Author: postMigrator

Pacific Decadal Oscillation Enhancing Current La Nina

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“In fact,” said Willis, “these natural climate phenomena can sometimes
hide global warming caused by human activities. Or they can have the
opposite effect of accentuating it.”
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Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421195005.htm
Larger Pacific Climate Event Helps Current La Nina Linger

ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2008) – Boosted by the
influence of a larger climate event in the
Pacific, one of the strongest La Niñas in many
years is slowly weakening but continues to
blanket the Pacific Ocean near the equator, as
shown by new sea-level height data collected by
the U.S.-French Jason oceanographic satellite.

This La Niña, which has persisted for the past
year, is indicated by the blue area in the center
of the image along the equator. Blue indicates
lower than normal sea level (cold water). The
data were gathered in early April.

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The Great Migration Crisis

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Published on Monday, April 21, 2008 by The Independent/UK
The Great Migration Crisis
By Michael McCarthy

Many of the birds that migrate to Britain and Europe from Africa every spring, from the willow warbler to the cuckoo, are undergoing alarming declines, new research shows.

The falls in numbers are so sharp and widespread that ornithologists are waking up to a major new environmental problem – the possibility that the whole system of bird migration between Africa and Europe is running into trouble.

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Arctic Ice More Vulnerable to Increasingly Sunny Weather

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National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
April 21, 2008

Arctic Ice More Vulnerable to Sunny Weather, New Study Shows
http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2008/arcticice.jsp

BOULDER-The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly
vulnerable to summer sunshine, new research concludes. The study, by
scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and
Colorado State University (CSU), finds that unusually sunny weather
contributed to last summer’s record loss of Arctic ice, while similar
weather conditions in past summers do not appear to have had
comparable impacts.

The study, which draws on observations from instruments on a new
group of NASA satellites known as the “A-Train,” will be published
tomorrow in Geophysical Research Letters. It was funded by NASA and
the National Science Foundation, which is NCAR’s principal sponsor.

“In a warmer world, the thinner sea ice is becoming increasingly
sensitive to year-to-year variations in weather and cloud patterns,”
says NCAR’s Jennifer Kay, the lead author. “A single unusually clear
summer can now have a dramatic impact.”

The findings indicate that summer sunshine in the Arctic produces
more pronounced melting than in the past, largely because there is
now less ice to reflect solar radiation back into space. As a result,
the presence or absence of clouds now has greater implications for
sea ice loss.

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The above paragraphs are excerpts. For the complete press release, go to:
http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2008/arcticice.jsp

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Alpine Tree Study Points to Climate Change

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http://www.idahopress.com/news/?id=7692
Idaho Press-Tribune
Monday, April 21st, 2008

Tree study points to climate change

POCATELLO – Trees are now surviving at heights in the Intermountain
West where scientists previously said they couldn’t.

For the past 13 years, Idaho State University associate biology
professor Matt Germino has planted evergreen seedlings on regional
mountain tops, and the evidence he’s gathered by studying them shows
significant change in Idaho’s climate.

The speed at which a long-standing rule of nature seems to be
breaking down is hard to fathom, even for a researcher who seeks the
evidence.

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