Welcome to Sott.net
Fri, 05 Nov 2021
The World for People who Think

Earth Changes
Map

Ice Cube

Rapid ice coverage of the Great Lakes surges to 62 percent, may bring significant consequences for Michigan weather

Mark Torregrossa
MLive.com
Wed, 29 Jan 2014 10:16 UTC
Image
© Space Science And Engineering Center- University of Wisconsin - Madison
This higher resolution satellite photo from Tuesday January 28, 2014 shows ice along the western side of Lake Michigan. It also shows the point at which open water starts, the lake effect bands of snow form.
The Great Lakes have reached 62 percent ice coverage due to extreme cold, and in the weeks ahead that can have a triple-barreled consequence on Michigan's weather: More cold. Less lake-effect snow. More sun.

The coverage is growing rapidly. The ice area more than doubled in just one recent week, from 22 percent coverage on Jan. 15 to 48 percent by Jan. 22. From Jan. 22 to Jan. 28 the average Great Lakes ice grew another 14 percent.

Lake Superior is 69 percent covered in ice. Lake Michigan has 46 percent ice cover, while Lake Huron is 71 percent ice covered. Lake Erie is almost totally covered with ice, at 96 percent. Lake Ontario has 26 percent ice cover.

George Leshkevich, physical scientist at NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, says the oddity this year is how early in the winter this amount of ice cover has formed.

The 62 percent ice cover already ranks this year as 17th in maximum ice coverage in the last 40 years. 1994 had the highest ice cover at 94.8 percent.

Dry arctic air has taken over much of the Great Lakes region, allowing for clearing skies over land, and even over parts of the lakes. That gave us a high resolution satellite photo posted Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014 by the Space Science and Engineering Center.

The photo shows a large area of ice formed on the west side of Lake Michigan, off the shore of northern Indiana through the Chicago area, and up the Wisconsin shoreline.
      Read More...
Ice Cube

'Climate Scientist Who Got It Right'

Anthony Watts
wattsupwiththat.com
Wed, 05 Feb 2014 09:53 UTC
Image
© Wikimedia Commons.
Earth at the last glacial maximum of the current ice age
Dr. Don Easterbrook - a climate scientist and glacier expert from Washington State who correctly predicted back in 2000 that the Earth was entering a cooling phase - says to expect colder temperatures for at least the next two decades.

Easterbrook's predictions were "right on the money" seven years before Al Gore and the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for warning that the Earth was facing catastrophic warming caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide, which Gore called a "planetary emergency."

"When we check their projections against what actually happened in that time interval, they're not even close. They're off by a full degree in one decade, which is huge. That's more than the entire amount of warming we've had in the past century. So their models have failed just miserably, nowhere near close. And maybe it's luck, who knows, but mine have been right on the button," Easterbrook told CNSNews.com.

"For the next 20 years, I predict global cooling of about 3/10ths of a degree Fahrenheit, as opposed to the one-degree warming predicted by the IPCC," said Easterbrook, professor emeritus of geology at Western Washington University and author of 150 scientific journal articles and 10 books, including "Evidence Based Climate Science," which was published in 2011. (See EasterbrookL coming-century-predictions.pdf)
      Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Yet another storm batters UK


BBC
Wed, 05 Feb 2014 09:06 UTC
Image

A section of rail track dangles over the sea after the wall collapsed at Dawlish

UK storms wash away railway line and leave thousands without power

Parts of Britain are being hit by a powerful storm which has washed away a stretch of railway line and left thousands of homes without electricity.

The Environment Agency says around 328 homes have been flooded since Friday evening - with more heavy rain forecast into the weekend.

A section of the sea wall in Dawlish, Devon, collapsed and left the main railway line suspended in mid-air.

David Cameron has announced an extra £100m for flood works.

At Prime Minister's Questions he pledged £75m for repairs over the next year, £10m for urgent work in Somerset - where several rivers have flooded - and £15m for maintenance.

