NOME ALASKA: BURNING ICE/METHANE RELEASE

Here is a very interesting short video from ABC News relating to methane released as permafrost melts in the Arctic. Some are blaming global warming on this release of a greenhouse gas much stronger than CO2. So strong in fact that some scientists are stating that the release is more than all of the greenhouse gases ever caused by man. New theories are blaming the sea ice melt on this methane release. Click here for a very interesting report. My only footnote to this video is that the methane shown is from a lake, with the methane evident as it collects under the ice. If it is a lake then the gas would have escaped any way without further warming much the same as 'swamp gas' in the Southern United States. Any night you can see the release of the gases as they actually fluoresce on many occassions. These used to give rise to legends of ghosts in the South before the cause was known.

NEW STUDY: WINDS-NOT WARMING-MOVING ARCTIC SEA ICE

A new study by Japanese scientists states that winds blowing Arctic sea ice around is responsible for 50% of variations in Arctic sea ice from September to September, NOT GLOBAL WARMING. They also conclude that over 1/3rd of the downward linear trend over the past 31 years is explained by variations in the local Arctic winds. The winds are simply blowing the ice around in different patters. Same amount of ice just being blown around differently. Click here for the Fox News report on that study. In posts to this blog over one year ago I attributed the variations in Arctic sea ice to two factors: (1) Undersea volcanoes; and (2) prevailing winds moving the ice around and thus forming what appears to be holes in the sea ice pack. Glad that my humble opinion has been justified months later by a study by real life and honest scientists. Click here for my past post of February 8, 2009 relating to winds moving the ice around. Click here for my post of the same date blaming a portion of the melt on volcanoes. If a dunce like me can figure these things out over a year in advance, before Climategate caused major reviews of the whole idea, why couldn't the Greens figure it out, if they are so brilliant?

ICELAND'S VOLCANOES MAY CHANGE WEATHER PATTERNS

As lava and hot gases melt snow pack and glaciers in Iceland there is some proof that other changes in real weather patterns (as opposed to localized melting) will occur. The volcano which just erupted had been dormant for over 200 years. However, historically whenever it erupts its sister volcano, Katla erupts shortly thereafter. The last time this happened gases and ash disrupted climate patterns and caused distruction and deaths in Europe. Many people died of poison gas inhalation in England. The ash and gases floated around the atmosphere reflecting radiation back into space. Temperatures fell in what was already the Little Ice Age. The waters of the Mississippi froze around New Orleans. For the full MSNBC report click here.

NEW PROOF OF WHY ARCTIC ICE IS MELTING

Elsewhere in this blog I cited undersea volcanoes as the likely cause of arctic sea ice melting. The North Atlantic Ridge (underwater) has been very active for ten years with ocean floor lava flows along hundreds of miles of its length. Undersea lava flows have to have had a heating effect on the waters in that area. Now new volcanic eruptions in Iceland are causing evacuations of residents and tourists. Are these eruptions signs of increased volcanic activity in the area? How could it be anything else? The Extreme Greens deny that the undersea volcanoes have contributed to the ice melt. How could it not have is my question? The underground lava flows nearing the surface have to heat the ground, both undersea and on land, not to mention the lava itself. Hellooo! Lava is hot, melted rock. Its temperature is a few thousand degrees. Helloooo! Click here for the news report on the latest surface eruptions. Note that glaciers are nearby. The Greens of limited intelligence (perhaps that includes all of them) will next month be issueing studies about how glaciers have melted in Iceland and claiming it as proof of global warming. If you are a Green of good will and open mind please absorb the above. Click here for my previous report.

SEA ICE MELT WILL NOT CAUSE FLOODING

As Sea Ice melts it will not cause coastal flooding and will not raise sea levels one inch. How do we know this? After a few sentences of explanation I will give you an experiment you can try at home to prove this yourself.

First, however, let’s try to understand why the Extreme Left Wing Greens are getting so excited. In Antarctic there is a huge ice sheet named the ‘Wilkins’ ice shelf. (Click here for that story) It once covered 16,000 square miles and now has melted down to only 6,000 square miles, still a huge chunk of ice. Worse yet it sticks up in the air about 65 feet, meaning that it extends under water about 650 feet. A lot of ice. What will happen when it melts?

