Thank you. Have you read this and can give a layman summary? Been heavily heads down in work and quickly realized this guy uses a lot of words and science I'm not familiar with. I'd love to roll my sleeves up and try to digest it all.
As soon as I get some time, I'll try to dive in more deeply. This is probably old hat and light work for some on the forum though. Maybe they'll be kind enough to weigh in after reading it.
Re: Environment
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:11 am
by Nodack
Wille said the warm conditions over Antarctica were spurred by an extreme atmospheric river, or a narrow corridor of water vapor in the sky, on its east coast. According to computer models, the atmospheric river made landfall on Tuesday between the Dumont d’Urville and Casey Stations and dropped an intense amount of rainfall, potentially causing a significant melt event in the area.
The moisture from the storm diffused and spread over the interior of the continent. However, a strong blocking high pressure system or “heat dome,” moved in over east Antarctica, preventing the moisture from escaping. The heat dome was exceptionally intense, five standard deviations above normal.
The excessive moisture from the atmospheric river was able to retain large amounts of heat, while the liquid-rich clouds radiated the heat down to the surface — known as downward long-wave radiation.
Wille explained warm air is often transported over the Antarctic interior this way but not to this extent or intensity. “[T]his is not something we’ve seen before,” he said. “This moisture is the reason why the temperatures have gotten just so high.”
Wille said it’s difficult to attribute this one event to climate change at the moment, but he does think rising temperatures helped prime conditions for such an event. Climate change is “loading the dice” for more situations like this, he said.
Wille and his colleagues are studying how climate change will affect the circulation patterns around Antarctica and whether atmospheric rivers will become more common or more intense.
“We do believe they will become more intense because it just simple physics … but the details, we’re still trying to figure that out. It would be very difficult to say that there’s not a climate change fingerprint on an event like this,” he said.
Re: Environment
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:15 am
by Nodack
I started that second ne and said maybe some other time.
Re: Environment
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 6:54 am
by In2ition
Where did you get that from?
Re: Environment
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 7:15 am
by Mori Chu
There's no need to read an article that tries to explain away climate change. The cause of these high temperatures is climate change. It is as simple as that. People who come up with elaborate theories to try to minimize or explain away climate change have an agenda, and it's the agenda of "duh." Ignore them.
There's no need to read an article that tries to explain away climate change. The cause of these high temperatures is climate change. It is as simple as that. People who come up with elaborate theories to try to minimize or explain away climate change have an agenda, and it's the agenda of "duh." Ignore them.
It's obvious that you didn't read it, because if you did, you wouldn't have written what you just did. It doesn't explain away climate change, lol.
Re: Environment
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 8:45 am
by Split T
Ya I didn’t really understand the weather pattern technical details, but from what I gathered:
Unique weather pattern that Antartica experiences regularly, only this time it was more intense than usual. Not directly caused by global warming, but global warming makes these events more likely and more intense.
California, Arizona and Nevada face major water cutbacks from the Colorado River
“The dry period we're in right now is the worst the western U.S. has seen in 1,200 years.”
“If levels drop just a little further, they will get too low to generate hydropower at the Grand Canyon Dam. That is something that's never happened before. So water managers are going to release a lot less water from Lake Powell to keep those turbines running and to keep supplying electricity to about 5 million people.“
“California, Arizona and Nevada still have enough stored water that they are not going to have to shut off anybody's taps, you know, at least for now. All three of those states - they have also been coming up with new ways to conserve water - recycling it, making rules against lawns, really stretching out their limited water supply. Tom Buschatzke is the top water official in Arizona. He says the first thing to go would be outdoor watering for things like grass and swimming pools.”
Re: Environment
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:11 am
by Indy
John Oliver had an informative segment on it a week ago.
Re: Environment
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2022 3:07 pm
by Nodack
I saw that too. Time to start researching Stillsuits.
Re: Environment
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2022 3:24 pm
by Indy
Or move.
Re: Environment and climate change
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:31 am
by Mori Chu
Water shortage expected in states that draw from the CO River.
Re: Environment and climate change
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:39 am
by Indy
Yeah that is just talking about the agreed cuts from 2019. Each year the number goes down.
Also, it is primarily an imaginary game. The "treaty" all of the states and Mexico have for use of the Colorado is based on water volumes that never existed. It is just a shell game. (liked talked about in that Last Week Tonight video above)
And it isn't just the West. Even tropical places like Puerto Rico are struggling with water restrictions due to lack of rain. It isn't getting better any time soon.
Re: Environment and climate change
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:06 pm
by Nodack
It is a little scary. A friend of mine in Phoenix is considering moving back to Ohio because he is afraid the water shortage will decimate housing prices and destroy the economy in Phoenix.