He said: "Whatever is required, whether it is dredging work on the rivers Tone and Parrett, whether it is support for our emergency services, whether it is fresh money for flood defences, whether it's action across the board, this government will help those families and get this issue sorted."
      Read More...
Cloud Precipitation

Apocalypse in Slovenian forests due to freezing rain and snow


MMC RTV SLO
Mon, 03 Feb 2014 19:38 UTC
Slovenia ice storm forest damage
© 2014 Mariša Bizjak
In some areas up to 80 per cent of the forest has been damaged. Some forests in the regions of Postojna and Pivka are completely in tatters due to sleet and snow.
Devastating sleet, which has been crushing trees under its weight all over the country, has caused the largest catastrophe ever to hit Slovenian forests.

Damjan Oražen, director of the Slovenian Forest Institute, has stated that according to early estimates as many as 500,000 hectares are damaged, i.e. almost half of all Slovenian forests. According to Oražen, the total volume of fallen wood amounts to 4 million cubic metres, which equals the entire average annual harvest. What is more, since the current conditions do not allow forestry teams to estimate the damage on the spot, the estimated numbers are not final.

Falling branches and trees pose danger throughout the country at the moment, and it will continue to be so until the ice melts. Therefore, walkers through forested areas are advised caution, and should be aware that the situation is not likely to fully return to normal until the spring.
      Read More...
Snowflake Cold

Update! Now 25% of Slovenia is without power, 40% schools closed as blizzards compound ice storm

Sott Editors
Sott.net
Sun, 02 Feb 2014 08:01 UTC
Slovenia Ice Storm Road Cleanup
© www.rtvslo.si
Firefighters work through the night to clear fallen tree limbs

Heavy freezing rain in Slovenia has caused widespread power outages and the closing of many roads across the European nation. Approximately 10% of the country was without power due to downed power lines and damaged transformers.

Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek announced that Slovenia had requested aid from the European Union, as well as help from neighboring Italy and Croatia to help repair the country's damaged electrical distribution network. She also stated that it may take up to a week to complete all the repairs, as current icy conditions and fallen trees and branches on roadways are impeding repair crews.

Comment: Update 5 February 2014

Further blizzards have hit Eastern Europe, leaving 25% of Slovenians without power and 40% of schools closed.

Image


      Read More...
Question

Number of whales currently beaching on Florida coast 3 times above average, experts suggest cold weather to blame

Ken Kaye
SunSentinel
Tue, 04 Feb 2014 15:13 UTC
Image

A National Park Services volunteer looks over a dead pilot whale as it lies on the beach in the Florida Everglades
On average about 200 whales beach themselves each year off the coast of Florida. In the past two months more than 90 have beached themselves and experts don't know why.

More than 90 whales have become stranded on Florida beaches in the past two months, almost three times the average, baffling marine biologists and making them wonder if a deadly common denominator is at play.

The series of cold fronts that marched across Florida in the past month could be a factor. "Any kind of front or a hurricane disorients the animals, and they come in," said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

Another theory: The whales might have contracted morbillivirus, an ailment similar to canine distemper that has been attacking dolphins along the East Cost this year. But necropsies failed to confirm this.

Navy sonar, which can cause whales to aim toward shore, has been ruled out, because the Navy wasn't conducting any sonar exercises when the whales stranded, Fougeres said.

Or, the whales could be following a sick leader who was heading toward shallow waters to make breathing easier, said Denise Boyd, a research biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Nothing so far is conclusive, Fougeres said, and "there are cases where we just never know the cause."

On average, about 200 whales each year land on Florida's shores. About one "mass stranding," involving several whales, occurs every three years in this state, authorities said.
      Read More...
Bizarro Earth

California simultaneous freeze and drought badly damages citrus crops - U.S. food prices to increase

Mariana Jacob
KSFN Fresno
Mon, 03 Feb 2014 00:00 UTC
citrus crops freeze
© CBS
Citrus crops frozen during a cold weather snap
Monday citrus growers found out how much of an impact the deep freeze which gripped our area in December had on citrus crops. The freeze ruined millions of dollars' worth of citrus and that is expected to drive up food prices in the coming in the months.

