Earth ChangesS


Snowflake Cold

This year's extreme heat attributed to El Nino, not greenhouse emissions - globe sees net COOLING this year

Anthony Watts
Watts Up With That
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 22:36 UTC
temperature drop
Stunning new data indicates El Nino drove record highs in global temperatures suggesting rise may not be down to man-made emissions
Global average temperatures over land have plummeted by more than 1C since the middle of this year - their biggest and steepest fall on record. According to satellite data, the late 2016 temperatures are returning to the levels they were at after the 1998 El Nino.

The news comes amid mounting evidence that the recent run of world record high temperatures is about to end. The fall, revealed by NASA satellite measurements of the lower atmosphere, has been caused by the end of El Nino - the warming of surface waters in a vast area of the Pacific west of Central America.

Some scientists, including Dr Gavin Schmidt, head of NASA's climate division, have claimed that the recent highs were mainly the result of long-term global warming.

Others have argued that the records were caused by El Nino, a complex natural phenomenon that takes place every few years, and has nothing to do with greenhouse gas emissions by humans.

The new fall in temperatures suggests they were right.
  • Global average temperatures over land have plummeted by more than 1C
  • Comes amid mounting evidence run of record temperatures about to end
  • The fall, revealed by Nasa satellites, has been caused by the end of El Nino
Big El Ninos always have an immense impact on world weather, triggering higher than normal temperatures over huge swathes of the world. The 2015-16 El Nino was probably the strongest since accurate measurements began, with the water up to 3C warmer than usual.

It has now been replaced by a La Nina event - when the water in the same Pacific region turns colder than normal.

Comment: See also:

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Red Flag

Giant crack in West Antarctic ice sheet leaves scientists concerned over "unstoppable" collapse of Amundsen sea sector

Maddie Stone
Gizmodo
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 22:19 UTC
antarctic rift
© NASA/Nathan KurtzA new rift in West Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier, photographed during a NASA Operation IceBridge flyover on November 4th, 2016
Last year, a 225 square-mile chunk of West Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier broke off and tumbled into the sea. Now, Earth scientists at Ohio State University have pinpointed the root cause of the iceberg calving event: a crack that started deep below ground and 20 miles inland.

It's like nothing scientists have witnessed in West Antarctica before, and it doesn't bode well for the ice sheet's future.

A frozen fortress containing enough water to raise global sea levels many feet should it melt, the West Antarctic ice sheet is separated from the ocean by a series of large glaciers. For now, these glaciers act like corks in wine bottles to hold the ice at bay, but that may not be the case for much longer. Recent research has shown that Pine Island, Thwaites, and other glaciers along the Amundsen sea are retreating rapidly, as warm ocean waters lap against their margins. At this point, NASA says, collapse of the entire Amundsen sea sector appears to be "unstoppable."

The biggest question on everyone's mind is how quickly all of that ice will go, and to find out, we need to pinpoint the mechanisms responsible for ice sheet collapse. To that end, a study published today in Geophysical Research Letters takes a deep dive into an iceberg calving event in the summer of 2015. It arrives at a startling conclusion.

Comment: While the breaking up of the West Antarctic ice sheet is concerning, keep in mind that glacial rebound can occur suddenly, especially when paired with global warming, and that glacial retreat can occur directly before glacial rebound. Ice Ages occur much, much faster than thought:

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Snowflake Cold

Snow covers sand in Saudi Arabia after temperatures drop below zero

Dhafer Al-Bakri
Al Arabiya
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 23:22 UTC
Saudi Arabia snow and sand
© alarabiya.net
White and brown merged into one color as snow covered the desert sand in central and northwestern regions in Saudi Arabia after temperatures dropped below zero Celsius.

In the central city of Shakra' and the northwestern city of Tabuk, thin layers of snow carpeted the ground. In Tabarjal, a town located in the northern Al-Jawf region temperatures reached -3 Celsius, and in Al-Quryat, a northern province, the temperature was -1 Celsius.
Snow in Saudi Arabia
© alarabiya.net
Rainfall continues

While mid-October usually marks the short-lived peak for Saudi Arabia's rainfall season, the kingdom is still experiencing light to medium showers. Saudi Arabia on Friday witnessed medium to heavy rainfall with many Saudis posted photos and videos of their cities under the rain.

Light to medium rainfall also continued in eastern Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Professor Abdallah al-Musanad, professor of climate science at Qassim University, told Alarabiya.net, that rainfall is expected by the end of this week in all of western, eastern and central Saudi Arabia.
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Cloud Grey

Sky over Antarctica glows blue with ring of bright noctilucent clouds


Space Weather
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:48 UTC
Noctilucent clouds over Antarctica
© NASA
This just in from NASA's AIM spacecraft: The sky above Antarctica is glowing electric blue. A ring of bright noctilucent clouds (NLCs) has formed around the South Pole, shown here in a Nov. 24th image taken by the spacecraft's Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) Instrument:

"This season started on Nov. 17th, and is tied with 2013 for the earliest southern hemisphere season in the CIPS data record," says Cora Randall, a member of the AIM science team at the University of Colorado.

NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. They form more than 80 km above Earth's surface. Indeed, they are a mixture of Earth and space: Wisps of summertime water vapor rising from the planet below wrap themselves around meteoroids, forming tiny crystals of ice. Emphasis on summertime; NLCs appear on the eve of summer in both hemispheres.

