Tag: climate change

Rocks record Totten Glacier’s rapid retreat history

The following article by Jonathan Amos appears on the BBC.com website on May 19, 2016:

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Warm ocean water is getting under the floating front of Totten to melt it. Photo: Esmee Van Wijk/AAD

Unchecked climate change could put Antarctica’s huge Totten Glacier into an unstable configuration over the coming centuries, a study has warned.

If that happens, the ice loss could push up global oceans by 2m, or more.

The claim is based on an assessment of the rocks underlying the ice stream.

Scientists tell the journal Nature that should the front of the glacier retreat about 150km from its current position, it will then enter a runaway reversal that takes it 200-250km further inland. Continue reading “Rocks record Totten Glacier’s rapid retreat history”

Scientists Are More Confident Than Ever In Troubling Sea Level Rise Projections

The following article by Aleandro Davila Fragoso appeared on the ThinkProgress.org website Februar 23, 2016:

Charles Warsinske has a daunting and unusual task for a city planner: move a town out of the way of climate change.

“If you think about it too long it’s somewhat overwhelming,” said Warsinske, manager of the Quinault Indian Nation Community Development Planning Department. “It seems like the climate change thing is certainly on everybody’s minds right now and it’s a very, very complicated thing.”

For the Quinault Nation, which has lived next to the Quinault River and the Pacific coast just west of Seattle for generations, climate change raises more issues than for most communities. Their culture and economy depend on the bounty of the land, forests, rivers, and oceans that are behaving as differently as any tribal elder can remember. The glaciers that feed the rivers and support the salmon population — so integral to their livelihood — are disappearing. Forests on tribal lands are changing, too, as invasive species threaten critical resources. Continue reading “Scientists Are More Confident Than Ever In Troubling Sea Level Rise Projections”

How tackling climate change will pay off

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Much of Minnesota has experienced springlike temperatures this December, often in the 40s. Warmer weather has become the norm; since 1998, the Earth has experienced 10 of the warmest years on record. And 2015 is expected to break last year’s record as the warmest yet.

This is why we all should be celebrating that nearly 200 countries have reached consensus on a plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The Paris Climate Agreement puts the world on a path Continue reading “How tackling climate change will pay off”

Superior is one of the more rapidly warming lakes, study finds

It’s among the more rapidly warming lakes, scientists warn in study.

The following article by Jennifer Brooks appeared in the December 17, 2015, StarTribune:

Lift_Bridge_Lifted,_DuluthThe world’s lakes are warming up — even frigid Lake Superior — scientists warn.

Dozens of researchers pooled decades’ worth of data from hundreds of lakes and concluded that the world’s lakes are warming even more rapidly than the oceans or the atmosphere. The warmer waters threaten fish populations, ecosystems and fresh water supplies around the globe.

Closer to home, University of Minnesota Duluth Professor Jay Austin says the thick sheets of ice that blanketed Lake Superior for the past two winters did nothing to change the fact that Superior, like the other Great Lakes, is growing ever warmer.

“Lake Superior is one of the more rapidly warming lakes” among the 235 lakes in the study, Austin said. A two-degree temperature shift can mean the difference between an iced-over Superior or an ice-free Continue reading “Superior is one of the more rapidly warming lakes, study finds”

Climate Talks Must Heed the Call of Pope Francis and the Multifaith Movement

Pope FrancisThe following article by Myriam Alexander-Kearns and Claire Markham was posted by the Center for American Progress:

In May, the Vatican released “Laudato Si,” Pope Francis’ second encyclical and the first papal encyclical to focus on the urgent and politically challenging issue of climate change. The document—which added to the impressive history of multifaith environmental activism—was written to inspire, according to Pope Francis, a “global consensus” at this month’s Paris climate talks “so that future generations will not have to suffer the effects of our ill-advised delays.”

With today’s opening of the Paris talks—officially called the United Nations’ 21st Conference of the Parties—it is imperative that global leaders seize this opportunity to advance common goals for the preservation and protection of the planet, vulnerable communities, and all nations. Continue reading “Climate Talks Must Heed the Call of Pope Francis and the Multifaith Movement”