Chukchi Sea waves crash on the coast at Barrow on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013. Marc Lester / ADN archive
Analyzing 3 decades of weather data, scientists have discovered a gut wrenching rise in autumn temperatures in Barrow, Alaska.
According to Climate News Network
In the last 34 years, the average October temperature in Barrow has risen by more than 7°C − an increase that, on its own, makes a mockery of international efforts to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2°C above their pre-industrial level.
A study by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks analysed several decades of weather information. These show that temperature trends are closely linked to sea ice concentrations, which have been recorded since 1979, when accurate satellite measurements began.
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In that period, the average annual temperature rose by 2.7°C. But the November increase was far higher − more than six degrees. And October was the most striking of all, with the month’s average temperature 7.2°C higher in 2012 than in 1979.
Apparently these increases are not related to the sun as it is at it's lowest in the sky in October, and by November, does not appear over the horizon. Evidence points to the heat from ice free water being driven by North winds and then released into the atmosphere.
According to a study published in The Open Atmospheric Science Journal, August of 2014, this warmth is unprecedented in the past 34 years when we have had reliable satellite based sea ice data.
Looking at the more recent past (1979-2012), the time
period for which we have reliable satellite-based sea ice data,
a substantial warming of 2.7°C has been observed at Barrow
(Fig. 3). This warming is about an order of magnitude higher
than the global value. The observed warming, however, is
not evenly distributed over the course of a year. In Fig. (4)
the temperature change by month for the time period 1979-
2012 of Barrow is presented. All months, with the exception
of January, display a warming, which is especially strong in
autumn (6.3°C), followed by spring (1.8°C), summer (1.5°C)
and winter (1.2°C). October displays the maximum
temperature increase (7.2°C), a remarkably high value for a
time period of only 34 years.
Naturally, there is a relationship between air temperature
and sea ice. Cold temperatures will form more ice as long as
the temperature is below the freezing point of seawater, on
the other hand, open water will warm the air as long as the air temperature is below the freezing point. These fairly straight forwards principles of thermodynamics are
complicated by the ice dynamics [19]. Sea ice is not
stationary, and moves with the atmospheric circulation and
ocean currents, which are, of course, related with each other
again. Nevertheless, a fairly good relationship between the
annual sea ice coverage and the mean annual temperatures
was found.
The study concludes:
Arctic Alaska has seen a recent strong temperature increase
of 2.7°C in the last 34 years, a temperature change much larger
than during any other time period with meteorological
observations in Alaska as well as what is observed in other
climate zones. During the same time period the sea ice
concentration decreased substantially in the Chukchi and
Beaufort Sea. The minimum in ice coverage was observed in
September at 13% and 30%, respectively, making marine traffic
a reality now, as well as in the future. Annual decreases in sea
ice coverage by 16% for the Chukchi Sea, and 14% in the
Beaufort Sea were observed over the 34 year time span. If this
observed trend continues for the coming decades, the Beaufort
and Chukchi Sea will resemble the Bering Sea, where sea ice is
a winter phenomenon and disappears totally in late summer,
early autumn.
On the negative side, the combination of more open water
and increased wind speeds increases coastal erosion, as sea ice,
which suppresses the wave action, is more frequently absent.
Coastal erosion is of high practical importance for Barrow and
other settlements along the northern and western coasts of
Alaska.
Though some progress has been made in new technologies and cooperation among governments, we need to be much more aggressive in reducing greenhouse gas emissions then we currently are.
Vote the science deniers and Global Warming enablers out of office this November.