There is growing evidence that noctilucent clouds are boosted by climate change. In recent years they have been sighted at lower latitudes than ever before, and they often get started in earlier months as well.

"The early start of the 2016 season was not at all a surprise," says Randall. "The southern hemisphere polar stratospheric winds switched to their summer-like state quite early this year."
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Arrow Down

Massive sinkhole opens on Ramapough-Lenape Native American land in New Jersey


News12
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:42 UTC
Ringwood sinkhole
© News12 New JerseyA large sinkhole has opened up on Ramapough-Lenape land in Ringwood.
A massive sinkhole has developed on the Ramapough-Lenape Native American tribe's land in Ringwood.

Neighbors say that the hole, which opened off of Van Dunk Lane, is anywhere from 30 to 50 feet in circumference. A member of the Ramapough-Lenape tribe discovered the hole Wednesday morning while walking on a trail in the woods.

Ringwood Borough officials tell News 12 New Jersey that they believe that one of the many mine pits that are across Ringwood opened up. A cause was not immediately determined.

The Ramapough-Lenape chief says that the residents live in constant fear of sinkholes opening up and says that there hasn't been a true solution to fix the problem.

"This is an old issue, and it's obviously never been addressed," says Chief Vincent Mann. "Whether it's because of financial reasons or we think it's because of who we are. And that's sad to say, but you can connect this to a lot of things happening in the country today, even to Standing Rock. We are human beings, and we deserve the right to be able to live."
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Bizarro Earth

Weather is not climate! - except when it's hot, say global warming ideologues

James Corbett
The Corbett Report
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 18:28 UTC
Weather is not climate
© Corbett Report
No, weather is NOT climate...even when it's warm outside. But in case there's a climate cultist in your life that insists otherwise, here are some facts about global warming, climate change, climate disruption, global weirding, and vaguely-defined "extreme" weather that you can use to talk some sense into them.


Comment: See also: This year's extreme heat attributed to En Nino, not greenhouse emissions - globe sees net COOLING this year

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Attention

Geyser eruptions rattle residents in Rotorua, New Zealand

Donna-Lee Biddle
Stuff
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 18:14 UTC
The geyser was seen from Ohinemutu Village, pictured.
© FAIRFAX NZThe geyser was seen from Ohinemutu Village, pictured.
A Rotorua resident woke to loud thuds on Monday morning and evacuated her home after realising it was water squirting from nearby geysers.

Lani Kereopa lives in Ohinemutu Village, on the edge of Lake Rotorua.

At 4.30am, she heard "six or seven loud thuds with what I now know was spray, water spray that woke me up".

"And I thought, was that fireworks? But it was at 4.30 this morning so I thought, it can't be roadworks or fireworks.

"So I laid in bed, just trying to figure out what that could have been. Then another one happened so I stood up, looked out the window.

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Attention

Man dies following hippo attack in Kenya

Joy Garland
hivisasa.com
Fri, 25 Nov 2016 13:57 UTC
A hippo in water. A man died on Thursday morning in Mkunumbi village in Lamu County following a hippo attack.
A hippo in water. A man died on Thursday morning in Mkunumbi village in Lamu County following a hippo attack.
A man died on Thursday morning in Mkunumbi village in Lamu County following a hippo attack.

According to the Daily Nation, the man identified as Omar Mohamed Maalim, was cutting trees when the hippo attacked and killed him on the spot.

Lamu KWS Commander Jacob Orale said Friday they suspect the hippo was looking for water.

He said the ongoing famine has caused many wild animals to move from their habitat in search of food and water.

"The deceased died after being attacked by a hippo that we suspect was looking for water. Unfortunately, due to the drought, we are experiencing a situation where wild animals are now coming closer to human residences in search of food and water," said Orale as quoted by the Daily Nation.
He urged locals to stay away from bushes and forests to avoid such attacks.
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Attention

Angry hippo rams truck in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Mark Hodge
The Sun (UK)
Sat, 26 Nov 2016 13:33 UTC
Angry hippo charges at man in car
Angry hippo charges at man in car
An angry hippo smashes into the bonnet of a truck leaving the terrified driver fearing for his life.

Filmed in Kruger National Park in South Africa by Wikus Ceronie, 26, the incredible attack has now gone viral and left the driver's car badly damaged.

The footage shows the disgruntled beast charging at the welding inspector's truck while the driver can be heard swearing in disbelief.

Speaking with LatestSightings.com, Wikus said he was travelling home from Mozambique when the attack happened.

He said: "I was crossing the border from Kruger National Park when I noticed a hippo on the bridge.

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Wolf

Woman survives prolonged wolf attack in India


WebIndia123
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 13:20 UTC
Indian wolf
Indian wolf
A 50-year-old woman has survived an attack by a wolf in her farm house at Tengali village of Chitapur talukin this district today.

Police said that the animal bit Goribai on her arm and leg and she fell to the ground, crying out for help.

She fought with the beast for nearly 30 minutes alone and her son Goduba reached the spot and chased the wolf away.

The injured woman was immediately shifted to private hospital and doctors said she is recuperating well.

Chitapur Tahasildar Yallappa visited the hospital and enquired her about the incident.

Comment: See also: Wolf kills child and injures 2 others in Pakistan

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