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Ancient landscape not seen for 14 million years discovered beneath Antarctic ice

Antarctica Below the Ice
© Stewart Jamieson
Researchers have uncovered an ancient landscape that remained hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) for at least 14 million years, using new satellite data and radar imaging.

This newly discovered landscape consists of ancient valleys and ridges, not dissimilar in size and scale to the glacially-modified landscape of North Wales, UK.

With ice-penetrating radar and satellite data, Durham University glaciologist Stewart Jamieson and colleagues mapped the topographic features of the landscape hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, to get a better understanding of how the ice sheet has fluctuated over time.

The researchers say preserved landscapes like this provide a rare opportunity to examine past ice conditions, but warming temperatures mean we are on track to return to the climate conditions that existed before the landscape was frozen, and it is possible that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet will retreat enough to change the landscape for the first time in at least 14 million years.

"The land underneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is less well known than the surface of Mars," explained study author Professor Stewart Jamieson in a statement. "And that's a problem because that landscape controls the way that ice in Antarctica flows, and it controls the way it might respond to past, present and future climate change."

Snowflake

Foot of snow in 24 hours for 2 ski resorts in Oregon

Finger licking good, Bruno enjoying the snowfalls at Timberline Lodge, OR.
Finger licking good, Bruno enjoying the snowfalls at Timberline Lodge, OR.
An arctic airmass has brought the first serious snowfall to Oregon, delivering some early season powdery delight to Oregon ski areas. The Santiam Pass between Willamette Valley and Central Oregon was covered in snow and the Oregon Department of Transportation ('ODOT') have been busy keeping roads safe.

Mt Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge have received around a foot of snow in the last 24 hours and some eager souls have hiked out there to get the first freshies of the season, including videographer Pete Alport. Check out his incredible footage below from his first turns of the season in Oregon.


Snowflake

First major storm of the season drops 2 feet of snow in 2 days in Montana (UPDATE)

A person clears a snow-covered sidewalk in Helena, Mont., on Wednesday.
© Amy Beth HansonA person clears a snow-covered sidewalk in Helena, Mont., on Wednesday.
The first major snowstorm of the season dropped up to a foot of snow in the Helena, Mont., area by Wednesday morning, canceling some school bus routes on the western side of the city as snow continued to fall throughout the morning.

Residents woke up to swirling snow, the sound of shovels on sidewalks and snowplows on pavement just days after temperatures rose into the lower 80s. Trees with orange leaves and Halloween decorations were weighed down with snow.

The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel on snowy mountain passes and ice on some highways when snow initially melts and then freezes as road temperatures drop.


Comment: Update October 27

Krtv.com reports:
The first big snowstorm of the season was a good one! Most locations in the state at least a few inches of snow, and a few locations saw up to two feet. The snow began falling late Tuesday and continued throughout Wednesday and into Thursday.

Most of the snow accumulation is now done with, but roads are going to continue to be icy/snow-covered for the next couple of days, so please use extreme caution when driving and give yourself some extra time to get to where you need to go.



Snowflake

10 inches of snow hits Colorado resort, with more wintery weather on the way

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© kwphotography (iStock).
Snow stakes that measure how much fresh powder has landed show about 10 inches of snow at Aspen Snowmass since the start of an ongoing storm in Colorado. More snow is expected to fall into Friday morning.

This is on par with the prediction for the area, give or take a couple inches. Other ski areas in the Aspen area show about five to six inches on their snow stakes.

Nearby, Independence Pass, which reaches 12,095 feet of elevation, is also under a temporary closure. Closures of this nature are normal when wintery weather rolls through, with the seasonal closure for this iconic pass typically being put in place around November 7.

More snow is expected to keep falling in Colorado, totaling 18 to 24 inches in some mountainous areas in the northern portion of the state.

Those traveling mountain roads should proceed with caution, as roads will likely be slick and visibility may be limited.


Snowflake

A foot of fresh October snow in 24 hours at Alta Ski Area, Utah

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Winter has temporarily arrived in Utah and Alta Ski Area saw 9-12 inches over the past 24 hours. It ain't deep, but it's enough for The Daily POW guys to get out there and make some turns down Gunsight.
"Winter has arrived in Utah and the storm total at Alta was 9 inches from this recent storm but it definitely felt deeper up towards the top of Gunsight. Most other areas looked very bony still and Gunsight had a solid ribbon of white from top to bottom so our decision was easy.

The top entry was a little rocky but we've skied it on worse. Skier's right had the deepest snow. Our exit out Greely Hill was bushy good lovin'. We cruised back to the car happy to officially start the 2023-2024 winter."

