The Arctic Now a New Climate Because of Global Warming!

This German icebreaker, the Polarstern is part of a large polar research expedition in the Arctic Ocean that took place in August 2020   PHOTO CREDIT/STEFFEN GRAUPNER/MOSAIC

Greetings! My latest blog has more difficult news for you on climate change. Scientists have revealed that “the effects of global warming in the Arctic are so severe that the region is shifting to a different climate, one characterized less by ice and snow and more by open water and rain.”

The researchers also said, “Sea ice in the Arctic has declined so much that even an extremely cold year would not result in as much ice as was typical decades ago. Two other characteristics of the region’s climate, seasonal air temperatures and the number of days of rain instead of snow, are shifting in the same way.”

This study was conducted by Dr. Laura Landrum and Marika M. Holland of the National Center for Atmospheric Research located in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Landrum, a climate scientist and lead author of this study explained, “Everybody knows the Arctic is changing. We really wanted to quantify if this is a new climate. Has the Arctic changed so much and so fast that the new climate cannot be predicted from the recent past?”

The scientists used many years of observational data, along with computer models, which showed, “The sea ice is already in a new climate. The extent of ice in recent years is consistently less than what would be expected in even the worst year for ice in the mid-20th century. Arctic sea ice has declined by about 12 percent per decade since satellite measurements began in the late 1970s, and the 13 lowest sea-ice years have all occurred since 2007. This year is expected to be a record or near-record low for ice extent, which will be determined by the end of this month [August 2020] as the summer melt period ends.”

Dr. Jennifer Kay, a climate scientist at the University of Colorado who was not involved in the research, explained, “The new study builds on previous ones that had looked at fewer climate elements. It’s nice to see all those variables discussed.” Dr. Kay continued and said, “We know what used to be. We call it the ‘new Arctic’ because it’s not the same.”

Dr. Landrum said, “Arctic communities are already suffering from the changes. Eroding coastlines are forcing some Alaska Native villages to consider relocation. Other changes are affecting the food supply. Warmer storms that bring rain on existing snow, for example, can lead to starvation of the animals, [which] Indigenous groups rely on. Arctic climate change is not in the future for them. It’s now.”

She continued and said, “We still have an opportunity to change how rapidly the Arctic evolves, if we end up changing our emissions. You can’t just give up. If you work hard and make some changes there’s a possibility, you’d have some dramatic effects.”

Stay tuned for more of my blogs!

If you see any sick or injured manatees, please call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at: 1-888-404-FWCC. They are the folks who are responsible for rescuing us in Florida.

Here’s the Save the Manatee Club link to learn more about us manatees …

www.savethemanatee.org

Here’s a cool link for you to learn more about how we’re rescued and brought into rehabilitation …

www.wildtracks.org

~ Kobee Manatee

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