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Shock finding: P-T mass extinction was due to an ice age

Anthony Watts
Watts Up with That
Mon, 06 Mar 2017 18:24 UTC
From the UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE

The cold exterminated all of them

Through age determinations that are using the radioactive decay of uranium,scientists have discovered that one of the greatest mass extinctions was due to an ice age and not to a warming of Earth temperature.
Permian-Triassic boundary
© H. Bucher, ZürichPermian-Triassic boundary in shallow marine sediments, characterised by a significant sedimentation gap between the black shales of Permian and dolomites of Triassic age. This gap documents a globally recognized regression phase, probably linked to a period of a cold climate and glaciation.
The Earth has known several mass extinctions over the course of its history. One of the most important happened at the Permian-Triassic boundary 250 million years ago. Over 95% of marine species disappeared and, up until now, scientists have linked this extinction to a significant rise in Earth temperatures. But researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, working alongside the University of Zurich, discovered that this extinction took place during a short ice age which preceded the global climate warming. It's the first time that the various stages of a mass extinction have been accurately understood and that scientists have been able to assess the major role played by volcanic explosions in these climate processes. This research, which can be read in Scientific Reports, completely calls into question the scientific theories regarding these phenomena, founded on the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere, and paves the way for a new vision of the Earth's climate history.

Teams of researchers led by Professor Urs Schaltegger from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Science of the UNIGE and by Hugo Bucher, from the University of Zürich, have been working on absolute dating for many years. They work on determining the age of minerals in volcanic ash, which establishes a precise and detailed chronology of the earth's climate evolution. They became interested in the Permian-Triassic boundary, 250 million years ago, during which one of the greatest mass extinctions ever took place, responsible for the loss of 95% of marine species. How did this happen? for how long marine biodiversity stayed at very low levels ?
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Attention

Etna volcanic ash advisory and world starts transition to indoor agriculture

Adapt 2030
You Tube
Sat, 04 Mar 2017 13:40 UTC
Satellite image of Etna volcano on 27 Feb 2017
Satellite image of Etna volcano on 27 Feb 2017
Volcanic Ash Advisory from the Etna Volcano eruption, new ways to grow tomatoes at -45C on the permafrost of Siberia in triple enclosed greenhouses and Australian farmers and cherry growers are moving to enclose crops and orchards in hectare sized greenhouses due to the destabilizing climate.


Sources
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Ice Cube

Yacht club reopens after crew clears away huge ice shoves in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Brittany Ford
FOX 11 News
Sat, 25 Feb 2017 12:45 UTC
ice shove
© Fond Du Lac Yacht Club
The view of the Fond Du Lac Yacht Club shoreline Friday morning, a much different scene by Friday night.

"We've had ice shoves, but nothing like this," said Jim Meisinger, with the Fond du Lac Yacht Club.

Winter Storm Donna's gusty winds shoved ice covering Lake Winnebago onto the shoreline; it piled up against the building.

"The whole side of the wall was completely engulfed in ice," said Tom Clausen, a board member at the Yacht Club.

The ice shoves were so severe the Yacht Club closed until the necessary equipment arrived to deal with the ice.

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Snowflake

Hawaii picks up 8 inches of snow overnight following blizzard

Doyle Rice
13newsnow.com
Fri, 03 Mar 2017 19:51 UTC
A NASA satellite captured snow on the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa volcanoes on December 25, 2016
© NASAA NASA satellite captured snow on the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa volcanoes on December 25, 2016
Do you want to build a snowman in paradise? Hawaii's mountainous peaks picked up 8 inches of snow overnight this week after a blizzard hit the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Most of the snow fell late Tuesday into early Wednesday, and a blizzard warning for Mauna Kea and its sister peak Mauna Loa was canceled Thursday. A few additional snow showers were forecast, with no accumulation expected.

While the summits received snow, the rest of the Big Island dealt with heavy rain and thunderstorms that pelted the lower elevations. Both Oahu and Kauai were under flash flood warnings. Temperatures were mild, with highs in the 70s and 80s.

Snow on Hawaii's peaks is not uncommon in the colder months because they are nearly 14,000 feet high. Mauna Kea has a sub-Arctic climate, the weather service said.
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Snowflake

Western USA snowpack is so deep that scientists can't measure it accurately

Benjamin Spillman
USA Today Network
Thu, 02 Mar 2017 16:48 UTC
snow pack reno
© Benjamin Spillman/Reno Gazette JournalHydrologist Jeff Anderson and district conservationist Jim Gifford of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Nevada ready a 20-foot tube used to measure snow depth in order to take a measurement of the snowpack on Slide Mountain on March 1, 2017. The pack measured 212 inches.
One sure sign the Sierra Nevada is experiencing a historic winter is the snowpack is getting too deep for devices scientists use to measure it.

It's a problem that cropped up Wednesday when researchers sought to confirm snow depth at a data site on Slide Mountain at Mount Rose Ski Tahoe near Reno.

