Saturday, August 31, 2013

Greenfyre's "Mr. Sinclair's Video collection" - manmade global warming education made easy


I came across this a few weeks back and think it's a first class concise index of Peter Sinclair's "Climate Denial Crock of the Week" series.  Best part is that he follows his list with the actual videos.  Heck, it's sort of a collector's edition.

Since the driving interest behind this here blogspot is to share serious information about Our Grand Geophysical Experiment. I feel honored to echo Greenfyre's list of videos over here. 


Though first I thought I'd share a little about the man behind this particular blog:

My heart is moved by all I cannot save:

So much has been destroyed

I have to cast my lot with those
Who age after age, perversely,
With no extraordinary power,
Reconstitute the world.

Quote by Adrienne Rich
Here are a some exerts from what he has to say for himself

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

American Meteorological Society report: State Of The Climate 2012


Here's yet another authoritative report driving home the reality that serious global warming is underway and that further avoidance of this issue will lead to destructive consequences for our society's continued health and well-being.

Copied from:

 http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2013/20130806_stateoftheclimate.html

2012 was one of the 10 warmest years on record globally

The end of weak La Niña, unprecedented Arctic warmth influenced 2012 climate conditions

August 6, 2013
State of the Climate in 2012 - report cover.
The 2012 State of the Climate report is available online.
(Credit: NOAA)
Worldwide, 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record according to the 2012 State of the Climate report released online today by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The peer-reviewed report, with scientists from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., serving as lead editors, was compiled by 384 scientists from 52 countries (highlightsfull report). It provides a detailed update on global climate indicators, notable weather events, and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments on land, sea, ice, and sky. 
“Many of the events that made 2012 such an interesting year are part of the long-term trends we see in a changing and varying climate — carbon levels are climbing, sea levels are rising, Arctic sea ice is melting, and our planet as a whole is becoming a warmer place," said Acting NOAA Administrator Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D. “This annual report is well-researched, well-respected, and well-used; it is a superb example of the timely, actionable climate information that people need from NOAA to help prepare for extremes in our ever-changing environment."
Conditions in the Arctic were a major story of 2012, with the region experiencing unprecedented change and breaking several records. Sea ice shrank to its smallest “summer minimum” extent since satellite records began 34 years ago. In addition, more than 97 percent of the Greenland ice sheet showed some form of melt during the summer, four times greater than the 1981–2010 average melt extent.
Temperature in 2012 compared to the 1981-2010 average.
Temperature in 2012 compared to the 1981-2010 average. Credit: NOAA Climate.gov, based on NCDC data. See more.
The report used dozens of climate indicators to track and identify changes and overall trends to the global climate system. These indicators include greenhouse gas concentrations, temperature of the lower and upper atmosphere, cloud cover, sea surface temperature, sea-level rise, ocean salinity, sea ice extent and snow cover. Each indicator includes thousands of measurements from multiple independent datasets.
Highlights:
  • Warm temperature trends continue near Earth’s surface: Four major independent datasets show 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record, ranking either 8th or 9th, depending upon the dataset used. The United States and Argentina had their warmest year on record.
  • La Niña dissipates into neutral conditions:  A weak La Niña dissipated during spring 2012 and, for the first time in several years, neither El Niño nor La Niña, which can dominate regional weather and climate conditions around the globe, prevailed for the majority of the year. 
