Meltdown in the Arctic is speeding up (massive ice loss in last month)

[n2doc]

Robin McKie, science editor
The Observer, Sunday August 10 2008
Article history
Ice at the North Pole melted at an unprecedented rate last week, with leading scientists warning that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer by 2013.

Satellite images show that ice caps started to disintegrate dramatically several days ago as storms over Alaska's Beaufort Sea began sucking streams of warm air into the Arctic.

As a result, scientists say that the disappearance of sea ice at the North Pole could exceed last year's record loss. More than a million square kilometres melted over the summer of 2007 as global warming tightened its grip on the Arctic. But such destruction could now be matched, or even topped, this year.

'It is a neck-and-neck race between 2007 and this year over the issue of ice loss,' said Mark Serreze, of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Boulder, Colorado. 'We thought Arctic ice cover might recover after last year's unprecedented melting - and indeed the picture didn't look too bad last month. Cover was significantly below normal, but at least it was up on last year.

'But the Beaufort Sea storms triggered steep ice losses and it now looks as if it will be a very close call indeed whether 2007 or 2008 is the worst year on record for ice cover over the Arctic. We will only find out when the cover reaches its minimum in mid-September.'

more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/10/climatechange.arctic

[XemaSab]

1. And what's the timeline for teh melt?

[hogwyld]

3. Ummm, faster than expected??

I really think that the human species has doomed itself.

[ElectricGrid]

4. is this suppose to make me want to vote for Obama

If Obama is a agent of Change why stick a pick of him with Ted up?

[DCKit]

5. You don't know our Teddy, do you?

[n2doc]

2. kick n/t

[InNeedOfUserName]

6. Hmmm... 2008 looks to have a chance of being #2 for Ice loss

Mark Serreze is an embarrasment! He is supposed to be a scientist.

He is 'rooting' for the ice to melt.

Here's his piece from June 2008...


http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-no-ice-at-the-north-pole-855406.html

He Hoping, hoping, hoping it does...need better scientist!!!

That' being said 2008 has a chance to be #2 as ice minimum. prior to 2007, 2005 was the record minimum. see graphic comparing 2008 to 2005:

http://igloo.atmos.uiuc.edu/cgi-bin/test/print.sh?fm=08&fd=11&fy=2005&sm=08&sd=11&sy=2008

Barrow Alaska has been a bit warm:
http://www.accuweather.com/forecast-climo.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&zipChg=1&zipcode=99734&metric=0

[hatrack]

7. Uh, no. Is this what you call "rooting"?

Having read the article, the closest I can find to 'rooting for the ice to melt' is the following paragraph:

"The issue is that, for the first time that I am aware of, the North Pole is covered with extensive first-year ice – ice that formed last autumn and winter. I'd say it's even-odds whether the North Pole melts out," said Dr Serreze.

Rooting? Oh really?

And just in case you were wondering, here are the only other paragraphs within the article in which he is directly quoted:

EDIT

"From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water," said Mark Serreze of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado.

EDIT

This meant that about 70 per cent of the sea ice present this spring was single-year ice formed over last winter. Scientists predict that at least 70 per cent of this single-year ice – and perhaps all of it – will melt completely this summer, Dr Serreze said.

"Indeed, for the Arctic as a whole, the melt season started with even more thin ice than in 2007, hence concerns that we may even beat last year's sea-ice minimum. We'll see what happens, a great deal depends on the weather patterns in July and August," he said.

EDIT

He is a scientist, and was giving his estimate on what might happen during the summer melt cycle. Please show me anything - anything at all within this article indicating bias or "rooting" as you claim. Show me.

[InNeedOfUserName]

8. CNN June "We kind of have an informal betting pool going around in our center..."

ooops, use the UK site, should have used CNN:


"We kind of have an informal betting pool going around in our center and that betting pool is 'does the North Pole melt out this summer?' and it may well," said the center's senior research scientist, Mark Serreze.

It's a 50-50 bet that the thin Arctic sea ice, which was frozen in autumn, will completely melt away at the geographic North Pole, Serreze said.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Mark+Serreze+of+the+US+National+Snow+and+Ice+Data+Centre+bet#hl=en&q=Mark+Serreze+of+the+US+National+Snow+and+Ice+Data+Centre+pool+bet&btnG=Search&nochrome=1


That was June...Then the ice recovered, then the ice faded, so then he writes in August:

"'It is a neck-and-neck race between 2007 and this year over the issue of ice loss,' said Mark Serreze...


Betting pool??? Neck-and-neck race??? I wonder how much he has on the race???

[GliderGuider]

9. Hmm. I still don't see any "rooting" going on.

Did he say which side of the pool he was betting? If not, your agenda is showing.

[hatrack]

10. Gee, read much into news coverage?

No further need for a user name here . . .