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line-height: 35px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Ar --Apple-Mail-13-288443836 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable 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.'' > =3D=20 =3D=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Patrick Kelly Director of Computer Facilities =3D=20 =3D=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Faculty of Architecture and Planning Dalhousie University =3D=20 =3D=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D MAIL COURIER 1459 Oxford Street 5410 Spring Garden Road Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2X4 Canada Canada =3D=20 =3D=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Phone:(902) 494-3294 FAX:(902) 423-6672 E-mail:patrick.kelly@dal.ca =3D=20 =3D=20 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D --Apple-Mail-13-28844