  • The Arctic continues to warm; sea ice extent reaches record low: The Arctic continued to warm at about twice the rate compared with lower latitudes. Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September and Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent in June each reached new record lows. Arctic sea ice minimum extent (1.32 million square miles, September 16) was the lowest of the satellite era. This is 18 percent lower than the previous record low extent of 1.61 million square miles that occurred in 2007 and 54 percent lower than the record high minimum ice extent of 2.90 million square miles that occurred in 1980. The temperature of permafrost, or permanently frozen land, reached record-high values in northernmost Alaska. A new melt extent record occurred July 11–12 on the Greenland ice sheet when 97 percent of the ice sheet showed some form of melt, four times greater than the average melt this time of year.
  • Antarctica sea ice extent reaches record high: The Antarctic maximum sea ice extent reached a record high of 7.51 million square miles on September 26. This is 0.5 percent higher than the previous record high extent of 7.47 million square miles that occurred in 2006 and seven percent higher than the record low maximum sea ice extent of 6.96 million square miles that occurred in 1986.
  • Sea surface temperatures increase: Four independent datasets indicate that the globally averaged sea surface temperature for 2012 was among the 11 warmest on record.  After a 30-year period from 1970 to 1999 of rising global sea surface temperatures, the period 2000–2012 exhibited little trend. Part of this difference is linked to the prevalence of La Niña-like conditions during the 21st century, which typically lead to lower global sea surface temperatures.
  • Ocean heat content remains near record levels: Heat content in the upper 2,300 feet, or a little less than one-half mile, of the ocean remained near record high levels in 2012. Overall increases from 2011 to 2012 occurred between depths of 2,300 to 6,600 feet and even in the deep ocean.
  • Sea level reaches record high: Following sharp decreases in global sea level in the first half of 2011 that were linked to the effects of La Niña, sea levels rebounded to reach record highs in 2012. Globally, sea level has been increasing at an average rate of 3.2 ± 0.4 mm per year over the past two decades.
  • Sea ice concentration reached a new record low in mid-September 2012.
    Sea ice concentration reached a new record low in mid-September 2012. Credit: NOAA Climate.gov, based on NSIDC data. See more
    Ocean salinity trends continue:Continuing a trend that began in 2004, oceans were saltier than average in areas of high evaporation, including the central tropical North Pacific, and fresher than average in areas of high precipitation, including the north central Indian Ocean, suggesting that precipitation is increasing in already rainy areas and evaporation is intensifying in drier locations.
  • Tropical cyclones near average: Global tropical cyclone activity during 2012 was near average, with a total of 84 storms, compared with the 1981–2010 average of 89. Similar to 2010 and 2011, the North Atlantic was the only hurricane basin that experienced above-normal activity.
  • Greenhouse gases climb: Major greenhouse gas concentrations, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, continued to rise during 2012. Following a slight decline in manmade emissions associated with the global economic downturn, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached a record high in 2011 of 9.5 ± 0.5 petagrams (1,000,000,000,000,000 grams) of carbon , and a new record of 9.7 ± 0.5 petagrams of carbon  is estimated for 2012. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased by 2.1 ppm in 2012, reaching a global average of 392.6 ppm for the year. In spring 2012, for the first time, the atmospheric CO2concentration exceeded 400 ppm at several Arctic observational sites.
  • Cool temperature trends continue in Earth’s lower stratosphere: The average lower stratospheric temperature, about six to ten miles above the Earth’s surface, for 2012 was record to near-record cold, depending on the dataset. Increasing greenhouse gases and decline of stratospheric ozone tend to cool the stratosphere while warming the planet near-surface layers.
The 2012 State of the Climate report is peer-reviewed and published annually as a special supplement to theBulletin of the American Meteorological Society. This year marks the 23rd edition of the report, which is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides to government, the business sector, academia, and the public to support informed decision-making. The full report can be viewed online.
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on FacebookTwitter and our other social media channels.

