Posted on 01/13/2002 2:55:14 PM PST by NativeNewYorker
Antarctica's harsh desert valleys -- long considered a bellwether for global climate change -- have grown noticeably cooler since the mid-1980s, scientists report, even while the Earth as a whole is warming.
Air temperatures recorded continuously over a 14-year period ending in 1999 declined by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the polar deserts and across the White Continent, according to prominent researchers from 11 American universities and government laboratories.
The cooler temperatures are triggering a cascade of ecological consequences in the sensitive and barren region known as the Dry Valleys. They include a 10 percent annual decline in tiny soil organisms and a 9 percent annual decline in the biological productivity of a handful of ice-covered freshwater lakes, the study shows.
The report appeared Sunday in an online edition of the journal Nature.
The cooler temperatures defy a trend spanning more than 100 years in which average land surface temperatures have increased worldwide by about 1 degree Fahrenheit.
Nearly all of the warmest years in the modern climate record have occurred in the past decade; 1998 was the warmest yet, with 2001 coming in second, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
According to the report, Antarctica is the only one of Earth's seven continents that is cooling. Scientists concede they cannot explain the contradiction.
"This doesn't change the global warming scenario; the planet is still warming," said the study's lead author, limnologist Peter T. Doran of the University of Illinois-Chicago. "But this is an unexpected twist. This shows we don't understand Antarctica as well as we thought."
The Dry Valleys, ringed by jagged mountain peaks and glaciers, cover about 6,000 square miles. The area accounts for less than 2 percent of the continent, but represents nearly all the open terrain in an otherwise white expanse.
It is the driest place on Earth, with 2 inches of annual precipitation accompanied by subzero temperatures and howling winds. It's so bleak that NASA uses the Dry Valleys as a test track for Mars exploration.
Even small environmental changes there raise scientific eyebrows.
"The decline is alarming," said co-author Diana Wall of Colorado State University. The soil biologist studies the effect of climate change on microscopic soil worms that are the largest native life in the Dry Valleys.
These nematodes have rebounded before from environmental setbacks. The question is how long this cooling will continue.
Ice is growing thicker atop lakes, while freshwater flowing off the surrounding glaciers is diminishing and lake levels are dropping.
"These cooling repercussions may have a long term effect," Wall said by e-mail from a scientific outpost on the shores of Lake Hoare in the Dry Valleys. "There is very little diversity here and the life cycles of these invertebrates is very slow."
Some scientists who were not involved in the study complained it was too limited to draw such broad conclusions.
Imre Friedmann, director of the Polar Desert Research Center at Florida State University, said the study excludes the surrounding mountains. Friedmann described them as a "totally different landscape" than the valley floors, but still considered to be within the Dry Valleys region.
"I have noticed a slight warming in the mountains," he said. "And there has been a heavier snow cover that is a result of the warming."
Nor is global warming necessarily a uniform trend.
"Some short term reversals and regional variability should not be a surprise," said Benjamin Preston, a senior research fellow at the Pew Center for Climate Change in Arlington, Va. "And, 14 years is a relatively short period."
Doran, the study's lead author, said previous climate calculations that showed Antarctica was warming had been skewed by temperature data collected on the Antarctic Peninsula. Reaching northward toward South America, conditions on the narrow arm are heavily influenced by surrounding oceans
In the past 50 years, peninsula temperatures have been increasing five times faster than global average temperatures.
"Take away the peninsula temperatures and the vast majority of the continent is cooling," Doran said.
The next step is to determine why Antarctica is cooling. Calmer weather is one possible reason.
Said Doran, "It seems the Dry Valleys have been getting less wind, and you lose the warming effect of the winds coming down off the mountains."
___
On the Net:
Nature: www.nature.com
Dry Valleys: http://huey.colorado.edu/LTER/
Or anything else, I'll wager.
We all know global warming and El Nino is to blame. That's why the U.S. must stop being stubborn and pass the Kyoto accords. That's why governments must take severe steps to reduce greenhouse emissions and global warming. Yada, yada, yad.
What's that you say? Cooling, not warming? Weather getting calmer, not harsher? No, this can't be. This fact contradicts our well-founded theory of global warming. It's inconvenient, too. Ignore it. Who's the AP copy editor that let this story into the news!! Dammit, heads will roll! </sarcasm>
I was wondering the same.
But 100 years of recorded temperature data is worth destroying the entire world economy for.
More ice means less in the oceans, so much for rising oceans heights, bla,bla,bla.
"I read somewhere that the sun's getting hotter every year," said Tom genially. "It seems that pretty soon the earth's going to fall into the sun --or wait a minute --it's just the opposite --the sun's getting colder every year."
--F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
You do not understand the logic of the environmntalists.
The cooling of Antarctica is proof of global warming.
Every conceivable change in the weather -or no change- is proof of global warming, of man-caused global warming.
-- Caption, Punch cartoon, 1935. Two sweating men in a rowboat; orange sun, fiery red sky and sea.
The Earth, and the Creator, are the determiners of Earth's fate. Not puny "Man".
Global warming is not global. Actually, global warming seems to be disappearing gradually from the planet. Even Japan, who hosted the UN Kyoto conference is considering withdrawal from global warming. America, of course, withdrew from global warming a year ago. China and Russia never could afford global warming in the first place, and India has no use for it. That leaves the EuroGreenies and the Pacific Sinking Island Welfare Motherstates to whine to each other about global warming heresies.
What, the famous "global models" didn't predict this phenomenon? How can that be.......how CAN that be?
Well, the famous explanation so far is that EVERY climate change is a predictor of global warming. And the climate wackos will maintain this freakish position until we discover we're in a cooling cycle.
Or something.