"We're not even close," hydrologist Jeff Anderson said after jamming an aluminum tube more than 16 feet into the snowpack hoping to reach the ground below.

The snow-measuring snafu provided real life confirmation of what scientific instruments on the site already showed.

The Sierra Nevada is wrapping up a historic winter and that's huge news for Nevada and California, states that have spent the past several years parched in drought.

"Who would have thought this two years ago when we were measuring the worst snowpack on record," Anderson said.
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Snowflake

Record snow blankets Iceland, food costs spike in EU & Spring arrives early to parts of US

Adapt 2030
YouTube
Wed, 01 Mar 2017 06:25 UTC
People had some hard work in store for them on Sunday when it came to retrieving their cars.
© Gunnar FreyrSnow blankets Iceland.
Record snows blanket Iceland, inflation up 8.8% in EU driven by 60% rises in vegetables and food. Weather channel claims spring arrives 20 days early and then freeze blankets S.E USA. Polar Vortex is set to roll over North America in coming week and Alaska -40C.

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Arrow Down

Nearly 70 people killed by avalanches in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Trust News
You Tube
Wed, 01 Mar 2017 13:46 UTC
snow walkers
Avalanches have claimed the lives of nearly 70 people in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.

At least 54 people were killed in Afghanistan over the past few days. Officials expect the death toll to rise as nearly 170 homes have been destroyed. Over 50 people are injured as 22 Afghan provinces witness freezing weather and heavy snowfall. Officials in neighboring Pakistan have also confirmed the death of over a dozen people in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The region has been blanketed with over a meter of snow that's blocked most roads and led the closure of Chitral Airport. People in worst-hit areas are facing food and medicine shortages.

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Arrow Down

12,000 people isolated after 46 avalanches during February in Chitral, Pakistan


Daily Times (Pakistan)
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 13:33 UTC
snow workers
Dig that snow man
46 avalanches at different points in the region have caused the only road to Arkari Valley to remain blocked since Feb 5, isolating over 12,000 people in the area.

According to a report, the 12,000 people of the valley are still stranded as the long route to Chitral town was blocked off by huge avalanches. The people of the isolated area complained against the provincial government, for not clearing the sole road to of snow and boulders.

Village Council Chairman Sher Muhammad said, "Around 12,000 people in the valley are facing acute shortage of food, medicines and other essential commodities as there is no hospital. The local administration has reserved only one tractor to clear the road blocked by over 46 avalanches which is not possible."
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Sun

Chicago records no measurable snow in January, February for 1st time in 146 years

Grace Wong
Chicago Tribune
Tue, 28 Feb 2017 23:21 UTC
record warm spring in Chicago
© Michael Tercha / Chicago TribuneRecord-breaking temperatures draw Chicagoans outdoors.
For the first time in 146 years, the National Weather Service documented no snow on the ground in Chicago in January and February — a record that put a spring in the step of some but weighed down others worried about climate change.

Because the snow measurement is taken at 6 a.m. at O'Hare International Airport, small amounts of snow that may have fallen later in the day and melted were not recorded, said Amy Seeley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. This occurred Feb. 25 when there was a trace of snow and Jan. 30 when there was 0.1 inch. The weather service has been keeping data on snow on the ground for 146 years.

The record near-snowless start was overshadowed Tuesday by severe storms moving through the state.

The National Weather Service forecast large hail, winds, localized flooding and tornadoes Tuesday evening. A tornado hit Ottowa on Tuesday evening, killing one person, and the weather service said its spotters had reported a number of other tornadoes.

More stormy weather was forecast for the week, including possible snow.

WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling said he believes the 146-year streak in Chicago is part of climate change and emphasized that it does not occur linearly, meaning that there is potential for cold winters in the future.


Comment: See also:

Comment: Meanwhile other parts of the US such as California and Nevada are experiencing record-breaking snowfalls.

See also: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - January 2017: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Sun

Exceptionally warm February weather breaks records across Switzerland


The Local Switzerland
Fri, 24 Feb 2017 10:08 UTC
the sun
© The Local
Thursday was exceptionally warm in Switzerland with many places across the country seeing temperatures of around 20 degrees, breaking previous records for the month of February.

The unseasonal weather, due to a mass of dry, hot air moving up from Spain, meant it felt more like the end of April than February, with temperatures on the Swiss lowlands some 12 degrees warmer than usual for this time of year, said MeteoNews.

The cities of Nyon, Sion, Aigle and Neuchâtel all broke their previous February records. In Sion, the mercury rose to 21.2 degrees, smashing its previous record of 19.8 set in 1998. Nyon reached 18.4 degrees and Aigle 19.5.

Cities in German-speaking Switzerland were also affected, with Thun, Interlaken and Basel-Binningen all surpassing 20 degrees. Lucerne wasn't far behind with 19.9 degrees, Zurich reached 19.5 and Bern set a new city record for February with 18.5 degrees.
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