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oren

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #100 on: December 25, 2015, 03:04:40 PM »
Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide actually cools part of Antarctica
http://news.sciencemag.org/environment/2015/12/rising-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-actually-cools-part-antarctica

Quote
In a world where most regions are warming because of increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), central Antarctica has been cooling slightly in recent years. Greenhouse gases such as CO2 typically trap heat radiated back toward space from the planet’s surface, but large swaths of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (the broad pink mass on the right side of the image) are, on average, actually colder than the upper layers of the atmosphere for much of the year—the only place on Earth where that’s true. When the team looked at the overall balance between the radiation upward from the surface of the ice sheet and the radiation both upward and downward from the upper levels of the atmosphere across all infrared wavelengths over the course of a year, they found that in central Antarctica the surface and lower atmosphere, against expectation, actually lose more energy to space if the air contains greenhouse gases, the researchers report online and in a forthcoming Geophysical Research Letters. And adding more CO2 to the atmosphere in the short-term triggered even more energy loss from the surface and lower atmosphere there, the team’s climate simulations suggest. The topsy-turvy temperature trend stems, in part, from the region’s high elevation; much of the surface of the ice sheet smothering East Antarctica lies above an elevation of 3000 meters, so it is much colder than it would be at lower altitudes. Moreover, that region often experiences what meteorologists call a temperature inversion, where temperatures in the lowest levels of the atmosphere are cooler than those higher up. For the lower-altitude fringes of the icy continent, and for the rest of the world (even Siberia and Greenland), the greenhouse effect still works as expected.

Interesting, though an anecdote in the grand scheme of things.

AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #101 on: December 29, 2015, 04:28:16 PM »
The linked New York Times article discusses how new technology is making Antarctica more accessible to more countries; which are jockeying for strategic & commercial opportunities:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/29/world/countries-rush-for-upper-hand-antarctica.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Extract: "But an array of countries are rushing to assert greater influence here, with an eye not just toward the day those protective treaties expire, but also for the strategic and commercial opportunities that exist right now.
“The newer players are stepping into what they view as a treasure house of resources,” said Anne-Marie Brady, a scholar at New Zealand’s University of Canterbury who specializes in Antarctic politics.
Some of the ventures focus on the Antarctic resources that are already up for grabs, like abundant sea life. China and South Korea, both of which operate state-of-the-art bases here, are ramping up their fishing of krill, the shrimplike crustaceans found in abundance in the Southern Ocean, while Russia recently thwarted efforts to create one of the world’s largest ocean sanctuaries here.
Some scientists are examining the potential for harvesting icebergs from Antarctica, which is estimated to have the biggest reserves of fresh water on the planet. Nations are also pressing ahead with space research and satellite projects to expand their global navigation abilities.
Building on a Soviet-era foothold, Russia is expanding its monitoring stations for Glonass, its version of the Global Positioning System. At least three Russian stations are already operating in Antarctica, part of its effort to challenge the dominance of the American GPS, and new stations are planned for sites like the Russian base, in the shadow of the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity.



“The old days of the Antarctic being dominated by the interests and wishes of white men from European, Australasian and North American states is over,” said Klaus Dodds, a politics scholar at the University of London who specializes in Antarctica. “The reality is that Antarctica is geopolitically contested.”"
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Stephen

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #102 on: December 30, 2015, 12:18:43 AM »
Quote
...Some scientists are examining the potential for harvesting icebergs from Antarctica, w...

It's been done.




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AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #103 on: January 04, 2016, 11:25:49 PM »
The linked (open access) reference leads to an assessment of using GRACE data to estimate ice mass loss from Antarctica in the 2003 to 2009 timeframe:

Zammit-Mangion, Andrew; Bamber, Jonathan L.; Schoen, Nana W.; Rougier, Jonathan C. (2015), "A data-driven approach for assessing ice-sheet mass balance in space and time", Annals of Glaciology, Volume 56, Number 70, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3189/2015AoG70A021


http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/igsoc/agl/2015/00000056/00000070/art00020?token=005c1c0cf32784d772646e586546243125425747794c7d786c255c5e4e2663433b393f6a333f25667ef295853a2a