MONDAY, 14 JANUARY 2002
Rain causes havoc in south, Coromandel 14 January 2002
Heavy rain and flooding throughout the South Island and in the Coromandel has cut off communities, caused the evacuation of homes and left holidaymakers stranded. About 200mm of rain fell from Kaikoura to South Canterbury during the weekend, washing out bridges and roads and causing slips and rockslides on major highways.
A full scale clean-up is under way in Akaroa where streams rose to dangerous levels, flooding homes and cutting off the town's water supply.
Banks Peninsula Mayor Bob Parker said floodwaters overwhelmed many bridges and streets.
The main street in the historic town was closed and homes were evacuated in the early hours of yesterday morning as rising creek levels threatened many properties.
"It was pretty dramatic," Mr Parker said.
"Looking around the town at about 6am was very frightening and if it had lasted another few hours it would have been far worse.
"It was incredibly localised, with other areas of Banks Peninsula hardly affected."
The manager of Bon Accord Backpackers in the town, June Murdoch, said the fire brigade told her to evacuate the building at 4am.
"I got the fright of my life when I went outside and saw how high the stream was," she said.
"There's normally a 10ft drop to the stream but it was only a couple of feet from the top of the bank."
Ms Murdoch told the backpackers to get dressed and took them into her house.
Once the early morning high tide receded, Ms Murdoch said the water level dropped dramatically. But her backpackers remains closed until a full building inspection can take place.
The Akaroa bowling green and the camping ground in Le Bons Bay also suffered extensive flooding damage.
Mr Parker said the main concern was now to clear the roads and conserve water until the local stream supply was reconnected.
Lower parts of the South Island were also badly hit. Slips and rockslides made driving dangerous and police were urging motorists only to drive if absolutely necessary.
Senior Sergeant Ian Freeman of the police southern communications centre said general driving conditions in the Canterbury area were "pretty bad".
Slips and flooding caused problems on State Highway 1, north and south of Kaikoura. Rising river levels in the area caused farmers to move stock to higher ground.
Mud and rocks on parts of SH7 made driving through the Lewis Pass treacherous. About 20 homes were cut off when a bridge was washed out at Kowhai Bush, near Springfield, west of Christchurch.
A ford washed out the road from Hanmer through Molesworth Station and there had also been several slips, the Department of Conservation said. Many inland roads around Timaru and Ashburton were described as inaccessible.
SH1 was closed in several places in Mid and South Canterbury as heavy rain in the foothills caused rivers to rise rapidly and flow over farmland and roads.
Further south, highway links to Dunedin were cut for more than 24 hours as floodwaters swept over SH1 near Waikouaiti, 42km northeast of Dunedin, swamping neighbouring farmland and forcing motorists, many returning from holidays, to turn back.
A pool of water up to 1m deep, covering about 1km of road, covered part of the road. However, a detour was available. By late Saturday afternoon, SH1 at Maheno, 13km southwest of Oamaru, was also closed because of flooding, although a detour was also available.
Waikouaiti resident Julie Kelley said it was the worst flooding in the area she had seen in the 20 years she had lived in the township.
A Transit [State Highways Authority] spokesman said delays and detours for those travelling back from Christchurch meant a "huge extra trip". Although it rained in Dunedin most of Sunday, with the Water of Leith running high, little other than minor flooding was reported.
Emergency services said a slippery road caused a six-car pile-up on the southern motorway, near Lookout Point, about 10.20am but no-one was hurt.
Southerner train passengers were bussed between Palmerston and Timaru, after flood water caused "bridge movement" at a bridge between St Andrews and Studholme, near Timaru.
Tranz Rail spokeswoman Jacky Curson said the problem also caused delays to freight trains. She was unsure when the bridge would be repaired.
In the North Island, the Coromandel Peninsula was also hit by heavy rain. Residents and roading contractors were mopping up near Thames after the Tararu Stream bursts its banks, forcing 25 homes to be evacuated.
A washed out bridge and several slips closed other roads in the area. Police said while many people were unable to leave the area, everyone had been accounted for.
The MetService said more heavy rain was forecast for the South Island, while the North could expect thundery showers during the next few days.
Meanwhile, Taranaki was also hit by the unseasonal weather. "I don't want any more," South Taranaki farmer Michael Hinz said. Mr Hinz's farm was hit by a deluge on Saturday, flooding his lawn, cowshed and washing away much of the metal road leading to the cowshed at his Kaponga farm. According to Mr Hinz's rain gauge, 43mm fell between 12.30am and 1pm - enough to flood the cow shed and put the pit under about half a metre of water.
"It came right inside the milker room. I couldn't see the edges of the track. It almost bowled me over, there was so much water coming down."
Hail, the size of "your thumb nail", also fell, while at the same time New Plymouth residents were experiencing hot and humid weather. Mr Hinz said it was the third day in a row his cowshed had flooded. On Thursday he recorded a deluge of 23mm in one hour.
Meanwhile, a heavy deluge on Friday afternoon caused surface flooding to several shops along Stratford's main street. The lower weir of the Opuha Dam, near Fairlie, which was designed to wash out in a one-in-five-year flood, was breached yesterday, creating a brief surge of water down the river system.
Networks South chief executive Jim Pearce said the fusible section of the weir, designed to breach deliberately to help protect the main structure and regulate water flow, breached early yesterday morning.
Environment Canterbury (Ecan) and the police were kept informed and the surge of water down the river did not cause any problems, Mr Pearce said. - Additional reporting by The Daily News, The Timaru Herald and NZPA
This isn't how summer should be in New Zealand - shaggy eel
It occurs to me that Antartica probably doesn't suffer from the urban heat increase effect that many think lies behind the "rising" surface temperatures.
Global Warming is a Fraud BTTT.
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