Well, first let’s apply some simple logic to past history. If this mass of ice has melted and downsized by 10,000 square miles, what happened to the melted ice? Did the earth flood? No indeed. That in itself should make us worry less about this flooding theory because if the melting of 10,000 square miles did not flood us why worry about the smaller 6,000 square miles chunk? While that was melting and other glaciers and Arctic sea ice have been melting the sea levels have only risen 1 1/2 inches. (Click here for that story) Although the article itself is bogus I will use their own data to prove them wrong. Common sense says that it is true that there is no danger.

"But...but...but..." the Greens will say, ‘Where will all of that water go?" The answer is ‘NO WHERE! IT'S ALREADY THERE!" It has already displaced its own mass of water when it formed. It’s not over land where it can melt and then run into the ocean, causing the sea level to rise. It’s already in the ocean.

Not only that, it will ultimately cause a slight shrinking of the oceans. How can that be? Water is at its densest at 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit. As it cools below that or warms above that it will expand slightly. Some scientific studies say that this expansion is only 0.01 %. Not even noticeable. What is noticeable? When water freezes it suddenly expands. It increases about 9% in volume. (Click here for USA Department of Energy statement) You already knew that. Ever had frozen water pipes burst? Same reason. As the ice melts it will decrease in volume by 9%. It will continue to decrease in volume at a slower rate until it reached 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit at which point it may eventually expand by 0.01% As the sea ice melts and warms 7 degrees it shrinks in volume by a little over 9%.

I heard you think that. I’m nuts, huh? Try this experiment. Fill a water glass with ice cubes. As many as it will hold, even have some stick out the top of the glass. Then very carefully fill the glass with water. Take great care to fill it exactly to the rim but not allowing one drop to spill over. Some portions of the ice cubes will extend above the surface of the water, just like it does on the Wilkins Ice Shelf and on all ice burgs. Sit back and allow the ice to melt. When you look at the water in the glass you will find that the glass is no longer full. It has dropped about five per cent I would guess. The fruitcake Extreme Greens think it’s a magic trick. "Well, where did all that ice sticking up into the air go?" No where! It was already there!

Now you know. Glaciers are another matter all together. Soon I will explain why we need have no fear of glacial melt. But that, my friends, is a story for another day.

LIBERAL BASED MSNBC NOW PREDICTS GLOBAL ICE AGE AND SOON

Generally regarded as ultraliberal, MSNBC printed a report today raising the scary and very real specter of a sudden global cooling similar to what happened at the end of the last Ice Age. In this scenario Ireland would be covered with ice. According to the report (click here for the link) this could happen in one to two years total time and could begin at any time. As we have consistently reported herein this planet has many safeguards, checks and balances if you will, built into this wonderful creation of God that we call our home. He made it perfect and foolproof and not even the Greens can change it one whit.

ANTARCTIC ICE MELT SLOWS GLOBAL WARMING

I don't think I'm even going to comment on this one. Click on the link below and enjoy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091110/ts_afp/climatewarmingantarctica

ARCTIC SEA TO BE ICE FREE NEXT SUMMER

Don't let this scare you. This article (click here) makes it seem that this has not happened in recent history. Not true. Journals of explorers working for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1789 noted with surprise that the Arctic Sea was still frozen in July. This seemed unusual to them since earlier explorers found it to be ice free most of the year. Native legends also spoke of a passage by water through the area North of present day Canada. Part of what these explorers were looking for was the fabled "Northwest Passage'. Was it a myth? No, indeedy. Remember, as presented elsewhere on this blogsite, that the Little Ice Age began around 1600-1700, peaking in the late 1800s. Previously that sea was not frozen for most of the year. What about the fear that certain animals are now endangered by the melting ice? Five hundred years ago North America was still in the grip of the Medieval Warm Period. The Arctic Sea was ice free then. So...how did the animals survive that? If Polar Bears were around 10,000 years ago they must be pretty durable and pretty adaptable to have survived those changes. More Green Hysteria! Most of these folks don't believe in God so think they must take the place of God. Also, they use faulty science to gain your support. Instead of an "Inconvenient Truth" if they find an "Inconvenient Fact" they simply ignore it. Where is Joe Friday when we really need him? "Just the facts, sir. Just the facts."

