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Arctic Could Face Warmer and Ice-Free Conditions (Pliocene projections - USGS)
U.S. Geological Survey ^ | Dec 29, 2009 | Unknown

Posted on 12/29/2009 8:37:20 AM PST by decimon

There is increased evidence that the Arctic could face seasonally ice-free conditions and much warmer temperatures in the future.

Scientists documented evidence that the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas were too warm to support summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene warm period (3.3 to 3 million years ago). This period is characterized by warm temperatures similar to those projected for the end of this century, and is used as an analog to understand future conditions.

The U.S. Geological Survey found that summer sea-surface temperatures in the Arctic were between 10 to 18°C (50 to 64°F) during the mid-Pliocene, while current temperatures are around or below 0°C (32°F).

Examining past climate conditions allows for a true understanding of how Earth’s climate system really functions. USGS research on the mid-Pliocene is the most comprehensive global reconstruction for any warm period. This will help refine climate models, which currently underestimate the rate of sea ice loss in the Arctic.

Loss of sea ice could have varied and extensive consequences, such as contributions to continued Arctic warming, accelerated coastal erosion due to increased wave activity, impacts to large predators (polar bears and seals) that depend on sea ice cover, intensified mid-latitude storm tracks and increased winter precipitation in western and southern Europe, and less rainfall in the American west.

“In looking back 3 million years, we see a very different pattern of heat distribution than today with much warmer waters in the high latitudes,” said USGS scientist Marci Robinson. “The lack of summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene suggests that the record-setting melting of Arctic sea ice over the past few years could be an early warning of more significant changes to come.”

Global average surface temperatures during the mid-Pliocene were about 3°C (5.5°F) greater than today and within the range projected for the 21st century by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Read the full article at http://micropress.org/stratigraphy/.

Scientists studied conditions during the mid-Pliocene by analyzing fossils dated back to this time period. The USGS led this research through the Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping group. The primary collaborators in PRISM are Columbia University, Brown University, University of Leeds, University of Bristol, the British Geological Survey and the British Antarctic Survey. Learn more about PRISM research.

USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit www.usgs.gov.

Subscribe to USGS News Releases via our electronic mailing list or RSS feed.

**** www.usgs.gov ****

Links and contacts within this release are valid at the time of publication.


TOPICS: History; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: arctic; arcticice; catastrophism; eq; globalwarming; godsgravesglyphs; usgs
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Svenmark’s theory:

1. The earth is constantly bombarded by cosmic rays.
2. Cosmic rays, when they enter the earth’s atmosphere, create charged particles which attract water vapor, forming clouds.
3. The more cosmic rays, the more clouds.
4. When there are more clouds, earth’s atmosphere cools, because heat is deflected back into space.
5. When the sun is very active, it deflects many of the cosmic rays, so there are fewer clouds and a warmer earth.
6. When the sun is “lazy” (like now), there are more cosmic rays hitting the earth and more clouds created, hence a cooler surface temperature.
7. As the solar system moves through the Milky Way, it passes through bands of heavy star saturation, and in those areas the sun cannot deflect enough cosmic rays, so the earth is super-chilled. Those passages through the bands of heavy star saturation coincide with ice ages.

Please look up that documentary “The Cloud Mystery” on YouTube. It is well done, easy for a layman to understand, and shows the evidence for this theory, with statistics and findings from astronomers, geologists, and atmospheric chemists. You will also see CO2 proponents mocking Svenmark and trying to get him to not publish his work.


61 posted on 12/31/2009 7:12:23 PM PST by Miss Marple
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To: decimon

Anyone who claims that we can predict what the temperatures will be like 90 years out is insane.


62 posted on 12/31/2009 9:02:50 PM PST by marktwain
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To: decimon

“There is increased evidence that the Arctic could face seasonally ice-free conditions and much warmer temperatures in the future.”

There is increased evidence my dog “could” really be a cat in the future.


63 posted on 07/12/2022 1:34:30 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (DJT24)
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