Atmospheric methane in the Arctic has spiked sharply upward, increasing 33% in just 5 years.35(Paul Palmer, a scientist at Edinburgh University, 2010)Melting permafrost in Siberia is releasing five times the amount of methane than was previously thought.36 (Dr. Katie Walter, 2006)
The East Siberian Arctic Shelf’sshallow undersea permafrost is also showing instability and releasing significant amounts of methane.37 (Professor
Igor Semiletov, head of the International Siberian Shelf Study (ISSS),
University of Alaska at Fairbanks, USA, 2010)
The Arctic tundra is already emitting significantly more methane and nitrous oxide than previously estimated. 38(Prof. Greg Henry, University of British Columbia)
Some scientists are calling the thawing Arctic a “ticking time bomb.” 39,40,41
This
year’s summer Arctic sea ice was at its third smallest area on record,
with all three most shrunken area events occurring within the past
four years.42(US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), 2010 annual report)
Current warming makes it unlikely that the Arctic will return to its previous conditions. 43(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Arctic Report Card 2010 Update, USA)
In winter 2009-2010, Arctic warming brought severely cold winds and heavy snow to eastern North America and eastern Eurasia. 44,45,46,47(Dr. James Overland of the NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, USA, 2010)
Overall
warming has extended the annual melting period for Arctic sea ice to
20 days longer now than three decades ago, meaning more heat can be
absorbed by the Arctic sea, and big impacts on marine ecosystems and
North American climate.48 (NASA 2010)
Due
to disappearing ice, polar explorers were able for the first time to
journey around the North Pole in a small fiberglass sailing boat, a
feat that would have been impossible even 10 years ago without an
ice-breaker ship because the passages were sealed with ice.49 (Norwegian polar explorer Borge Ousland, voyage started in June 2010)
The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of anywhere else on Earth.50
The Arctic sea ice cover in 2007 was the lowest ever recorded and the Northwest Passage was navigable for the first time.51 Only 10% now is older and thick ice, while over 90% is newly formed and thin.52 Scientists forecast a completely ice-free summer as soon as 2012 or 2013.53,54
Without
the protective ice to reflect sunlight, 90% of the sun's heat can
enter the open water, thus accelerating global warming.55,56
The world’s two major ice sheets, GREENLAND AND ANTARCTICA, are now melting at accelerated rates, whereas before 2000, they were thought to be stable.57
Greenland is seeing its worst ice melt and glacial area loss in at least five decades.58 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Arctic Report Card 2010 Update, USA)
Glaciers have recently doubled or tripled their movements toward the sea.59 (Ian Joughin, University of Washington , 2010)
“Icequakes” caused by breaking icebergs have more than tripled since 1993.60 (Göran Ekström and Meredith Nettles, Columbia University, USA, 2010)
The possible, complete loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet would result in a 7-meter sea level rise.61
Melt
water speeding the Greenland Ice Sheet melt could cause its
disintegration over decades rather than centuries, as previously
forecast.62 (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) in Colorado, USA)
On
August 5, 2010, one-quarter of Greenland’s Petermann Glacier, four
times the size of New York’s Manhattan island and the largest in nearly
half a century, broke off. "The freshwater stored in this ice
island could keep the Delaware or Hudson rivers flowing for more than
two years," said Professor Andreas Muenchow of the University of
Delaware.63,64,65
On the Antarctic Peninsula, 99% methane gas has been seen continuously bubbling up in certain areas of the water’s surface.66 (Argentine geologist Dr. Rodolfo del Valle)
A major review published in 2009 found that especially Antarctica’s
ice shelves on the Western Peninsula are retreating at an
ever-accelerating rate, speeded by warming waters beneath the shelves.67,68,69
Over
2008, the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Western Antarctic Peninsula
disintegrated. In 2002, the vast 12,000-year-old Larsen B Ice Shelf
took only three weeks to disintegrate entirely.70
ICE: GLACIER MELT
More
than 46,000 glaciers and permafrost expanses are thawing rapidly in
“the Third Pole,” the Earth’s 3rd largest store of ice after the Arctic
and Antarctic, located on the Tibetan plateau and Himalayas. Known as
