[NatureNS] Herald article today on melting arctic ice was too short.

From: Patrick Kelly <patrick.kelly@dal.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:42:05 -0300
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The rest of the story is here:

=
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/06/28/arctic-ice-melting.html=


Pat


On Jun 28, 2011, at 5:28 PM, James W. Wolford wrote:

> For those interested, note how much of this article was left out of =20=

> the printed newspaper, at least for the Valley edition, versus what =20=

> was on the Herald Web site.  Cheers from Jim in Wolfville
> -----------------------------
>
> Chronicle Herald, Tuesday, June 28, 2011
>
> http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1250711.html
>
> Walkers help solve mystery of fast melt
>
> By BOB WEBER The Canadian Press
> Tue, Jun 28 - 4:54 AM
>
> A 500-kilometre walk over treacherous Arctic terrain has resulted in =20=

> a possible explanation for why sea ice in northern waters is melting =20=

> so much more rapidly than anyone thought it would.
>
> "We=92re trying to understand why the ice is melting so fast," said =20=

> Simon Boxall of the Catlin Arctic Survey. "It=92s not just down to =20
> simple warming. There are more complicated processes."
>
> The speed at which sea ice is disappearing in the Arctic has far =20
> exceeded almost all predictions and alarmed climate scientists.
>
> A 2007 paper from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, =20=

> Colo., found that the projections of the UN-sponsored =20
> Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were already obsolete =20
> three years after they were published.
>
> When projections from the panel were compared with actual =20
> observations, the authors found that between 1953 and 2006 the sea =20
> ice was retreating three times faster than it should have. Between =20
> 1979 and 2006, when satellite data was available, the actual retreat =20=

> was twice as fast as climate models predicted.
>
> The report concluded that sea ice retreat is 30 years ahead of where =20=

> scientists thought it would be.
>
> "Decay of the ice cover is proceeding more rapidly than expected =20
> based on the model simulations," said the report published in =20
> Geophysical Research Letters.
>
> The team at the Catlin Arctic Survey, sponsored by the Catlin Group =20=

> insurance company, thought the answer might lie in different =20
> temperatures at different levels of Arctic seas.
>
> Such data is usually obtained from ships. But during the spring, =20
> when melting is greatest, there=92s still too much sea ice for ships =20=

> to make it through.
>
> So the scientists walked from Borden Island to Ellef Ringnes Island =20=

> and also from near the North Pole all the way down to the northern =20
> tip of Ellesmere Island, slogging about 10 kilometres a day in below-=20=

> deep-freeze temperatures over rugged, uneven ice.
>
> What they found was a surprise =97 a layer of seawater about 200 =20
> metres below the surface that was actually colder than when it had =20
> been measured by previous expeditions.
>
> "That=92s counterintuitive," said Boxall. "We would expect to see, =20
> with global warming, warming conditions generally."
>
> But when they realized that the colder water was also saltier than =20
> they expected, an explanation began to suggest itself.
>
> Boxall points out that the older sea ice is, the less salt it =20
> contains. Ice that=92s two or three years old already contains very =20=

> little salt.
>
> [NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ENDED RIGHT HERE, WITH NO INDICATION THAT THERE =20
> WAS MORE OF THE ARTICLE THAT WAS ELSEWHERE OR JUST LEFT OUT][JW]
>
> Year-old ice, however, remains fairly salty. And when it melts, it =20
> produces meltwater that's denser than the relatively fresh water =20
> from older ice.
>
> As multi-year ice declines throughout the Arctic, more of the =20
> saltier meltwater from younger ice is mixing into the ocean. That =20
> colder, denser water sinks more quickly and forces less dense water =20=

> from deeper in the ocean up to the surface.
>
> Because fresh meltwater is colder than seawater, that means =20
> relatively warm water is being forced upwards. And that, said =20
> Boxall, may be part of the reason that sea ice is melting so much =20
> faster than anyone thought it would.
>
> ``What we're seeing is that (fresh meltwater) being taken away from =20=

> the surface and replaced by slightly warmer water,'' said Boxall. =20
> ``The evidence is that the surface waters are (now) slightly warmer.''
>
> Boxall cautions that his conclusions are based on a preliminary =20
> review of data that the team brought back from the ice.
>
> ``We need to compare our results with previous data and with groups =20=

> from other areas.''
>
> A paper is being prepared for publication.
>
> The results do show that the effects of climate change and global =20
> warming are not always obvious, suggested Boxall.
>
> ``The evidence is that there's something interesting going on. The =20
> fact that (the climate) is getting warmer is one reason for the ice =20=

> melting, but it's more complex than that.''
>


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