Recently a mysterious Siberian crater has been discovered, which subsequently raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the crater formation. Theories include Pingo formation and connections to the thawing of permafrost (ClimateState reported). Robert Scribbler, summed it up: One theory on the feature is that it might be a pingo — a melting of a permafrost water pocket…
Wikipedia: A flood basalt is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that coats large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Flood basalt provinces are often called traps, which derives from the characteristic stairstep morphology of many associated landscapes. Related Greenland ice sheet collapse, triggered ancient sea…
Dark Snow Project Chief Scientist Dr. Jason Box interviewed by Bill Maher on Real Time, on July 12, 2014. Peter Sinclair, noted: It’s difficult to keep up with, much less steer, an interview with someone as mercurial as Bill Maher, but Dr. Box does a decent job. He gives a good description of the “dark snow”…
Alfred-Wegener-Institut, 28 Mai 2014: Der Antarktische Eisschild hat zum Ende der letzten Eiszeit in kurzer Zeit sehr viel Eis verloren und damit den Meeresspiegel weltweit rasant um mehrere Meter ansteigen lassen. Mit ihrer Studie liefern die Wissenschaftler den ersten Beweis dafür, dass der Massenverlust des Antarktischen Eisschildes wesentlich dazu beigetragen hat, dass der Meeresspiegel am Ende…
By Laura Naranjo (NSIDC), first published January 31, 2014. In the following an edited version, reposted here with permission. Antarctic sea ice is ruled by very different systems than Arctic sea ice. The reasons behind this increase are complex, and several recent studies show that scientists are still trying to understand them. Ice and wind Atmospheric…
An Australian-led research team found that sea levels may rise much faster than previously predicted by models, because changes by disruptive westerly winds, weren’t taken into account. Conservative estimates so far, projected irreversible melting in the course of a few centuries, depending on the temperature increase. Related Each degree of global warming might ultimately raise…
NASA/JPL press release, May 12, 2014: A new study by researchers at NASA and the University of California, Irvine, finds a rapidly melting section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appears to be in an irreversible state of decline, with nothing to stop the glaciers in this area from melting into the sea. The study presents…
Introduction to Methane Hydrate “Methane Hydrates and Contemporary Climate Change” (2011) IDENTIFICATION This post “A Mechanism for Shallow Methane Hydrate Dissociation”, explores possible mechanism which could release vast quantities of shallow Methane Hydrate into the ocean and atmosphere. CH4 Release The following studies explore the release of CH4 emissions in the Arctic region. OBSERVATION…
What are the true cost of living in the Anthropocene? Wikipedia: The Anthropocene is an informal geologic chronological term that serves to mark the evidence and extent of human activities that have had a significant global impact on the Earth‘s ecosystems. The term was coined recently by ecologist Eugene F. Stoermer and has been widely popularized by the Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist, Paul Crutzen, who regards the…