Announcing to Climate Indymedia

by redjade Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:27

Alarm over dramatic weakening of Gulf Stream

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1654803,00.html?gusrc=rss
· Slowing of current by a third in 12 years could bring more extreme weather
· Temperatures in Britain likely to drop by one degree in next decade

[....]

Researchers on a scientific expedition in the Atlantic Ocean measured the strength of the current between Africa and the east coast of America and found that the circulation has slowed by 30% since a previous expedition 12 years ago.

The current, which drives the Gulf Stream, delivers the equivalent of 1m power stations-worth of energy to northern Europe, propping up temperatures by 10C in some regions. The researchers found that the circulation has weakened by 6m tonnes of water a second. Previous expeditions to check the current flow in 1957, 1981 and 1992 found only minor changes in its strength, although a slowing was picked up in a further expedition in 1998.

[....]

If the current remains as weak as it is, temperatures in Britain are likely to drop by an average of 1C in the next decade, according to Harry Bryden at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton who led the study. "Models show that if it shuts down completely, 20 years later, the temperature is 4C to 6C degrees cooler over the UK and north-western Europe," Dr Bryden said.

by redjade Thu Dec 01, 2005 12:28

Also see:
Active Hurricane Era Likely To Continue
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2540.htm

“This hurricane season shattered records that have stood for decades—most named storms, most hurricanes and most category five storms. Arguably, it was the most devastating hurricane season the country has experienced in modern times,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “I’d like to foretell that next year will be calmer, but I can’t. Historical trends say the atmosphere patterns and water temperatures are likely to force another active season upon us.”

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Climate Indymedia
http://www.climateimc.org

by redjade Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:45

The increase in greenhouse gasses and the rise in atmospheric temperature that goes with it, has caused more rain to fall and land ice to thaw in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. As a result the salt content in the water has decreased. This makes the water lighter and consequently the stream does not sink as deep into the Artic, which in turn influences the whole cycle.

The weakening of the Gulf Stream confirms what climate models have predicted for some time. However, the decrease is worse than people thought, says Dutch climate researcher Bas Eickhout. If this trend continues, it could get a lot colder in northwest Europe:

"That might mean that the warm water doesn't come as far north as it used to and turns south earlier. That will have an immediate impact on the climate, things will cool down."

http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/currentaffairs/region/westerneurope/eur051203?view=Standard

by redjade Sat Dec 10, 2005 12:30

Bush-administration officials privately threatened organizers of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, telling them that any chance there might’ve been for the United States to sign on to the Kyoto global-warming protocol would be scuttled if they allowed Bill Clinton to speak at the gathering today in Montreal, according to a source involved with the negotiations who spoke to New York Magazine on condition of anonymity.

Bush officials informed organizers of their intention to pull out of the new Kyoto deal late Thursday afternoon, soon after news leaked that Clinton was scheduled to speak, the source said.

The threat set in motion a flurry of frantic back-channel negotiations between conference organizers and aides to Bush and Clinton that lasted into the night on Thursday, and at one point Clinton flatly told his advisers that he was going to pull out and not deliver the speech, the source said.

“It’s just astounding,” the source told New York Magazine. “It came through loud and clear from the Bush people—they wouldn’t sign the deal if Clinton were allowed to speak.” Clinton spokesman Jay Carson confirmed the behind the dustup took place and that the former president had decided not to go out of fear of harming the negotiations, but Carson declined to comment further.

On Friday afternoon, Clinton did end up speaking at the conference, a global audience of diplomats, environmentalists, and others who were in the final hours of a two-week gathering devoted to discussing the future of the protocol, the existing emissions-controls agreement.

more at
http://newyorkmag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/15314/index.html

by redjade Tue Mar 14, 2006 20:46

“If the trends we’re seeing continue and climate warming continues as predicted, the polar ice sheets could change dramatically,” he said in the press release last Wednesday. “The Greenland ice sheet could be facing an irreversible decline by the end of the century.”

[...]

A change in policy appears to be occurring after NASA scientist Jim Hansen complained about being silenced because of the Bush administration’s opposition to mandatory curbs on greenhouse gases that many scientists tie to global warming.

“A few months ago this press release might have been seriously edited or not approved,” Zwally said.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11745704/

Photo
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2006/03/now_nasa_...m.php