Abstract: "Combinations of various numerical models and datasets with diverse observation characteristics have been used to assess the mass evolution of ice sheets. As a consequence, a wide range of estimates have been produced using markedly different methodologies, data, approximation methods and model assumptions. Current attempts to reconcile these estimates using simple combination methods are unsatisfactory, as common sources of errors across different methodologies may not be accurately quantified (e.g. systematic biases in models). Here we provide a general approach which deals with this issue by considering all data sources simultaneously, and, crucially, by reducing the dependence on numerical models. The methodology is based on exploiting the different space–time characteristics of the relevant ice-sheet processes, and using statistical smoothing methods to establish the causes of the observed change. In omitting direct dependence on numerical models, the methodology provides a novel means for assessing glacio-isostatic adjustment and climate models alike, using remote-sensing datasets. This is particularly advantageous in Antarctica, where in situ measurements are difficult to obtain. We illustrate the methodology by using it to infer Antarctica's mass trend from 2003 to 2009 and produce surface mass-balance anomaly estimates to validate the RACMO2.1 regional climate model."
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solartim27

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #104 on: January 06, 2016, 07:55:14 PM »
Short post about new seismic monitoring stations getting installed:
http://earthsky.org/earth/new-glimpse-of-geology-under-antarcticas-ice
"Using technology built to withstand the harsh winters, scientists have managed to map the volcanos, rifts, and basins hidden under West Antarctica’s ice sheet."
FNORD

Espen

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #105 on: January 06, 2016, 08:59:59 PM »
We are heading for a record low or something similar this year, that is my unqualified estimate:
Have a ice day!

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #106 on: January 06, 2016, 09:39:23 PM »
Quote
We are heading for a record low or something similar this year, that is my unqualified estimate

And there is a nice fairly "significant warm anomaly" in the southern Pacific (between New Zealand and southern Chile) that has been gaining strength (warmth) over the past few weeks....

Not good....

FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #107 on: January 06, 2016, 09:40:43 PM »
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Espen

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #108 on: January 06, 2016, 10:46:49 PM »
It is definitely heading south:
Have a ice day!

AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #109 on: January 06, 2016, 10:53:37 PM »
It is definitely heading south:

Most likely this is due to the near El Nino in 2014 and the current Super 2015-16 El Nino that is creating anomalously high surface temperatures in Western Antarctica (see attached image of the 5-day average anom forecast)
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sidd

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #110 on: January 07, 2016, 07:07:12 AM »
Where would you say Mercer's canary, the 0C midsummer isotherm will wind up this year ? i suppose the 0C isotherm for December-Jan averaged is a good enuf approximation, thats whats i look at on merra and such, i wonder what it will look like this year
« Last Edit: January 07, 2016, 07:12:42 AM by sidd »

AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #111 on: January 07, 2016, 05:00:04 PM »
Where would you say Mercer's canary, the 0C midsummer isotherm will wind up this year ? i suppose the 0C isotherm for December-Jan averaged is a good enuf approximation, thats whats i look at on merra and such, i wonder what it will look like this year

sidd,

The first attached image is the Nullschool Earth Surface Wind and Temperature forecast for January 11, 2016.  The green color is above freezing, so the 0C isotherm on that day will be right around the edges of the Pine Island Bay, will could cause hydrofracture for either the PIG or the Thwaites Glacier later this austral summer.

Best,
ASLR

Edit the second attached image shows the Nullschool Earth 1000-hPa Wind and Temperature forecast for Jan 11 2016, showing that the coastline (at 1000-hPa) from the Ross Sea to Pine Island Bay is projected to be above freezing on that date.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2016, 12:14:15 AM by AbruptSLR »
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Laurent

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #112 on: January 13, 2016, 08:40:53 PM »
'Gigantic chasm under Antarctic ice'
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35303779
Quote
A vast, previously unrecognised canyon system could be hidden under the Antarctic ice sheet.

Hints of its presence are seen in the shape of the white continent's surface, in a largely unexplored region called Princess Elizabeth Land.

If confirmed by a proper geophysical survey - now under way - the winding canyon network would be over 1,000km long and in places as much as 1km deep.

These dimensions would make it bigger than the famous Grand Canyon in the US.

"We know from other areas of Antarctica that the shape of the ice surface is obviously dependent on the shape of the landscape underneath - because the ice is flowing over that landscape," explained Dr Stewart Jamieson, from Durham University, UK.

"When we look in Princess Elizabeth Land with satellite data, there seem to be some linear features in the surface ice that to us look very reminiscent of a canyon.

"We have traced these faint lineations from the centre of Princess Elizabeth Land all the way to the coast, off to the north. It's a pretty substantial system," he told BBC News.

There are suggestions also that the canyon network is connected to a previously undiscovered subglacial lake.

