climate news
Jul. 5th, 2014 07:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ljgeoffJust a run down of some of the stuff going on --
Go to Arctic sea ice extent for a bigger image:
2012 is the current record holder for lowest September extent, volume and area -- but 2014 is coming close to those records due to low levels of ice accumulation during the winter of 2013-14.
Currently, a high pressure area over the arctic is blasting the ice/slush with 24/7 sunshine. The latest reading from a buoy near the north pole: IABP ICEX Buoy 835100 latest weather data 07/02/1200Z 86.052°N 87.201°W 7.6°C 1021.5mb
That's 45.68 degrees Fahrenheit near the north pole. The scientists studying arctic methane are starting to look wild-eyed.
The Mackenzie Delta has been experiencing high temps in the 25ºC to 27ºC range for the last couple of days (75-82ºF) and the Northwest Territories are experiencing one of their worst recorded fire seasons.
In California, farmers with water are auctioning it off for millions. Richard Howitt, professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics at UC Davis comments: "If you have a really scarce natural resource that the state’s economy depends on, it would be nice to have it run efficiently and transparently."
A recent paper shows that California farmers are sucking so much water from the San Joaquin Valley aquifer that it's "leading to substantial diminution of this resource and rapid subsidence of the valley floor."
And they note: "Our results suggest that long-term and late-summer flexural uplift of the Coast Ranges reduce the effective normal stress resolved on the San Andreas Fault. This process brings the fault closer to failure, thereby providing a viable mechanism for observed seasonality in microseismicity at Parkfield and potentially affecting long-term seismicity rates for fault systems adjacent to the valley."
In the US Midwest, this week's storms have caused wind and hail damage, and several rivers including the Mississippi are beginning to flood over. Currently, flooding is being reported in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas and the Dakotas. And Fairbanks, Alaska experienced it's wettest June on record and in Canada, prairie flooding prompts evacuations in western Manitoba
A total of 87 municipalities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan declare state of emergency.
Australia smashed its temperature record in the year to the end of June, beating a high set during the most recent El Nino weather event in the Pacific.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports -- "Buried in the Bureau of Meteorology’s monthly report on national conditions, the agency noted the 12-month mean temperature was a “solid highest-on-record” result.
In fact, mean temperatures were a full 1.08 degrees above the long-term average, smashing the previous record July-June anomaly by 0.18 degrees. The previous record was set in the 12 months to June 2010 – an El Nino period."
And speaking of the El Nino, a new Kelvin wave is being brought up from the equatorial Pacific by a strong West Wind Burst. The monsoon is definitely in trouble.
Yeah, that's enough for now.
Go to Arctic sea ice extent for a bigger image:
2012 is the current record holder for lowest September extent, volume and area -- but 2014 is coming close to those records due to low levels of ice accumulation during the winter of 2013-14.
Currently, a high pressure area over the arctic is blasting the ice/slush with 24/7 sunshine. The latest reading from a buoy near the north pole: IABP ICEX Buoy 835100 latest weather data 07/02/1200Z 86.052°N 87.201°W 7.6°C 1021.5mb
That's 45.68 degrees Fahrenheit near the north pole. The scientists studying arctic methane are starting to look wild-eyed.
The Mackenzie Delta has been experiencing high temps in the 25ºC to 27ºC range for the last couple of days (75-82ºF) and the Northwest Territories are experiencing one of their worst recorded fire seasons.
In California, farmers with water are auctioning it off for millions. Richard Howitt, professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics at UC Davis comments: "If you have a really scarce natural resource that the state’s economy depends on, it would be nice to have it run efficiently and transparently."
A recent paper shows that California farmers are sucking so much water from the San Joaquin Valley aquifer that it's "leading to substantial diminution of this resource and rapid subsidence of the valley floor."
And they note: "Our results suggest that long-term and late-summer flexural uplift of the Coast Ranges reduce the effective normal stress resolved on the San Andreas Fault. This process brings the fault closer to failure, thereby providing a viable mechanism for observed seasonality in microseismicity at Parkfield and potentially affecting long-term seismicity rates for fault systems adjacent to the valley."
In the US Midwest, this week's storms have caused wind and hail damage, and several rivers including the Mississippi are beginning to flood over. Currently, flooding is being reported in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas and the Dakotas. And Fairbanks, Alaska experienced it's wettest June on record and in Canada, prairie flooding prompts evacuations in western Manitoba
A total of 87 municipalities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan declare state of emergency.
Australia smashed its temperature record in the year to the end of June, beating a high set during the most recent El Nino weather event in the Pacific.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports -- "Buried in the Bureau of Meteorology’s monthly report on national conditions, the agency noted the 12-month mean temperature was a “solid highest-on-record” result.
In fact, mean temperatures were a full 1.08 degrees above the long-term average, smashing the previous record July-June anomaly by 0.18 degrees. The previous record was set in the 12 months to June 2010 – an El Nino period."
And speaking of the El Nino, a new Kelvin wave is being brought up from the equatorial Pacific by a strong West Wind Burst. The monsoon is definitely in trouble.
Yeah, that's enough for now.