Extreme Temperatures
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Magic Wand

Ice ages dried up African monsoons


New Scientist
Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:34 UTC
When ice ages held Europe in their grip, Africa also felt the pinch - though in a different way.

It has long been suspected that there is a connection between the west African monsoon and climate at higher latitudes - especially over geological timescales, says David Lea at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "But until now, there hasn't been enough supporting evidence." Now Lea, with team leader Syee Weldeab and colleagues, has reconstructed the most detailed history of the monsoon yet, spanning 155,000 years and two ice ages.
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Arrow Down

Ice Age space rock blast 'ravaged America'


BBC News
Mon, 21 May 2007 10:54 UTC
A controversial new idea suggests that a large space rock exploded over North America 13,000 years ago.

The blast may have wiped out one of America's first Stone Age cultures as well as the continent's big mammals such as the mammoth and the mastodon.

The blast, from a comet or asteroid, caused a major bout of climatic cooling which may also have affected human cultures emerging in Europe and Asia.

©unk
A space rock may have exploded in the air over North America

Comment: And if it happened once, there's no reason why it couldn't happen again. Particularly if these type of events turn out to be cyclic, as the evidence suggests.

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Wolf

One Small Carnivore Survived The Last Ice Age In Ireland


Science Daily
Sun, 22 Apr 2007 10:24 UTC
You may well ask the question, where did the animals and plants of modern day Ireland and Britain come from? Published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society, scientists at Queen's University Belfast have uncovered evidence that stoats survived in Ireland at the coldest point of the last Ice Age, 23,500 years ago.

The research has revealed that despite few animals or plants surviving the millennia of freezing cold and ice, the Irish stoats had real staying power. The Irish lineage of these small carnivores that eat mice, rabbits and birds is unique according to the research.

The scientists reached their conclusions by studying the wiry mammal's DNA collected from museum collections and gamekeepers.

Explaining the research findings, Dr Robbie McDonald, Manager of Quercus at Queen's, explained: "These tenacious carnivores probably survived the extreme cold at the peak of the last Ice Age by living under the snow and eating lemmings, just as they do in Greenland today.
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Arrow Down

Heavy crop losses reported in Southeast

Katrina A. Goggins
Associated Press
Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:09 UTC
Heavy crop losses have been reported throughout the Southeast after last weekend's frigid temperatures, and farmers are bracing for another expected cold snap next week.

In South Carolina, at least 90 percent of the peach crop was destroyed and officials said Wednesday they would seek federal aid.

"This is comparable to a hurricane," Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers said of the damage to the state's $40 million-a-year industry. "Growers say we'll be fortunate to get 10 percent of a crop."

In Georgia, farmers and agriculture officials were still assessing the damage, but the weekend freeze may have wiped out more than half the state's peach crop.
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Snowman

New York Temperatures Rival Record for Coldest April

Courtney Dentch
Bloomberg
Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:35 UTC
The groundhog's prediction for an early spring is proving wrong in New York City, where a cold front has kept temperatures about 7 degrees below the historical average this month, the National Weather Service said.

Just 10 days into April, temperatures have averaged 42 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius), about one degree warmer than the average for April 1874, the coldest on record, said Michael Silva, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Upton, New York, station.
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Cloud Lightning

Cold Weather Chills Spring Rituals

ERRIN HAINES
Associated Press
Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:53 UTC
ATLANTA - It may be two weeks into spring, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Cold temperatures in much of the country have those celebrating Easter this weekend swapping out frills, bonnets and sandals for coats, scarves and socks. Baseball fans are huddled in blankets, and instead of spring planting, backyard gardeners are bundling their crops.
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Cloud Lightning

Thousands in Dark After New England Snow

DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI
Associated Press
Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:26 UTC


©AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach
A tree lies on top of downed power lines in Brunswick, Maine, Thursday, April 5, 2007. ...

CONCORD, N.H. - Utility crews worked to restore power Friday to tens of thousands of northern New Englanders after a spring snowfall dumped more than a foot of snow around the region.
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Cloud Lightning

Is it Spring yet?: Snow storm warnings for much of Minnesota


Associated Press
Tue, 03 Apr 2007 18:47 UTC
Schools in Fergus Falls and Browns Valley are closed and more than a dozen western Minnesota school districts are starting classes two hours late this morning as winter returns to the state.

Winter storm warnings are out for the central third of Minnesota, and snow advisories are out for areas north and south of that band.
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Attention

Emergency relief for Sweden's starving reindeer

AFP
Terradaily.com
Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:48 UTC
STOCKHOLM- Sweden said Wednesday it would give its reindeer herders millions of euros (dollars) in emergency aid to help them feed their animals, which are starving because of thick ice that is preventing them from reaching the lichen they eat.

"You can't just stand by and watch animals starve," Agriculture Minister Eskil Erlandsson said in a statement as his ministry earmarked 37 million kronor (4.06 million euros, 5.3 million dollars) in aid.
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Bizarro Earth

Sun's fickle heart may leave us cold in an Ice Age

Stuart Clark
From New Scientist Print Edition
Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:06 UTC
There's a dimmer switch inside the sun that causes its brightness to rise and fall on timescales of around 100,000 years - exactly the same period as between ice ages on Earth. So says a physicist who has created a computer model of our star's core.

Robert Ehrlich of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, modelled the effect of temperature fluctuations in the sun's interior. According to the standard view, the temperature of the sun's core is held constant by the opposing pressures of gravity and nuclear fusion. However, Ehrlich believed that slight variations should be possible.
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