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #113 on: January 14, 2016, 11:00:37 PM »
'Gigantic chasm under Antarctic ice'
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35303779
Quote
A vast, previously unrecognised canyon system could be hidden under the Antarctic ice sheet.

Hints of its presence are seen in the shape of the white continent's surface, in a largely unexplored region called Princess Elizabeth Land.

If confirmed by a proper geophysical survey - now under way - the winding canyon network would be over 1,000km long and in places as much as 1km deep.

These dimensions would make it bigger than the famous Grand Canyon in the US.

"We know from other areas of Antarctica that the shape of the ice surface is obviously dependent on the shape of the landscape underneath - because the ice is flowing over that landscape," explained Dr Stewart Jamieson, from Durham University, UK.

"When we look in Princess Elizabeth Land with satellite data, there seem to be some linear features in the surface ice that to us look very reminiscent of a canyon.

"We have traced these faint lineations from the centre of Princess Elizabeth Land all the way to the coast, off to the north. It's a pretty substantial system," he told BBC News.

There are suggestions also that the canyon network is connected to a previously undiscovered subglacial lake.

While I do not expect that this new finding will have any implication in my lifetime, I thought that it would not hurt to provide a more complete reference citation:

Stewart S.R. Jamieson, Neil Ross, Jamin S. Greenbaum, Duncan A. Young, Alan R.A. Aitken, Jason L. Roberts, Donald D. Blankenship, Sun Bo and Martin J. Siegert (2015), "An extensive subglacial lake and canyon system in Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica", Geology, doi: 10.1130/G37220.1


http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/early/2015/12/22/G37220.1.abstract


Abstract: "The subglacial landscape of Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL) in East Antarctica is poorly known due to a paucity of ice thickness measurements. This is problematic given its importance for understanding ice sheet dynamics and landscape and climate evolution. To address this issue, we describe the topography beneath the ice sheet by assuming that ice surface expressions in satellite imagery relate to large-scale subglacial features. We find evidence that a large, previously undiscovered subglacial drainage network is hidden beneath the ice sheet in PEL. We interpret a discrete feature that is 140 × 20 km in plan form, and multiple narrow sinuous features that extend over a distance of ∼1100 km. We hypothesize that these are tectonically controlled and relate to a large subglacial basin containing a deep-water lake in the interior of PEL linked to a series of long, deep canyons. The presence of 1-km-deep canyons is confirmed at a few localities by radio-echo sounding data, and drainage analysis suggests that these canyons will direct subglacial meltwater to the coast between the Vestfold Hills and the West Ice Shelf."
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Sigmetnow

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #114 on: January 19, 2016, 12:04:30 AM »
Astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographs massive iceberg in southern ocean.

Quote
Scott Kelly: Just spotted this massive iceberg in the southern Indian Ocean. #YearInSpace

https://twitter.com/stationcdrkelly/status/689182696845750272

Quote
Olivia D'Souza:  @StationCDRKelly I believe it is Iceberg C-16 near Ross Island @PC0101 @DaveAtCOGS @gavinmcmorrow @CaliaDomenico

https://twitter.com/olivia_dsouza/status/689185273612091394
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AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #115 on: January 27, 2016, 04:18:27 PM »
The linked article indicates that Kiwi geologists are studying fossils near Mt Discovery, Antarctica, that could shed light on the risk of portions of the EAIS collapsing as the current climate approaches Pliocene conditions:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11576382

Extract: "Call it extreme geology: a team of Kiwi scientists is venturing to a remote part of Antarctica to dig up ancient evidence of a warmer world.
The treasure trove of fossilised marine life buried in the rock near Mt Discovery - about 50km from Scott Base - could help us better understand what might happen to our planet under future climate change.
It's a place exposed to the continent's unforgiving weather - including 150km/h wind storms that recently shredded tents at a US camp.
The expedition, led by Dr Richard Levy of GNS Science and Professor Tim Naish of Victoria University's Antarctic Research Centre, aims to follow up descriptions of a similar site found nearby about 50 years ago.
The discoverers found shells of organisms that could not live in the sea ice that covers the environment today.
"The samples are telling us it was a warmer world, but we want to know when that was and how old the deposit is; we think it's probably from about three million years ago," said Professor Naish. "This period is a pretty important window for understanding what might happen with global warming."
Called the Pliocene, it was the most recent time when there were 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.
That same level has been reached today through the human carbon emissions projected to heat the climate by several degrees by 2200.