The Great March for Climate Action...



Sharing some information about a long March planned from L.A., California to Washington, DC, 2,980 miles, with the goal of raising public and political awareness and to help pressure our lawmakers to finally constructively address the climate change crisis in a proactive manner.  

Here's a short video and a message from the originator of this challenge, Iowa's Ed Fallon.  




MARCH!To march,
 click Marcher Application, Word version or Marcher Application, PDF version.
We are taking applications for full-time and part-time marchers.

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The goal of the Great March for Climate Action is to change the heart and mind of our fellow Americans and our elected leaders. On March 1, 2014, 1,000 climate patriots will set-out from Los Angeles, CA, walking 2,980 miles across America to Washington, DC, inspiring and motivating the general public and elected officials to act now to address the climate crisis. This will be the largest coast-to-coast march in American history.
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The Great March for Climate Action was launched on March 1, 2013 by former Iowa lawmaker Ed Fallon.  Here's a portion of his announcement speech:
“... I’ve been involved with a lot of campaigns over the years, both political campaigns and issue campaigns. It’s time for another. This campaign will be the most difficult. It will be the most expensive. And it will be one of the two longest campaigns I’ve ever run. 
“But it will not be a campaign for public office. 
“This is a campaign to mobilize 1,000 people to march coast-to-coast, demanding action on climate change – action from both the American people and from our public officials. The Great March for Climate Action will set-out from the west coast one year from today and arrive in Washington, DC the weekend before the mid-term election. It will be the largest coast-to-coast march in our nation’s history. 
“For a long time, I’ve recognized that climate change is not simply an issue. Climate change is a crisis, possibly the deadliest crisis humanity has ever faced. And it’s not a crisis that might happen somewhere in the future. It is a crisis that is happening NOW! 
“For the past six years, I’ve asked myself what I should do? What’s my duty, my responsibility in this crisis? What do I have to offer that can help avert the calamity barreling our way like a coal-fired freight train? 
“I discuss climate change on my talk show regularly, and I continue to live more and more sustainably in my personal life. But honestly, I don’t feel I’ve come close to doing enough, to doing my part. There are certainly people and organizations who have, like Bill McKibben, James Hansen, the Sierra Club, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Iowa’s own State Senator Rob Hogg. 
“But it is past time for me to step up to the plate in a focused and significant way. Again, this is a CRISIS! 
“Two weeks ago, the idea of this March came to me, and as I thought about it and talked about it with a few close friends, I realized it was the campaign I needed to commit myself to. 
“Why a march? Throughout history, marches have been powerful tools to mobilize people – physically, spiritually, and politically. In 1913, the Women’s Suffrage March in Washington, DC numbered 5,000 strong. In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led the 240-mile Salt March to defy Britain’s imperial power. In 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr led the five-day march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery. And in 1986, the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament left Los Angeles on March 1st, traveling 3,700 miles to finish in Washington, DC on November 15th. ..."

For the entire speech link to: http://climatemarch.org 
also see: http://fallonforum.com

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

INDEX for my Climate Science Video Collection



I've been collecting and posting some first class climate science education videos and lectures.  The posts have gotten so numerous that I believe it's time for an index.

Enjoy and happy learning!

Monday, April 8, 2013 
A video and lecture tour of our Global Heat Distribution Engine...
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Monday, April 15, 2013 
Videos of scientist's lectures: Global Warming Education
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Monday, April 15, 2013 
More videos: What We Knew In 1988, plus a few updates
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013 
Andy Lee Robinson: Visualizing Arctic Ice Loss
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Saturday, May 11, 2013  
Dr. Trenberth Lecture: The Role of the Oceans in Climate
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013 
Prof. Mitrovica's "Enigma of Global Sea Level Rise" - lecture with notes
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Saturday, July 27, 2013 
James Balog, Chasing Ice and finding Extreme Ice Loss
http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2013/07/james-balog-chasing-ice-and-finding.html 
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Monday, August 12, 2013 
The Changing Arctic - A Video Collection of What We Know
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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Videos and lectures explaining Climate Models
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Saturday, January 26, 2013  
Video on Climate Change Lines of Evidence by the National Academy of Science
http://citizenschallenge.blogspot.com/2013/01/7-part-video-series-what-is-climate.html 
Video on Climate Change Lines of Evidence by the National Academy of Science
Posted on 26 January 2013 by John Cook 
The U.S. National Academy of Science have produced a series of videos providing a basic overview of climate science - the series is called Climate Change: Lines of Evidence
The 7 chapters covered are:
Chapter 1: What is Climate? 
Chapter 2: Is Earth Warming? 
Chapter 3: Greenhouse Gases 
Chapter 4: Increased Emissions 
Chapter 5: How Much Warming? 
Chapter 6: Solar Influence 
Chapter 7: Natural Cycles
You can also watch the entire series in a single YouTube video 


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Also this collection from Greenfyre

The collected videos of Peter Sinclair’s excellent series

“Climate Denial Crock of the Week” :


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Videos and lectures explaining Climate Models

Here is a collection of scientists discussing climate models, if you listen to them you'll notice that scientists are very clear about the limitations and flaws within climate models.  They are not trying to trick anyone - they are concerned about learning and improving their accuracy!  They also realize climate models don't need to be absolutely accurate in order to inform us.

I suggest we (the people) need to ask ourselves: How accurate do we regular citizens expect climate models to be in order to give us the information we need?

I'm beginning to realize that the issue at the roots of all the avoidance and denial of the science behind our understanding of current changes in our climate is - the obvious implications it's lessons carry with them.
  
Namely, that our society is out-growing our planet's ability to sustain our life style expectations.  Unlimited growth is not an option.  And that's a tough pile to swallow - enough to encourage all sorts of crazy-making.  