NEW STUDY ON ANTARCTIC ICE SHELF DISPELS SOME HYSTERIA

Great Britain's University of Bristol recently completed a new study on this topic as reported by Fox News. Previous studies had estimated that the breaking off and melting of one of the Antarctic's ice shelves would cause a catastrophic rise in world sea levels of 19 feet. The new study estimates only a ten foot rise. The good news is that they estimate, as do previous studies, that this melting will take 500 years, only a rise of 1/4 th inch per year. Click on the link above for the full story. Guess I'll put away the life jackets and rubber duckies I had acquired to assist me in this catastrophy since I am presently living within a few hundred yards of the Atlantic Ocean.

ANTARCTIC ICE GROWING!!!!

The report in this link states that the Antarctic ice is indeed growing. You have read that in several places in this blog. Now it is reaffirmed by the latest scientific studies. Published in Yahoo news on April 18, 2009. This should reinforce my opinions in other articles posted here that there are other causes for the ice shifting and spot melting in the Arctic besides Global Warming.

ANTARCTIC SEA ICE GROWS

While Arctic sea ice has diminished at a rate of about 10% per decade since 1973, the sea ice in the Antarctic has grown slightly since since 1979. The linked article by Alexandra Shimo written for MACLEAN'S, a Canadian magazine, gives a different view point citing facts little known nor published in the US.

QUESTION: If global warming is causing the melting of sea ice why is it melting at the Northern pole only and not at the Southern Pole?

ANSWER: There must be a different reason for the North Pole ice melt.

CAUSES OF ARCTIC SEA ICE MELT

QUESTION: Is global warming causing the Arctic sea ice melt? DISCUSSION: The likely causes of Arctic ice melt could be three categories: (1) Abnormally warm air temperatures; (2) Abnormally warm water temperatures; (3) some combination of the two. I discount number '1' since I believe that new ice is formed each winter, but as we see elsewhere in this site, it freezes from the bottom up, not the top down. Therefore changing water temperatures seem to be a likely culprit. There could be many causes of warmer water temperatures. One stands out as a smoking gun. There is an underwater seam under the Atlantic and extending under the Arctic ice. Over history it has produced many volcanic eruptions as the tectonic plates slide apart. Ten years ago it became abnormally active. It was previously thought that the tremendous pressure of the sea water ( 2 1/2 miles thick layer) would keep undersea volcanoes from violent eruptions merely dribbling lava from the cracks in the sea floor. Anyone with a brain would discount this mistaken belief. The Hawaiian Islands are a good example. How would they have formed otherwise? Volcanic eruptions release hot magma and many superheated gases. Where could these hot gases go except to mix with the water over and around them? In the attached link one scientist states "We don’t believe the volcanoes had much effect on the overlying ice but they seem to have a major impact on the overlying water column....the eruptions discharge large amounts of Carbon dioxide...and heat into the water column over long distances..." (Emphasis added mine) Okay, if it does impact the water column does that mean the warmed water stays where it is at the bottom and over the volcanoes? No. Indeed ocean currents move this warmed water around the Pole causing water temperatures to rise through advection in remote locations. Once the heat is released it has no where else to go. It stays with the water, eventually rising, and melting the sea ice from the bottom. (We know that warm air rises but also cold water sinks thrusting the warmer water to the surface.) The full article from MSNBC can be accessed by clicking on this link. ANSWER: Largely indeterminate but the smoking gun points to the volcanic activity. Insufficient data for a judgment.

IS NORTH POLE ICE MELTING?

QUESTION: Is ice at the North Pole melting causing it soon to be ice free?
DISCUSSION:
Sea ice at the northern latitudes forms new ice by freezing onto the bottom of old ice. Where old ice has melted it leaves a thinner layer of new ice. Winds might push this over the North Pole and when it melts it would leave the North Pole temporarily free of ice. However, this does not mean that the ice cover at the North Pole melted. It merely shifted position due to wind currents. The full article published by Fox News may be accessed by clicking on this link.

ANSWER: No.