While sensitive areas of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet such as Pine Island were important because they were already experiencing rapid mass loss and melting, Mt Discovery provided evidence of what the much larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet may have done during the warmer ancient climate.
"The thing is, when this place starts to melt, it's the last to go - so you know you're in real trouble.""
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wili

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #116 on: January 27, 2016, 05:29:08 PM »
Apologies if this has already been posted somewhere, and hat tip to Hank Roberts at RealClimate for the link:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015GL066612/abstract

Oliver J. Marsh, Helen A. Fricker, Matthew R. Siegfried, Knut Christianson, Keith W. Nicholls, Hugh F. J. Corr, Ginny Catania
First published: 14 January 2016
DOI: 10.1002/2015GL066612

High basal melting forming a channel at the grounding line of Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

Quote

Antarctica’s ice shelves are thinning at an increasing rate, affecting their buttressing ability. Channels in the ice shelf base unevenly distribute melting, and their evolution provides insight into changing subglacial and oceanic conditions. Here we used phase-sensitive radar measurements to estimate basal melt rates in a channel beneath the currently stable Ross Ice Shelf.

Melt rates of 22.2 ± 0.2 m a−1 (>2500% the overall background rate) were observed 1.7 km seaward of Mercer/Whillans Ice Stream grounding line, close to where subglacial water discharge is expected. Laser altimetry shows a corresponding, steadily deepening surface channel.

Two relict channels to the north suggest recent subglacial drainage reorganization beneath Whillans Ice Stream approximately coincident with the shutdown of Kamb Ice Stream. This rapid channel formation implies that shifts in subglacial hydrology may impact ice shelf stability.
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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #117 on: February 02, 2016, 08:28:49 PM »
An interesting project to get more info on Antarctic ice shelves http://polarfever.com/2016/02/02/physical-oceanographers-on-ice/

Summary -
 The phase sensitive radars were developed and built at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and very precisely measure changes in ice thickness. This means that we get a direct measurement of the ice shelf melt rate. Satellites can also be used to measure this, but will only give average values over several years, while we will get a value every 2 hours from the phase sensitive radars. In combination with the moorings that we have deployed at the ice shelf front, this will allow us to directly link changes in ocean temperature to changes in the ice shelf melt rate. The aim of the seismic surveys is to find out how much seawater there is between the floating ice shelf and the bedrock.

Sigmetnow

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #118 on: February 05, 2016, 03:38:40 AM »
Scar Inlet ice shelf said to be poised to disintegrate.

Glaciologists anticipate massive ice shelf collapse
Quote
Since late 2011, the larger bay where the Larsen B once resided has been covered with a solid sheet of frozen ocean ice, called ‘fast ice’ because it is ‘fastened’ or frozen to the coastline,” Scambos said. “We suspect this ice is supporting the weakened Scar Inlet ice shelf and that the shelf is poised to break up if the thin fast ice breaks away. One good windstorm could set some of this process in motion.”
http://news.uaf.edu/61609-2/
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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #119 on: February 09, 2016, 12:28:50 PM »
Sounds like this could be monitored just as easily from home. The article does not provide the Landsat accession number that would make this easier for us. Sentinel 1A radar could make a nice adjunct. I am skeptical that they will be measuring anything out there on the ice under this breakup scenario -- it seems to be more for experiencing the experience. Oh well, it could make for a neat video.

Quote
Scambos said the Scar Inlet ice shelf has been showing signs of increased melting and large-scale fracturing over the past 14 years. The only support holding back more fracturing could be the 6 to 10 feet of frozen ocean in front of it — a thin, fragile crust compared to the ice shelf plate.

“Since late 2011, the larger bay where the Larsen B once resided has been covered with a solid sheet of frozen ocean ice, called ‘fast ice’ because it is ‘fastened’ or frozen to the coastline,” Scambos said. “We suspect this ice is supporting the weakened Scar Inlet ice shelf and that the shelf is poised to break up if the thin fast ice breaks away. One good windstorm could set some of this process in motion.”

“This will be the first time anybody records ground-based data from an ice shelf that is ready to break up,” Truffer said. “The prize, of course, would be to witness the actual break-up, but, even if we miss that, we will have a detailed record of ongoing weakening of the shelf. An unnamed mountaineer from the British Antarctic Survey will help them navigate.”

