Ice Melt

By Edward Hanna

If melting Glaciers shut down the Atlantic Gulf Stream, Extreme Climate Change Catastrophes will Follow

By René van Westen, Utrecht University; Henk A. Dijkstra, Utrecht University; and Michael Kliphuis, Utrecht University | – Superstorms, abrupt climate shifts and New York City frozen in ice. That’s how the blockbuster Hollywood movie “The Day After Tomorrow” depicted an abrupt shutdown of the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation and the catastrophic consequences. While Hollywood’s vision […]

Antarctica

Winter Sea Ice in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean is in Disturbing Decline: 200 Scientists Sound Alarm

The Conversation

By Andrew J Constable, University of Tasmania and Jess Melbourne-Thomas, CSIRO | – (The Conversation) – While the Southern Ocean around Antarctica has been warming for decades, the annual extent of winter sea ice seemed relatively stable – compared to the Arctic. In some areas Antarctic sea ice was even increasing. That was until 2016, […]

Arctic

How analyzing ancient and modern Polar Bear Samples Reveals the Full Scope of Global Heating

The Conversation

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 […]

Climate Crisis

Could the Law of the Sea be used to protect Small Island States from Climate Change?

The Conversation

By Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb, The University of Melbourne; and Margaret Young, The University of Melbourne | – Climate change will wreak havoc on small island developing states in the Pacific and elsewhere. Some will be swamped by rising seas. These communities also face more extreme weather, increasingly acidic oceans, coral bleaching and harm to fisheries. Food […]

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 […]

Antarctica

Fractured Foundations: how Antarctica’s ‘landfast’ Ice is Dwindling and why that’s bad News

The Conversation

By Alexander Fraser, University of Tasmania; Christine Weldrick, University of Tasmania; Laura Dalman, University of Tasmania; Matthew Corkill, University of Tasmania and Pat Wongpan, University of Tasmania | – There’s more to Antarctic ice than meets the eye. Sea ice is not a uniform crust overlying the salty Southern Ocean. Our new research is the […]

Bangladesh

Climate Crisis: Himalaya Glacier Melt Feeds India’s and Pakistan’s Rivers, but 80% of Lower Level Glacier Mass could be gone this Century

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A new report on ice in the Himalayas issued by The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) finds that at the lower elevations of the Himalaya mountains, the snow depth and mass are projected to decline 25% by 2050 (regardless of greenhouse gas scenarios, i.e. this is already baked […]