Monday, October 28, 2013

Canadian Arctic Warmest in 44,000 Years

New research from the Canadian Arctic over the last century shows that temperatures there are the highest in 44,000 years. In a joint statement from the University of Colorado and the journal, Geophysical Research Letters, a new study shows for the first time that current Arctic warming exceeds the early Holocene, the previous warm period Gifford Miller et al analyzed gas bubbles trapped in ice cores from the region. Miller described the warming signal coming from the Baffin Island icecap in the last twenty years, "stunning". He expects all the ice caps to disappear eventually even if there is no additional warming.

On the opposite side of the globe, an Australian Green Party leader got into political hot water by linking the early bushfires raging in New South Wales to global warming. Adam Bandt was admonished by the Federal Environment Minister for connecting the two events, who said it was "politicizing these bushfires". Some climate scientists have backed up the deputy Greens leader. Australia has had an unprecedented warm winter, so conditions are very dry and conducive to wildfires. The recent UN climate report predicts Australia will experience dryer winters as a result of global warming. UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres says these heatwaves "will continue in their intensity and and in their frequency." The current Australian federal government has cut back funds for studying climate change.