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #120 on: February 13, 2016, 11:41:53 AM »
150,000 penguins die after giant iceberg renders colony landlocked
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/13/150000-penguins-killed-after-giant-iceberg-renders-colony-landlocked
Quote
Penguins of Cape Denison in Antarctica effectively trapped by iceberg the size of Rome and face 120km round trip to feed
There are fears the colony of Adelie penguins will be wiped out in 20 years’ time unless the iceberg moves.
There are fears the colony of Adelie penguins will be wiped out in 20 years’ time unless the iceberg moves. Photograph: Alamy

Guardian staff

Saturday 13 February 2016 06.56 GMT
Last modified on Saturday 13 February 2016 10.15 GMT

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An estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins living in Antarctica have died after an iceberg the size of Rome became grounded near their colony, forcing them to trek 60km to the sea for food.

The penguins of Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay used to live close to a large body of open water. However, in 2010 a colossal iceberg measuring 2900sq km became trapped in the bay, rendering the colony effectively landlocked.
Penguins suffering from climate change, scientists say
Read more

Penguins seeking food must now waddle 60km to the coast to fish. Over the years, the arduous journey has had a devastating effect on the size of the colony.

Since 2011 the colony of 160,000 penguins has shrunk to just 10,000, according to research carried out by the Climate Change Research Centre at Australia’s University of New South Wales. Scientists predict the colony will be gone in 20 years unless the sea ice breaks up or the giant iceberg, dubbed B09B, is dislodged.

Penguins have been recorded in the area for more than 100 years. But the outlook for the penguins remaining at Cape Denison is dire.

“The arrival of iceberg B09B in Commonwealth Bay, East Antarctica, and subsequent fast ice expansion has dramatically increased the distance Adélie penguins breeding at Cape Denison must travel in search of food,” said the researchers in an article in Antarctic Science.

“The Cape Denison population could be extirpated within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the now perennial fast ice within the bay breaks out”

“This has provided a natural experiment to investigate the impact of iceberg stranding events and sea ice expansion along the East Antarctic coast.”

In contrast, a colony located just 8km from the coast of Commonwealth Bay is thriving, the researchers said.

The iceberg had apparently been floating close to the coast for 20 years before crashing into a glacier and becoming stuck.

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #121 on: February 17, 2016, 11:31:24 AM »
While the linked Dec 2015 article is not exactly news, it does present a long discussion of some of the key issues associated with the risk of rapid ice sheet mass loss in the coming decades/centuries:


http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/the-long-read-are-the-secrets-we-need-to-battle-climate-change-hidden-in-the-glaciers-369801.html

Extract: "When I asked Richard Alley, almost certainly the most respected glaciologist in the United States, whether he would be surprised to see Thwaites collapse in his lifetime, he drew a breath. Alley is 58. “Up until very recently, I would have said, ‘Yes, I’d be surprised,’” he told me. “Right now, I’m not sure. I’m still cautiously optimistic that in my life, Thwaites has got enough stability on the ridge where it now sits that I will die before it does. But I’m not confident about that for my kids. And if someday I have grandkids, I’m not at all confident for them.”

Rignot answers the same question more bluntly. “That’s what we’re seeing right now — they are in a state of collapse,” he says. “We’ve never seen it before, so it’s hard to identify it and say, ‘We know exactly what it looks like, and this is what it looks like.’ We’re still in the early stage.”

Rignot predicts that in 30 or 40 years, people will be accustomed to watching Thwaites and Pine Island disintegrate constantly, iceberg by iceberg, into the ocean."

Edit: Personally, I think that Rignot should be the most respected glaciologist in the US.
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jimbenison

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #122 on: February 18, 2016, 08:12:11 PM »
150,000 penguins die after giant iceberg renders colony landlocked
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/13/150000-penguins-killed-after-giant-iceberg-renders-colony-landlocked
Quote
Penguins of Cape Denison in Antarctica effectively trapped by iceberg the size of Rome and face 120km round trip to feed
There are fears the colony of Adelie penguins will be wiped out in 20 years’ time unless the iceberg moves.
There are fears the colony of Adelie penguins will be wiped out in 20 years’ time unless the iceberg moves. Photograph: Alamy

Guardian staff

Saturday 13 February 2016 06.56 GMT
Last modified on Saturday 13 February 2016 10.15 GMT

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An estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins living in Antarctica have died after an iceberg the size of Rome became grounded near their colony, forcing them to trek 60km to the sea for food.

The penguins of Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay used to live close to a large body of open water. However, in 2010 a colossal iceberg measuring 2900sq km became trapped in the bay, rendering the colony effectively landlocked.
Penguins suffering from climate change, scientists say
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Penguins seeking food must now waddle 60km to the coast to fish. Over the years, the arduous journey has had a devastating effect on the size of the colony.