But, ignoring this reality isn't going to do our children's generations any good at all.


What is a Climate Model?


American Geophysical Union - Position Statement on Climate Change



With permission from the AGU I'm reposting their recent statement summarizing the consensus understanding regarding our human driven global warming geophysical experiment.  I'll start with their news release followed by the text of the statement:

http://www.agu.org/news/press/pr_archives/2013/2013-38.shtml 
American Geophysical Union Releases Revised Position Statement on Climate Change 
Statement Highlights How Human Activities Are Changing Earth’s Climate and the Harmful Impact of that Change on Society 
5 August 2013 AGU Release No. 13-38 
WASHINGTON, DC—The American Geophysical Union today released a revised version of its position statement on climate change. Titled “Human-induced Climate Change Requires Urgent Action,” the statement declares that “humanity is the major influence on the global climate change observed over the past 50 years” and that ”rapid societal responses can significantly lessen negative outcomes.” AGU develops position statements to provide scientific expertise on significant policy issues related to Earth and space science. These statements are limited to positions that are within the range of available geophysical data or norms of legitimate scientific debate.

Monday, August 12, 2013

The Changing Arctic - A Video Collection of What We Know


Here are a few videos providing up to date information regarding our disappearing Arctic Sea Ice.  The evidence is becoming too convincing and we've wasted too much time already.  With every continued delay compounding the upheaval and pain our younger generations will be forced to live with.


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Disappearing Arctic Sea Ice - Melting Polar Ice Cap 


Bright Enlightenment  |  on Apr 3, 2013  |  2:25  
Disappearing Arctic Sea Ice - Melting Polar Ice Cap | Earth Science Footage Video

FROM NASA: "Arctic Sea Ice Max is 5th-Lowest on Record - This animation shows the seasonal change in the extent of the Arctic sea ice between March 1, 2012 and February 28, 2013. 

The annual cycle starts with the maximum extent reached on March 15, 2012. Every summer the Arctic ice cap melts down to its minimum extent before colder weather builds the ice cover back up. This new ice generated on an annual basis is called 'first-year' ice and is thinner than the older sea ice. The perennial ice is the portion of the ice cap that spans multiple years and represents its thickest component. 

On September 13, 2012, the sea ice minimum covered 3.439 million square kilometers, that is down by more than 3.571 million square kilometers from the high of 7.011 million square kilometers measured in 1980. The annual maximum extent for 2013 reached on February 28 reached an extent of 15.09 million square kilometers."

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Old Ice Becoming Rare in Arctic (1987-2011)




djxatlanta | Dec 8, 2011 | 0:44
The Arctic Ocean is virtually surrounded by land. The blanket of sea ice that forms there during the winter isn't completely free to drift away into warmer, southern waters. Because of that geography, it's common for sea ice to linger for many years at high latitudes, growing thicker and stronger, which makes it more likely to survive the summer melt. Or at least, it used to be common.

The animation above shows how dramatically the amount of multi-year ice (ice that has survived at least one summer melt season) in the Arctic has decreased over the past two decades. Based on satellite tracking of ice parcels over time, the maps show the estimated age of sea ice once a week from January 1987 through mid-summer 2011. Ice age increases from darkest blue (1 year old) to white (9 or more years old).

At the outermost edges of the ocean basin, the ice is seasonal: it forms every winter and melts every summer. Off the northeast coast of Greenland, a river of old ice continually flows out of the Arctic through the Fram Strait into warmer waters. Natural climate patterns accelerate the loss in some years and slow it down in others.

Historically, that ice river was the major route by which the Arctic lost its very old ice. The export was balanced by ocean currents and wind patterns on the other side of the Arctic. Young sea ice gets caught up in the giant loop current called the Beaufort Gyre. The ice could remain in the gyre for years, circling around and around the central Arctic through the Beaufort and Chuchki Seas, growing thicker. The Beaufort Gyre was an incubator for growing multi-year ice.

Since the late 1990s, however, the ice traveling through the southern part of the gyre rarely survives the summer melt. In other words, sea ice gets far less time in the incubator. In the mid-1980s, roughly 75 percent of the Arctic ice pack at the yearly maximum in March had survived at least one summer melt season; today only 45 percent has. Since the record low sea ice extent that occurred in summer 2007, no very old ice (9 or more years old) is left in the central Arctic basin. Only a thin ribbon remains tucked up against the islands of the Canadian Arctic.

