is now at risk from global warming.

Since 1970, snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has declined by as much as 3.2 million square kilometers during the critical spring months of March and April. Maximum snow cover has shifted from February to January and spring melt has accelerated by almost two weeks, according to a team of university researchers who set out to discover some of the ecological impacts of the loss of snow cover. Visit the Rutgers Global Snow Lab for more details on snow cover. (more…)

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WMO: Global warming drives more climate disruption

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Earth is warming inexorably. Satellite image via NASA’s Blue Marble collection.

World’s top meteorological body concerned about global trends

By Summit Voice

FRISCO —Climate-sensitive economic sectors like agriculture and energy are already feeling the pinch of more extreme fluctuations in the weather, driven by global climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which released its annual climate statement for 2012 last week.

“It is vital that we continue to invest in the observations and research that will improve our knowledge about climate variability and climate change,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “We need to understand how much of the extra heat captured by greenhouse gases is being stored in the oceans and the consequences this brings in terms of ocean acidification and other impacts,” Jarraud said in the statement. (more…)

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