Since 2011 the colony of 160,000 penguins has shrunk to just 10,000, according to research carried out by the Climate Change Research Centre at Australia’s University of New South Wales. Scientists predict the colony will be gone in 20 years unless the sea ice breaks up or the giant iceberg, dubbed B09B, is dislodged.

Penguins have been recorded in the area for more than 100 years. But the outlook for the penguins remaining at Cape Denison is dire.

“The arrival of iceberg B09B in Commonwealth Bay, East Antarctica, and subsequent fast ice expansion has dramatically increased the distance Adélie penguins breeding at Cape Denison must travel in search of food,” said the researchers in an article in Antarctic Science.

“The Cape Denison population could be extirpated within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the now perennial fast ice within the bay breaks out”

“This has provided a natural experiment to investigate the impact of iceberg stranding events and sea ice expansion along the East Antarctic coast.”

In contrast, a colony located just 8km from the coast of Commonwealth Bay is thriving, the researchers said.

The iceberg had apparently been floating close to the coast for 20 years before crashing into a glacier and becoming stuck.

Some are suggesting that the penguins haven't died; they just moved.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/dead-antarctica-penguins-are-probably-fine-160216.htm

Also, it appears that the fast ice cleared out of Commonwealth Bay on about the 15th. The berg is still there though.

sidd

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #123 on: February 19, 2016, 05:58:06 AM »
Lets be clear about this. They didn't just move. We evicted them. And they have no lobbyists in Beiging, Brussels or Washington, or at least not any who have as much money as fossil interests.

bligh8

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #124 on: February 20, 2016, 04:35:37 PM »
Don’t look now Mr. Sidd,  but your empathetic values are showing……again.

sidd

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #125 on: February 21, 2016, 07:10:12 AM »
"empathetic values are showing……again."

o dear, i must tuck them back in.

But it does irk me that we humans bewail inconvenience from ice sheet collapse, while almost entirely ignoring the harm it does and will do to a myriad other live things. We live in vast ecology, and we are burning so, so much of structure beneath our feet, and the obscenity is that _we do not even know_ who or how many we kill.

Truly, we believe absurdities, so we commit atrocities.

sidd

wili

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #126 on: February 21, 2016, 08:48:40 AM »
" we believe absurdities, so we commit atrocities" Nice Voltaire paraphrase!
"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

bligh8

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #127 on: February 21, 2016, 03:20:56 PM »
Wili

Voltaire seemed a bit much for me, but Nietzsche, Byron, Blake and  Shelly were more of my thinking.  In keeping with the title thread…I recall Shelly's "The Cloud" where every word was intrinsically interwoven with the last and next… it brought to mind the Purkey & Johnson paper
Antarctica bottom water…(2013) masterfully written where no word seemed wasted. 

sidd

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #128 on: February 21, 2016, 10:59:12 PM »
I think Wili refers to my twisting of the famous aphorism by Voltaire from the passage:

"Mais, monsieur, en étant persuadés par la foi, des choses qui paraissent absurdes à notre intelligence, c'est-à-dire, en croyant ce que nous ne croyons pas, gardons-nous de faire ce sacrifice de notre raison dans la conduite de la vie. Il y a eu des gens qui ont dit autrefois: Vous croyez des choses incompréhensibles, contradictoires, impossibles, parce que nous vous l’avons ordonné; faites donc des choses injustes parce que nous vous l’ordonnons. Ces gens-là raisonnaient à merveille. Certainement qui est en droit de vous rendre absurde est en droit de vous rendre injuste."

(Very) roughly translated,

"But sir, once faith persuades us of things which appear absurd to our intellect, that is to say, into believing what intellect cannot believe, the danger arises of abandoning reason as a governor of our lives. People in the past said to us: You will believe incomprehensible, contradictory and impossible things because we order it; you must do unjust things because we order you. They had marvellous reasoning. Certainly, he who can make you absurd can make you unjust."

This was, of course, an attack on  religion, but Voltaire was nothing if not an acute logician, and touched the heart of the matter in his inimitable style ...

bligh8

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #129 on: February 22, 2016, 12:24:35 AM »
Thank you Mr. Sidd for your explanation……I point out empathy as it is one of our most enduring qualities that separate us from the beast.