The loss of the multi-year ice is both a result of climate change and, ultimately, an accelerator of it. The less old ice there is in the ice pack, the more easily the ice melts in the summer. The more ice that melts, the more of the ocean that's exposed to the 24-hour summer Sun. Bright white ice reflects incoming sunlight, but dark ocean water absorbs it, heating the ocean and accelerating warming.

credit: James Maslanik, Ned Gardiner, Hunter Allen, Richard Rivera, Rebecca Lindsey


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Melting Sea Ice in the Arctic


AGUvideos  |  Mar 25, 2013  |  40:00
Five Myths About Arctic Sea Ice
http://sites.agu.org/sharingscience/f...

Changes in Arctic sea ice coverage are happening at unprecedented rates, with 2012 setting a new record low for sea ice extent. Our ability to predict changes of sea ice loss and understand the impacts on society, from commercial shipping to resource availability, will be driven by further scientific research in the region. Areas for discussion include: current data and what we understand about sea ice in the Arctic, how climate models contribute to future projections, and why we need to be prepared for a seasonal ice-free region.

Speakers
Cecilia Bitz, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Atmospheric Sciences Department and Affiliate Physicist, Polar Science Center, University of Washington

Lt. Commander Kenneth J. Boda, Arctic Strategic Analyst, U.S. Coast Guard, and Prospective Executive Officer of USCG Cutter POLAR STAR

Brendan P. Kelly, Ph.D., Assistant Director for Polar Sciences, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

John E. Walsh, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks

For more information, please visit:
www.agu.org/sci_pol/

Video recorded and edited by AGU

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The Arctic's Record Breaking Ice Melt



NOAAVisualizations  |  Sep 17, 2012  |  0:33
The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean dropped below the previous all-time record set in 2007. This year also marks the first time that there has been less than 4 million square kilometers (1.54 million square miles) of sea ice since satellite observations began in 1979. This animation shows the 2012 time-series of ice extent using sea ice concentration data from the DMSP SSMI/S satellite sensor. 

The black area represents the daily average (median) sea ice extent over the 1979-2000 time period. Layered over top of that are the daily satellite measurements from January 1 -- September 14, 2012. A rapid melt begins in July, whereby the 2012 ice extents fall far below the historical average. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (www.nsidc.org) will confirm the final minimum ice extent data and area once the melt stabilizes, usually in mid-September.

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Climate Change and Extreme Weather: Prof. Jennifer Francis (2013)



ghostsofevolution   |   Feb 17, 2013  |  40:30

Superb educational video summarizing climate change evidence through 2012. Click on blue time codes to advance to these topics:

Note: The original 112-minute conference video of Jennifer Francis's presentation is the official product of StormCenter Communications Inc. It is posted on their StormCenterInc youtube channel at http://youtu.be/xugAC7XGosM

Prof. Francis' talk was filmed at the 24th annual Glen Gerberg Weather and Climate Summit, held in Breckinridge (Colorado) January 2013. You can view all videos from that conference and download the ppt presentations at  http://www.stormcenter.com/wxcsummit/

ADVANCE TO TOPICS by clicking on the blue time codes below:

00:35 - Scientists and the public now link extreme weather events to CO2 rise.

07:19 - Overwhelming evidence that climate change is human-caused.

14:23 - "We have changed Mother Nature's deck of cards."

15:32 - Effects of increased CO2 levels on the Arctic: "Arctic Amplification."

23:49 - Understanding the jetstream. Note: A superb webpage (text) intro to the jet stream and how a warmer Arctic disrupts it is "A Rough Guide to the Jet Stream" at  http://www.skepticalscience.com/jetst...

24:44 - A warmer Arctic causes the jetstream to weaken and meander.

29:21 - The jetstream now "blocks" over Greenland in summer.

30:03 - Greenland ice melt is increasing.

30:55 - Examples of extreme weather events correlated with a weak, meandering jetstream.

34:53 - Superstorm Sandy's connection to a warming, melting Arctic.

37:18 - Summary and conclusions: "The public is listening now."

