Today we had the pleasure of learning from Rick Thoman, Climate sciences and services manager, National Weather Service, Alaska region.
Polar Climate impacts everyone. Here are just a few things to know.
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"Congratulations ladies and gentlemen, you've just witnessed the birth of a new climate." According to Thoman, minimum temperatures have steadily increased, with the most significant climate changes seen in the northern coastal regions of Alaska. Thoman says sea ice depletion and its insulating factor resulted in a completely new climate type along the Arctic coast!
Here are some of my takeaways from Rick Thoman's talk today:
There is complex interaction among the Earth's systems such as the atmosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere. What is happening with our climate is not just happening in our atmosphere.
The biosphere influences and drives climate changes, and is characterized by far more rapid increases and decreases in the upper Arctic regions than at 37 degrees N, (Norfolk, VA) for example. (All living things in/on the planet are categorized under the biosphere.) The cryosphere includes the frozen places on Earth that are so cold that water is a solid, in the form of ice or snow. Not all of the places are in the polar regions!
We can use several other items/ organisms for climate records, including tree rings, coral, ice cores, and lake/ ocean sediment.
Arctic sea ice differs from that in the Antarctic due to its variability. The statistics are not as "smooth" or consistent as they tend to be in the southern pole region.
CO2 will remain longer than CH4 (methane), although there are many contributors to methane release which amplify impacts of greenhouse gases. CO2 levels have rocketed just since the Industrial Revolution.
Human impacts are most certainly at play.
Disclaimer: The more I learn, for certain, the less I know. Listening to weather and climate experts, most would grasp the fact that humans have had--and are having--an immense impact on the earth's climate and weather.
Today's Haiku
Is it a challenge
Or an opportunity?
It's our climate change.
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