Bligh

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #130 on: March 11, 2016, 01:46:07 PM »
A visual image from the recently launched Sentinel 3A satellite:



Quote
One of the first images from Sentinel-3A’s Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) shows a long crack running through the ice shelf to the east of the centre part of the Antarctic Peninsula. The crack is about 2 km wide, but widens to 4 km or more in some places. There are also finer cracks and structures visible in the ice shelf.
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sidd

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #131 on: March 14, 2016, 11:15:38 PM »
DOI: 10.1038/NGEO2675

Nice Antarctic wide study by Alley (not that one) et al. of basal channel melt under ice shelves, tells where the hot water is in detail. They see polynas associated with some, and one disturbing interpretation of Totten.

" ... one [polynya] was in front of the Totten Ice Shelf, in a region with the highest channel density of any ice shelf region ..."

I was kinda hoping that hot water hadn't yet got there. (I inserted the bracketed word "polynya" in the previous quote.)

sidd

solartim27

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #132 on: April 21, 2016, 05:06:33 AM »
There are some new icebergs from Nansen
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=87859
Nansen broke apart on Apr 8th.  Very considerate to do so before we lost the view to winter.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=87657

The linked article discusses field work about the influence of tides on Antarctic ice shelves in order to develop better ice shelf/ice sheet models.  I note that the Nansen Ice Shelf is about to break free:

http://phys.org/news/2016-03-nasa-tracking-tides-ice-shelves.html

Extract: "he NASA scientists worked with personnel from the Korea Polar Research Institute to install instruments on the Nansen Ice Shelf, a roughly 30-mile-long ice shelf sticking out from the coast of Antarctica's Victoria Land.

FNORD

charles_oil

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #133 on: April 25, 2016, 09:46:49 PM »

AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #134 on: April 26, 2016, 05:03:18 PM »
Robert Scribbler provides a nice update on ice shelf activity in Antarctica focused on the recent major Nansen Ice Shelf calving event:

https://robertscribbler.com/2016/04/25/melt-expanding-into-east-antarctica-as-nansen-ice-shelf-crack-produces-20-kilometer-long-iceberg/

Extract: "Melt Expanding into East Antarctica as Nansen Ice Shelf Crack Produces 20 Kilometer Long Iceberg"
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AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #135 on: April 26, 2016, 06:05:34 PM »
Per the linked SciAm article climate change is dramatically changing the penguin populations on the Antarctic Peninsula:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/penguin-populations-are-changing-dramatically/

Extract: "Penguin Populations Are Changing Dramatically
Rapid warming on the Antarctic Peninsula is killing some species but helping others"
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #136 on: April 28, 2016, 05:24:46 PM »
A large subglacial lake and canyon system has been identified under the ice in Princess Elizabeth Land in East Antarctica:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0427/Massive-secret-lake-and-canyons-found-deep-beneath-Antarctic-ice

Extract: "Scientists, presenting at the European Geosciences Union in Vienna last week, revealed data that indicates the existence of a canyon system beneath Princess Elizabeth Land on the Eastern coast of the continent. The researchers predict that a large subglacial lake runs through that system.
If true, the discovery of the lake could help fill in gaps about one of the most enigmatic areas of Antarctica."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #137 on: April 30, 2016, 12:05:45 AM »
The linked article discusses three recent paper about "What lies beneath the ice in West Antarctica":

http://www.sciencecodex.com/what_lies_beneath_west_antarctica-181414
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charles_oil

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #138 on: May 09, 2016, 02:20:11 AM »
Saw part of a news article on moving the Halley research station to avoid falling in a chasm - if you can get it on iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.com/news/36201053

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b079s24p/horizon-20152016-8-ice-station-antarctica


Adam Ash

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #139 on: May 19, 2016, 10:46:34 AM »
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v8/n4/full/ngeo2388.html

Ocean access to a cavity beneath Totten Glacier in East Antarctica
'...If thinning trends continue, a larger water body over the trough could potentially allow more warm water into the cavity, which may, eventually, lead to destabilization of the low-lying region between Totten Glacier and the similarly deep glacier flowing into the Reynolds Trough. We estimate that at least 3.5 m of eustatic sea level potential drains through Totten Glacier, so coastal processes in this area could have global consequences.'

Another Antarctic glacier, another discovery of a method of rapid destabilisation and subsequent sea level rise and storm intensity consequences.  Sigh.

AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #140 on: May 27, 2016, 04:47:14 PM »
The linked article discusses new research that indicates that the Antarctic Polar Front (see image) is not unbroken and allows seaweed/kelp to float all the way to Antarctica where it can off-load marine species into Antarctic waters where that currently/previously to not exist:

http://theconversation.com/antarctica-may-not-be-as-isolated-as-we-thought-and-thats-a-worry-59969

Extract: "Modelling and oceanographic research has started to indicate that the polar front is not the unbroken, continuous barrier was thought to be. Rather, it is a dynamic, shifting series of water jets that can be breached by features such as eddies, which transport pockets of water through the convergence zone.
New evidence published this month from observations of floating kelp at sea indicates that drifting marine species can cross the polar front and enter Antarctic waters from the north.

Floating kelps act as the “taxi service” of the sea, forming rafts that can transport diverse species – even entire communities – across hundreds of kilometres of open ocean."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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bligh8

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #141 on: June 03, 2016, 04:14:41 PM »
"Floating kelps act as the “taxi service” of the sea, forming rafts that can transport diverse species – even entire communities – across hundreds of kilometres of open ocean."

This I have seen, in a different setting of course. The Gulf Stream with it’s eddies and meanderings form a warm ring which results in unproductive Sargasso Sea water transferred into the productive waters of the continental margin.

In October I’ve seen tropical fish who’s eggs caught in Sargasso kelp drift up against the coast resulting in tropical fish visible within the inlets. 

The apex of the Stream lies several hundred miles South East of this location.

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #142 on: June 04, 2016, 03:39:06 PM »
So whats happening? hat tip to Ben Burch on the blog.
 

Neven

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #143 on: June 04, 2016, 06:28:05 PM »
That graph is showing the same faulty data from the malfunctioning sensor. This one from Uni Bremen based on AMSR2 shows a slowdown in ice growth, but I don't know where or why it's taking place (I don't think it's exceptional or anything):
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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #145 on: June 15, 2016, 12:21:32 PM »
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/06/emergency-rescue-launched-ill-worker-south-pole

"Two propeller-driven planes took off today from Calgary, Canada, on a perilous rescue mission to the U.S. research station at the South Pole. If all goes well, one of the planes will arrive in 6 days to pick up a member of the winter-over crew suffering from an unspecified medical emergency that requires treatment at a hospital.
The Twin Otter aircraft are operated by the Canadian firm Kenn Borek Air, Ltd., which contracts with NSF to provide logistical support to the U.S. Antarctic Program. The aircraft will fly via South America to the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. One will remain there as a backup for search-and-rescue operations; the other will travel another 2400 kilometers to the South Pole."

Currently windchill = -77'C, bleak & DARK.
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AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #146 on: June 15, 2016, 09:59:27 PM »
Is this report in Carbon Brief significant?

Scientists have unearthed a 100m-thick river of ice beneath Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf, which they fear could accelerate its path to eventual collapse.

I think that it is potentially significant (in a few decades time with continued global warming), as it indicates that numerous Antarctic ice shelves may become more fragile in the future due to the cumulative affects of repeated surface ice melt and drainage cycles.  I have posted about this in Antarctic Peninsula thread.
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AbruptSLR

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #147 on: June 16, 2016, 04:43:28 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Antarctic CO2 Hit 400 PPM For First Time in 4 Million Years", see the following extract & attached plot of South Pole CO₂ concentrations through early June 2016.

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/antarctica-co2-400-ppm-million-years-20451

Extract: "In the remote reaches of Antarctica, the South Pole Observatory carbon dioxide observing station cleared 400 ppm on May 23, according to an announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Wednesday. That’s the first time it’s passed that level in 4 million years (no, that’s not a typo)."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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Sigmetnow

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #148 on: June 18, 2016, 03:12:01 AM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Adam Ash

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Re: What's new in Antarctica ?
« Reply #149 on: June 20, 2016, 02:08:16 PM »
That graph is showing the same faulty data from the malfunctioning sensor. This one from Uni Bremen based on AMSR2 shows a slowdown in ice growth, but I don't know where or why it's taking place (I don't think it's exceptional or anything):

Hi Neven!  I live 2600 km of stormy ocean north of Antarctica. I can assure you we have had an unusually mild winter to date.  Midnight and its 5 degrees C here, when usually we have a lot of snow and ice around and minus 5, not plus.  Fohn winds have melted snow off the tops, and weather forecasts warn of a large sub-topical zone of warm air forming to the west (969hPa in the core) to produce un-seasonally warm weather for the shortest day and beyond. 

My bees are still out gathering nectar and pollen when they would usually be safely in bed munching on their honey stores. The vege garden is still lush green when it would 'normally' (aka 'historically') be a rotting down frozen mess.

So if what I see at 46 south is any indication, its just plain getting warmer.  Climate, that is, not just weather.