- The Daily POW

Info

Researchers identify largest ever solar storm in tree rings  

Solar Storm
© NASAArtist illustration of events on the sun changing the conditions in Near-Earth space. Suggested imagery from NASA, as recommended by our researchers.
An international team of scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analysing ancient tree-rings found in the French Alps.

The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified. A similar solar storm today would be catastrophic for modern technological society - potentially wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive electricity grid blackouts, and costing us billions of pounds.

The academics are warning of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future.

Collaboration

The collaborative research, which was carried out by an international team of scientists, is published today (Oct 9) in The Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences and reveals new insights into the Sun's extreme behaviour and the risks it poses to Earth.

A team of researchers from the Collège de France, CEREGE, IMBE, Aix-Marseille University and the University of Leeds measured radiocarbon levels in ancient trees preserved within the eroded banks of the Drouzet River, near Gap, in the Southern French Alps.

The tree trunks, which are subfossils - remains whose fossilisation process is not complete - were sliced into tiny single tree-rings. Analysis of these individual rings identified an unprecedented spike in radiocarbon levels occurring precisely 14,300 years ago. By comparing this radiocarbon spike with measurements of beryllium, a chemical element found in Greenland ice cores, the team proposes that the spike was caused by a massive solar storm that would have ejected huge volumes of energetic particles into Earth's atmosphere.

Edouard Bard, Professor of Climate and Ocean Evolution at the Collège de France and CEREGE, and lead author of the study, said: "Radiocarbon is constantly being produced in the upper atmosphere through a chain of reactions initiated by cosmic rays. Recently, scientists have found that extreme solar events including solar flares and coronal mass ejections can also create short-term bursts of energetic particles which are preserved as huge spikes in radiocarbon production occurring over the course of just a single year."

Snowflake

First snow arrives in Utah blanketing brilliant fall foliage in wintry coat

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© Solitude Mountain Resort live camera
A fresh round of snow blankets the amber-colored fall foliage in Utah's first October scene.

On Monday, Park City experienced the collision of autumn and winter as the first fall storm brought snow to the western region. The snowfall has continued into Tuesday, with the heaviest amounts occurring in the mountains of Wyoming, northern Utah, and Colorado due to the low-pressure system.

"A wonderful blend of colorful, fall foliage with a fresh, white snowfall," the Utah Department of Natural Resources said. "Utah's pretty good at this, don't you think?"


Snowflake

October storm brings heavy snow to the Tetons, Wyoming - up to 13 inches

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A powerful early-season storm impacted Western Wyoming from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday night, resulting in significant precipitation including the first heavy snowfall of the season at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and Grand Targhee.

October 1-4 Storm Recap

A strong and slow-moving low pressure system worked its way into the Intermountain West early this week, resulting in heavy precipitation across the Tetons and Northwest Wyoming.

On Sunday, we saw an appetizer with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, before more widespread rain and mountain snow developed on Monday and Tuesday. Snow levels (i.e. the rain/snow line) dipped as low as 7,500 feet on Tuesday morning.


Igloo

Climate models wrong on East Pacific... 'We don't know why this cooling is happening'

German online agriculture information site agrarheute.com here asks whether the climate models wrong since the East "East Pacific has been cooling down more and more over the past 30 years" and this "contrary to all predictions".

Modern agriculture knows that oceanic cycles have significant consequences for global agriculture.
Corn Crop
© NoTricksZoneCorn struggles amid Europe’s 2022 drought. East Pacific cooling has impacts on agriculture around the world.
No explanation for cooling

"Why does this part of the eastern Pacific contradict climate models, scientists ask, and they can't find a simple explanation," reports agriheute.com. The cooling of the East Pacific has defied the forecasts made by climate models, which predicted a warming due to "greenhouse gas" emissions.

The region of cooling is the ocean area that "stretches west of Ecuador" and "could reduce greenhouse gas warming by 30 percent". The false prediction by climate models risk misleading the agriculture industry, as it is known that ocean temperatures impact growing conditions around the world.

Snowflake

Early snowfall at Mount Rainier hints at upcoming winter wonderland in western Washington

The Sunrise sign at Mount Rainier National Park
© National Park ServiceThe Sunrise sign at Mount Rainier National Park seen covered in snow on Sept. 27, 2023.
Although residents of western Washington bid farewell to summer, it seems like it won't be long before it's possible to frolic in the snow.

Mount Rainier National Park (MRNP) has plenty of snow, according to a National Park Service photo on Facebook.