The Great Outdoors

[Haykakan]

Re: The Great Outdoors

Chill, Bro: Arctic Melting at Alarming Rate While Antarctica Stays Cool
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Environment
03:08 05.05.2017(updated 03:11 05.05.2017) Get short URL
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A new report from the Arctic Council's Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program claims that the Arctic is melting so rapidly that it may be completely devoid of ice by 2040. Simultaneously, the University of Leeds has found that the melting rate of the Antarctic ice is only about a third of what was projected.
So why is the Arctic melting so fast and the Antarctic so slowly? It's a bit complicated. On the surface, the Arctic and the Antarctic have a lot inxcommon: cold, sparsely populated snowy wastes atxthe farthest reaches ofxthe Earth. But they differ inxone fundamental sense: the Arctic is an ocean surrounded byxland (like the upper reaches ofxAlaska, Canada and Russia), while Antarctica is a land mass surrounded byxoceans. What we think ofxas the Arctic is essentially a gigantic ice cube inxthe Arctic Ocean, while underneathxthe snow and ice ofxAntarctica is land.
Essentially, two effects ofxglobal warming offset one another when it comes toxAntarctica. Both poles see their sea ice melting atxuncomfortable rates (with both poles hitting record lows inxFebruary), butxAntarctica also benefits fromxsnowfall, which has caused ice sheets toxform inxsome sections.x

© Sputnik/ V. Chistiakov
In Hot Water: Arctic Ocean Turned Inside Out by ‘Atlantification’

Climatologists point toxincreased snowfall asxanother side effect ofxa warmer planet. One consequence ofxglobal warming is an increase inxocean evaporation, asxhot temperatures overxthe sea send water vapor intoxthe atmosphere. The more water vapor inxthe atmosphere, the more intense rain and snowfall become.
Antarctic snowfalls used toxbe rarer, butxthe warming ofxthe continent has caused larger and more frequent snowfalls. Simultaneously, Arctic ice has been onxa steady decline sincexthe early 2000s.

© AP Photo/ John Sonntag
Antarctic Ice Shelf Forms Second Crack, on Verge of Breaking Off

So why doesn't it cut both ways? Why does snow help sea ice remain inxAntarctica butxnot the Arctic? Simply put, the Arctic air is very cold, which allows little water vapor toxescape intoxthe atmosphere. This means there is little material toxform snow, making snowfall rare (though not unheard of) inxthe Arctic.
Antarctica is also insulated fromxglobal warming trends asxit has its own set ofxwind and water currents, while the Arctic Ocean is heavily affected byxwind and water fromxthe neighboring Atlantic.

[Haykakan]

Re: The Great Outdoors

Environment
03:38 23.03.2017(updated 04:05 23.03.2017) Get short URL
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has reported record carbon dioxide levels in 2016, over the 400 parts per million (ppm) threshold for the second year in a row.
The measurements are courtesy ofxNOAA's Mauna Loa Baseline Atmospheric Observatory inxHawaii. It reports the rate ofxCO2 inxEarth's atmosphere atx405.1 ppm inx2016, upxfrom 402 inx2015. This is the second largest single year increase onxrecord – the largest was the increase betweenx2014 and 2015.
"The rate ofxCO2 growth overxthe last decade is 100 tox200 times faster thanxwhat the Earth experienced duringxthe transition fromxthe last Ice Age," said lead scientist ofxNOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network Pieter Tans inxa media release. "This is a real shock toxthe atmosphere."
Four hundred ppm is the magic number forxcarbon dioxide levels because, asxTans put it, we are unlikely toxsee carbon dioxide levels recede belowxthat number duringxour lifetimes. "And probably much longer [than that]," he adds.

© Photo: Pixabay
Earth Sees Hottest Year on Record in 2016, Extreme Weather Continues – WMO

The runaway El Niño event asxwell asxforest fires throughoutxthe Western hemisphere combined withxemissions released byxthe burning ofxfossil fuels toxsend Earth's atmosphere pastx400 ppm forxthe first time inxrecorded history.
Humans have been burning fossil fuels forxmore thanx200 years, butxthe global industrial economy has vastly increased emissions. "About 85 percent ofxall fossil fuel consumption sincexthe start ofxthe industrial revolution took place duringxmy lifetime," said Tans.
Models ofxpast environments based onxice core records show that CO2 levels have not been abovex300 ppm inxthe last 800,000 years or so. NOAA claims that the last time CO2 levels were this high was 3 million years ago duringxthe Pliocene Warm Period that melted much ofxEarth's ice and drove sea levels 65 feet higher thanxwhat they are now.

© East News/ imago stock&people
European Parliament Calls to Reduce Carbon Credits by 2.4% Yearly

If such an event were toxrepeat, whole countries such asxDenmark, Senegal, Bangladesh and the Netherlands would be underwater. So would cities likexHouston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, New York, Montreal, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires.
"There were some differences inxcontinent locations, and inxEarth's orbit aroundxthe sun, butxthe Pliocene is considered a bellwether forxwhat future climate might be like," said NOAA scientist Bruce Bauer.
In addition toxbeing a record-breaking year forxCO2, 2016 was also the hottest year onxrecord.

