Global warming

High daily peak methane readings continue over Antarctica

Methane Hydrates,

4 June, 2013

Above chart shows that, over the past two months, high daily peak methane readings have been recorded over Antarctica. For comparison, the image below, by Dr. Leonid Yurganov, shows the methane levels averaged for April 2013, as registered by the NASA AIRS satellite. This may also help locate the source of these high levels of methane.

Related posts:

- Is Global Warming breaking up the Integrity of the Permafrost?

http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/is-global-warming-breaking-up-the-integrity-of-the-permafrost.html

- Antarctic methane peaks at 2249 ppbhttp://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/05/antarctic-methane-peaks-at-2249-ppb.html

- Methane hydrates

http://methane-hydrates.blogspot.com/2013/04/methane-hydrates.html

Thin Spots developing in Arctic Sea Ice 

Arctic News,

6 June, 2013

From the start of 2013, Arctic sea ice extent has roughly followed the same path it did in 2012 when a historic record low was reached, as discussed in a previous post. At the moment, thinner spots are developing in the sea ice, as illustrated by the image below

These thin spots are developing due to a combination of factors: 

• a cyclone over the Arctic
• low North Hemisphere snow cover causing more sunlight to be absorbed, rather than reflected back into space
• warm sea surface temperatures at edges of sea ice, as illustrated by the image below
• ice thickness is very low, as illustrated by the image further below

NOAA image, click to enlarge

Above image, adapted from TheCryosphereToday by Albert Kallio, contributor to the Arctic-news blog. 

Albert comments:

"NORTH POLE STORM IN MAY / JUNE 2013 AND SEA ICE SHATTERING AND COMPACTION 06/06/2013

Due to a constant thinning of the Arctic Ocean ice cover it has become sensitive to shearing by ocean wave penetration, winds and ocean currents. As a result of this weakening, a relatively small but persistent storm that centred over the North Pole managed to shatter 75%, or three quarters of Arctic Ocean's ice cover into free ice floes.

Because of the earth's spin, winds and ocean currents, the North Pole immediacy saw vast leads opening in colossal numbers, lots of broaken ice has migrated towards the Atlantic Ocean via the Fram Strait, the Barents and Kara Seas.

The situation is opposite on the Pacific Ocean end of the Arctic Ocean where ice cannot escape further south due to Eurasian and North American land barrier blocking further southward ice movements. These areas have seen densification of sea ice as the broken ice has packed against the Arctic Ocean’s perimeter coastlines.

The Arctic Ice Cover break up is a dangerous situation because the insolation (sunlight amount) and heat carryover from the continent (currently snow free) is the greatest on perimeter in far south (the Bering Strait).

The 06/06/2013 situation is suggestive that:

(1.) The high Arctic Basin will face aggressive melting as sunlight pours into the open leads of dark water, leading to opening of this part of the ocean early.

(2.) The compaction zone in Alaska will later follow the suit as the ice gets pushed against the warm coastal seas.

(3.) Despite good (near 100%) ice cover, on the compaction zone, the ice will melt also here as the heat carry over from the continent (south) is here the greatest.

(4.) The sunlight amount and the length of the annual melt season are the greatest in the far perimeters of the Arctic Ocean (around the Bering Strait).

(5.) The brokenness of sea ice cover into countless ice floes increases its three dimensional surface area in water which helps the transmission of heat from the sea water into ice. Sea water retains large thermal inertia (capacity to store heat. This melts ice when the warm sea water gets in contact with sea ice’s frozen surfaces).

(6.) Where leads occur within ice, a strong vertical mixing of sea water also increases melting.

(7.) The brokenness of North Pole’s ice cover and its reduced ice amount reduces the sea ice congestion (gridlock) making it much easier to escape to the Atlantic Ocean via the Fram Strait, the Barents and Kara Seas."