Taken by MTSAT on February 2nd, 2pm (click for larger view)
The newly operational MTSAT-2 images from February 2nd are particularly striking. The images, showing the coldest clouds as white, reveal the extent of swirling white cloud and the deep eye of the storm which is clearly visible just off the coast of Northern Australia. — University of Leicester
The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported wednesday that the Arctic sea-ice extent averaged just 13.55 million square kilometers, the lowest January ice extent since satellite records began in 1979 (*and likely the lowest in thousands of years– SL). That’s a whopping 1.27 million square kilometers below the 1979 to 2000 average.
The Arctic summer’s sea ice melt will likely be another record low pushing the world to an ice-free Arctic one summer in the new future. FYI weather-related records will continue to fall faster than dominos without drastic cuts to our fossil fuel emissions. And frankly I’m tired of writing about it. — Stephen
“Queen’s University became the tenth Canadian post-secondary institute to commit to end the sale and distribution of bottled water on campus, sending the industry a clear message that campuses are backing the tap,” says Water Access Group Member Professor Steven Moore.
Students, staff and faculty are … asking college and university administrations to instead promote investment in accessible public water infrastructure, says press release.
For more visit Inside the Bottle – has great video: “The Story of Bottled Water” – Stephen
My previous post explains why getting rid of plastic water bottles are important for our health and environment (and water tastes much better in steel or glass).
Images Modis sat - January 31 at 10:30 a.m., 12:05 p.m., and 1:45 p.m. Eastern Time
Parts of Arctic +21C above normal in January
By Stephen Leahy
UXBRIDGE, Canada, Jan 28, 2011 (IPS)
The world’s northern freezer is on rapid defrost as large volumes of warm water are pouring into the Arctic Ocean, speeding the melt of sea ice, according to a new study.
Surface temperatures in parts of the Arctic have been 21 degrees C above normal for more than a month in recent weeks.
“Boats were still in the water during the first week of January,” said David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, referring to southern Baffin Island, some 2,000 km north of Montreal. This is a region that receives just four or five hours of weak sunlight during the long winter. Temperatures normally range from -25 to -35 degrees C but were above zero on some days in January.
“It’s impossible for many people in parts of the eastern Arctic to safely get on the ice to hunt much-needed food for their families – for the second winter in a row,” Phillips said in a report.
The warming and melting of the Arctic is happening much faster than expected and new data reveals that huge volumes of warmer water from the North Atlantic are now flowing into and warming up the Arctic Ocean, researchers reported Friday in the journal Science.
“In the past hundred years the waters in the Fram Strait have warmed about two degrees C,” says co-author Thomas Marchitto, of Colorado University’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.
Stephen Leahy, International Environmental Journalist 