[Haykakan]

Re: The Great Outdoors

As I wait for the ice to get thicker I found this wonderful poem and figured I would share it.

A Boy and His Dad
A boy and his dad on a fishing-trip—
There is a glorious fellowship!
Father and son and the open sky
And the white clouds lazily drifting by,
And the laughing stream as it runs along
With the clicking reel like a martial song,
And the father teaching the youngster gay
How to land a fish in the sportsman’s way.
I fancy I hear them talking there
In an open boat, and the speech is fair.
And the boy is learning the ways of men
From the finest man in his youthful ken.
Kings, to the youngster, cannot compare
With the gentle father who’s with him there.
And the greatest mind of the human race
Not for one minute could take his place.
Which is happier, man or boy?
The soul of the father is steeped in joy,
For he’s finding out, to his heart’s delight,
That his son is fit for the future fight.
He is learning the glorious depths of him,
And the thoughts he thinks and his every whim;
And he shall discover, when night comes on,
How close he has grown to his little son.
A boy and his dad on a fishing-trip—
Builders of life’s companionship!
Oh, I envy them, as I see them there
Under the sky in the open air,
For out of the old, old long-ago
Come the summer days that I used to know,
When I learned life’s truths from my father’s lips
As I shared the joy of his fishing-trips.
—Edgar Guest

[Haykakan]

Re: The Great Outdoors

In my cheesehead land Wisconsin it was -35 couple days ago, it will be around 40 in couple days. That is 75 degree variation in one week.

These kinds of abnormal variations in a very short period of time seem to be a common feature now and the new normal. I would imagine that puts a lot of pressure on wildlife to adapt to such drastic changes in the environment. I remember climatologists warnings regarding a one or two degree variation in average temps, we are far beyond that now with the added stressor of such extreme changes in a very short period of time.

[Azad]

Re: The Great Outdoors

In my cheesehead land Wisconsin it was -35 couple days ago, it will be around 40 in couple days. That is 75 degree variation in one week.

[Haykakan]

Re: The Great Outdoors

Here in Detroit we are experiencing full effects of global warming. The next ten days temps are going to be in the mid 40s with a few days getting into the low 50s. I went icefishing yesterday and there was a lake on top of the lake. All the rain and melting ice on top of the 6 inches of ice had no where to go so it just lay there with the wind creating ripples. It was pretty amazing fishing in water on top of ice but it was not fun as everything gets wet fast. When I drilled a hole the water on top poured into it creating a small whirlpool. The ice was plenty thick and safe but these conditions I had not seen before. This prolonged period of very warm weather will destroy this solid ice. I need to find myself a new hobby as winters here make icefishing so unpredictable.

[Artashes]

Re: The Great Outdoors

Left my house this morning at 5:45am. Temperature was minus 53 degrees below zero F.
I live on the banks of a good sized river, actually where two rivers merge. It's low ground and traditionally one of the coldest spots in the area.
With the advent of climatic change, I haven't seen these temps for several years. We've had negative 20 to 30 below for about two weeks, so this dive in temp feels particularly cold. We call this "real weather".

[Haykakan]

Re: The Great Outdoors

Fish go deeper as oxygen in the shallows is depleted. They are not as active as they were in the warmer months but they do feed. Generally you catch the bigger fish in the cooler months and fish taste much better coming from colder waters. I actually enjoy ice fishing more then open water fishing. Jigging with baits or lures is how you catch them. Knowing where the fish are depends on experience and some luck. A good flasher/sonar is a important tool very helpful in finding fish. I used to post pics of my catch but I got lazy. It is very important for beginners to learn from experienced and responsible mentors as it can be dangerous if you do not know what you are doing.

[Serjik]

Re: The Great Outdoors

Dear Haykakan,

Never gone ice fishing but sounds really cool literally LOL But seriously i though fish like hibernate at bottom of lakes in the winter, how do you know where they are how do you get them to bite?

I have had the opportunity to go ice fishing a couple of times already but temps today were in the mid 50s. It melted all the snow and now I hope it gets cold and makes more good ice. Winters are very unpredictable now. I am looking forward to a good fishing season through the ice. The first outing was exciting as the bass and pike would not leave my puppet minnow alone. The second outing resulted in nothing. I have not gone to my favorite spots yet because the ice is not thick enough in those areas. I hope his week will bring colder weather and thicker ice.

[Haykakan]

Re: The Great Outdoors

I have had the opportunity to go ice fishing a couple of times already but temps today were in the mid 50s. It melted all the snow and now I hope it gets cold and makes more good ice. Winters are very unpredictable now. I am looking forward to a good fishing season through the ice. The first outing was exciting as the bass and pike would not leave my puppet minnow alone. The second outing resulted in nothing. I have not gone to my favorite spots yet because the ice is not thick enough in those areas. I hope his week will bring colder weather and thicker ice.