“Asia’s water tower,” the region’s glacial retreat could affect more than 1.5 billion people across 10 countries. 71(Third Pole Environment program led by Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2010)
With
Bolivia’s 18,000-year-old Chacaltaya Glacier already gone, other
South American Andean glaciers could disappear within a few decades.72,73
Kyrgyzstan’s
glaciers are receding 3 times as fast as 1950s, or as much as 50
meters per year. 95% of the glaciers could be gone by the end of the
century.74 (Institute of Hydro Energy at the National Academy of Sciences in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)
Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro has lost 85% of its glacier cover since 1912 and could be completely gone in 20 years.75 (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 2009)
The US’ Glacier National Park is set to be glacier-free by 2020, 10 years earlier than previously forecast. 76(US Geological Survey, 2009)
Romm, J. (2009, January 26). NOAA stunner: Climate change “largely irreversible for 1000 years,” with permanent Dust Bowls in Southwest and around the globe. An online acticle on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] finding. Climate Progress blog. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://climateprogress.org/2009/01/26/noaa-climate-change-irreversible-1000-years- drought-dust-bowls/
Drought, wildfires put Brazil under environmental emergency (2010, September 8). MYsinchew.com. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.mysinchew.com/node/44603?tid=37
Matson, J. (2010, April 21). A warming world could trigger earthquakes, landslides and volcanoes. An online acticle on Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A (Physical, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences research. Scientific American [Electronic version]. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=no-link-now-between-eyjafjallajando-2010-04-21
Global warming could turn forests from sink to source of carbon emissions. (2009, April 16). An online acticle on International Union of Forest Research Organizations [IUFRO] report. mongabay.com. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0416-forests.html
Finnish Environment Institute (2010). Soil contributes to climate warming more than expected - Finnish research shows a flaw in climate models. University of Helsinki. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?contentid=351875&lan=en
Corwin, J.A. (2006, October 12). Russia: Siberia’s Once-Frozen Tundra Is Melting. An online acticle on Dr. Katie Walter finding. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1071976.html
Fitzpatrick, M. (2010, January 6). Methane release ‘looks stronger’. An acticle on Professor Igor Semiletov finding, head of the International Siberian Shelf Study [ISSS], University of Alaska at Fairbanks, USA. BBC. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8437703.stm
Ljunggren, D. (2009, July 29). Arctic tundra hotter, boosts global warming: expert. An acticle on Professor Greg Henry research, University of British Columbia. Reuters. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE56S53E20090729
Return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely (2010). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s [NOAA] Arctic Report Card 2010 Update. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/
Hansen, K. (2010, January 27). Arctic ‘Melt Season’ Is Growing Longer, New Research Demonstrates. NASA. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from Phsyorg.com http://www.physorg.com/news183836066.html
Water flowing through ice sheets accelerates warming, could speed up ice flow (2010, November 3). University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences [CIRES]. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-ice-sheets.html
Greenland glacier calves island four times the size of Manhattan (2010, August 6). University of Delaware. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.physorg.com/news200326075.html
Lamont-Doherty (2010, June 20). New research sheds light on Antarctica’s melting Pine Island Glacier. British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.physorg.com/news196255601.html
Stracansky P., (2010, November 13). Fast Melting Glaciers Threaten Biodiversity. Inter Press Service [IPS] / International Federation of Environmental Journalists [IFEJ] / UNEP/ CBD. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53552
Hance, J. (2009, November 2). Goodbye, snows of Kilimanjaro. An article on Proceedings of the National Academy of Science [PNAS] report. mongabay.com. Retrieved January 11, 2011 from http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1102-hance_kilimanjaro.html
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