Note: This video is a composite of six excerpts drawn from the original, "Weather and Climate Summit - Day 3, Dr. Jennifer Francis" (published on Youtube 25 January 2013). Freelance youtuber Connie Barlow (aka "ghostsofevolution") produced this richly educational and illustrated video as a public service that is unaffiliated with the host organization (StormCenter Communications, Inc). Feel free to use or download this version for increasing public awareness of the fact and scale of ongoing climate change. Please credit "StormCenter Communications, Inc" as the original source of the full-length video, and reference their conference website: http://www.stormcenter.com/wxcsummit/

Two still photos were added into this new video version that did not also appear in the original video:

0:55 - image of 2012 Colorado wildfire, credit: ABCNews.com
1:03 - image of 2012 Phoenix dust storm credit: Associated Press

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO: Educators note that you can find an even more instructional video by Prof. Francis of the same material (and with even more charts, and of high resolution). She presented this 42-minute program as a webinar-skype on 30 Oct 2012 for an Arctic climate seminar at the University of Alaska (Fairbanks). Here is the webinar archive link:
Then scroll down by date to her title, "Wacky Weather and Disappearing Arctic Sea Ice: Are They Connected?" I recommend, however, that students first watch the "Climate Change and Extreme Weather" video that I posted, as only this video lets the viewer actually see Dr. Francis presenting. The "Wacky Weather" video is entirely a slide show, with a few embedded videos. You never get to see Jennifer Francis, and you have to concentrate a lot more to follow along. But it is superb resource for in-classroom or home-study for college-level students.

NEW RESEARCH by J. Francis (and colleagues) on effects of winter sea ice loss in Arctic: Published 12 March 2013: "Cold winter extremes in northern continents linked to Arctic sea ice loss": http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8...

SUPERB PRIMER ON THE JETSTREAM:http://skepticalscience.com/jetstream...

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{This video strays into the situation on Greenland}

Climate Change 2013: 

Greenland Ice Sheet and Northern Polar Jet Stream




newculture  |  Jul 23, 2013  |  54:50 

New climate change science explained by Peter Sinclair, just back from a scientific expedition to the Greenland Ice Sheet. Sinclair explains the feedback effects of melting ice, and the impacts on the northern polar jet stream and mean sea level. 

Sinclair leads educators on climate science and created the Climate Denial Crock of the Week video series, which tackles myths about global warming, the greenhouse effect, and carbon dioxide pollution.

Sinclair proposes moving towards wind and solar as the key to jobs and future energy needs.

Recorded, edited, and published by Aaron Wissner of LocalFuture.org


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AGU 2012 Fall Meeting: 

'What's going on in the Arctic?'


AGUvideos | Dec 5, 2012 | 53:14
What's going on in the Arctic?

Despite unremarkable air temperatures this year, the Arctic still set records for loss of summer
sea ice, decline in spring snow extent, rising permafrost temperatures in northernmost Alaska,
and duration and extent of melting at the surface of the Greenland ice sheet. Large changes in
multiple indicators are affecting climate and ecosystems.

What's going on here? NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and others will outline the changing conditions as part of the annual update of the Arctic Report Card, an international effort to assess the state of the Arctic
environmental system.

Participants:
Jane Lubchenco, Undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, and administrator of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, DC, USA;
Martin O. Jeffries, Program Officer & Arctic Science Advisor, Office of Naval Research,
Arlington, Virginia, USA;
Donald Perovich, Adjunct Professor at Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College;
Jason E. Box, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Byrd Polar Research Center,
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Sesssions: C33F, C51E

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Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Volumes on Map of New York 1979-2012


Andy Lee Robinson  |  Jun 1, 2013  |  0:31


This is an animated visualization of the startling decline of Arctic Sea Ice, showing the minimum volume reached every September since 1979, set on a map of New York to give an idea of scale. It is clear that the Arctic will soon be ice-free for an increasing part of the year, with consequences for the climate.
(I also composed and played the piano music, "Ice Dreams")

A full HD 1080p version is available for broadcast, and can be customized.

The rate of ice loss in the Arctic is staggering. Since 1979, the volume of Summer Arctic sea ice has declined by more than 80% and accelerating faster than scientists believed it would, or even could melt.
The first ice-free summer in the Arctic Ocean is expected to happen between 2016 and 2022.

About the data: Sea Ice Volume is calculated using the Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS, Zhang and Rothrock, 2003) developed at APL/PSC.
Source data for this graph is available fromhttp://psc.apl.washington.edu/wordpre...

More information:
The image first appeared in still form on Think Progress, and I decided to try to bring it to life over the following weeks:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013...


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