At the peak of citrus season Kings River Packing hires about a thousand people to harvest and sort fruit. But this year the family owned operation may have to scale back on hiring after getting hit by a double whammy. The statewide drought and the deep December citrus freeze have ruined a lot of fruit.

"Industry wise there's a lot of damage. Some people did get hit harder than others. The ultimate effect is going to be the jobs," ColbyCampbell with Kings River Packing said.
      Read More...
Question

Large number of dead albatross found on Ripiro Beach, NewZealand


stuff.co.nz
Wed, 05 Feb 2014 14:52 UTC
Image

BIG QUESTION: Danika, 5 and Alsya, 7 Hilliam and their puppy check out one of 12 dead albatross which Noel Hilliam has seen washed up on Ripiro Beach, south of Glinks Gully.
Why have a significant number of dead albatross washed up on Ripiro Beach?

Regular beach patroller Noel Hilliam says he saw 12 dead albatross washed up along about five kilometres of beach south of Glinks gully about two weeks ago.

"I've never seen anything like this before. You sometimes see the odd one but never this."

He says the birds appeared to have been dead for some time and were "looking pretty battered."

"I'd like to know what caused it. Was it starvation, something they ate or a big storm?"

Mr Hilliam contacted the Department of Conservation but had not heard back from them at the time of print.

A live but exhausted southern royal albatross was found on the beach in mid January and taken to the Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre where, despite initially improving, it died.

Co-owner of the Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre, Robert Webb says he is concerned to learn there has been so many dead birds on the west coast beach.
      Read More...
Question

1,122 dead turtles washed ashore in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, India in January

M T Saju
Times of India
Tue, 04 Feb 2014 11:54 UTC
Image
© B. Jothi Ramalingam
At least 1,122 carcasses of Olive Ridley turtles were washed ashore on the beaches of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in January alone.
At least 1,122 carcasses of Olive Ridley turtles were washed ashore on the beaches of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in January alone.

More than 145 dead turtles were found on the stretch between Marina Beach and Neelankarai, while 226 were found between Neelankarai and Marakkanam. In Andhra Pradesh, Nellore recorded 547 carcasses. Marine conservationists say there has been a sharp increase in the number of dead turtles found along the beaches of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The main problem, according to marine experts, is fishing nets. The turtles normally come to nest on beaches on the east coast from January to March. "The female turtles dig nests and lay around 60 to 120 eggs at a time. The same turtles may nest two or three times and stay close to the shore during this time. As they stay close to the shore, many easily get entangled in the fishing nets," said Supraja Dharini, chairperson of TREE Foundation, a non-governmental organization that works for the protection of endangered marine species. The foundation conducted the study of the beaches.

Dharini said not a single day passed in January without phone calls from volunteers about carcasses on beaches. "The main reason for this tragedy is that the turtles get caught in the trawl fishing nets of mechanised boats, gill nets or ray fishing nets. Turtles need to come to the surface of the sea to breathe. Once they are trapped in the net, they remain underwater and drown," said Dharini.
      Read More...
Question

More than 400 dead dolphins on north Peru coast


News Daily
Mon, 03 Feb 2014 11:23 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/Str
More than 400 dead dolphins were found last month on the Pacific Ocean beaches of northern Peru where twice that amount were encountered in 2012, officials said Monday.

Authorities never established the cause of the deaths in 2012. They are doing autopsies on the latest dolphins found during January in the Lambayeque region on the northern coast.

Technician Jaime de la Cruz of Peru's IMARPE marine life agency said about 220 dead dolphins were found in the last week of January, the rest during the previous three weeks.
      Read More...
Amazon Smile
Revolt! T-shirts