During the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2010 - 2011, unusually cold temperatures and heavy snowstorms plagued North America and Europe, while conditions were unusually warm farther north. Now the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has reported that Arctic sea ice was at its lowest extent ever recorded for January (since satellite records began).
This image shows the average Arctic sea ice concentration for January 2011, based on observations from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. Blue indicates open water; white indicates high sea ice concentrations; and turquoise indicates loosely packed sea ice. The red line shows the average sea ice extent for January from 1979 through 2000.
NSIDC reported that ice extent was unusually low in Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and Davis Strait in the early winter. Normally frozen over by late November, these areas did not completely freeze until mid-January 2011. The Labrador Sea was also unusually ice-free.
NSIDC offered two possible explanations. One reason is the Arctic Oscillation (AO), a seesaw pattern of differences in atmospheric pressure. In "positive" mode, the AO includes high pressure over the mid-latitudes and low pressure over the Arctic, setting up wind patterns that trap cold air in the far North. In "negative" mode, air pressure isn't quite as low over the Arctic and isn't quite as high over the mid-latitudes. This enables cold air to creep south and relatively warm air to move north.
The AO was in negative mode in December 2010 and January 2011, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). At mid-latitudes, the negative mode resulted in extremely cold temperatures and heavy snow in Europe and North America. At the same time, warm air over the Arctic impeded sea ice growth. NOAA has forecast that the AO should return to positive mode in February 2011, but for how long was unclear.
Another factor in the low Arctic sea ice extent, NSIDC explained, could be that the areas of open ocean were still releasing heat to the atmosphere. Due to its bright appearance, sea ice reflects most of the Sun's light and heat back into space. Dark ocean water, by contrast, absorbs most of that energy and reinforces the melting process.
References
- NOAA Climate Prediction Center. (2011, February). Monitoring weather and climate. Accessed February 4, 2011.
- NSIDC Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis. (2011, February 2). Arctic Oscillation brings record low January extent, unusual mid-latitude weather. Accessed February 4, 2011.
Could we be witnessing the shifting of the polar sea-ice in the north, to a new location south as we are witnessing now in the continuing cycles of devastating snowstorms in the US linked to the traditional winter in the northern hemisphere?
The formation of the strong EM anomaly off the coast of Florida could be the leading edge of the formation of a new position for one of our poles, and hence could also help explain another factor in the extreme cold weather being experienced.
The Florida anomaly is also interesting for another reason, due to the anomalous climate and weather being experienced at it's antipodal reflection. Where is this antipode roughly...Australia! The continent I recently visited 3yrs ago, which I had a gut feeling would soon be under water. In relation to the article stating that a new inland sea may be forming there, I have to wonder if, when the southern hemisphere begins cycling into their own traditional winter season, we will see this inland see freezing and beginning to form another great swathe of ice sheets "So as above, so below". If my gut feelings are on the money, then it may also help explain another gut feeling I've had for several years. This particular feeling is that despite the UK being previously covered in ice sheets, that maybe this once green, and tropical isles will once again become a green and tropical paradise, after the coming super-storms.
I wouldn't ordinarily share such wild speculations, however after just walking outside and realising that many of the plant's in my own backyard are growing at a unusual rate for such winter months, and the intense sunshine and clear skies today I have to wonder if this is another synch wink in the right direction. The Honeysuckle sprouting and beginning to flower anew and produce green shoots already is something I've never seen before in February. Add to this a vine which is displaying incredible growth, so much so that it has already grown around and begun to lean on my washing line spindle, despite that branch of vine being know where near the spindle when it was last spun two weeks ago, is just mind boggling. I have to wonder also if the recent fly-by's of meteoric type events in the sky have fundamentally changed the plants through EM charging and helped to increase the creative outgrowth of the plants, similar to what has been witnessed at the Tunguska site.