'We packed long underwear and never wore it': Arctic scientists shocked at warming

[marmar]

(Guardian UK) When the Arctic researchers Jacqueline Grebmeier and Lee Cooper made their annual scientific pilgrimage to frigid seas off Alaska last month, what they found was startling.

Areas that were previously accessible at that time of the year only with an ice-breaking ship had become open, wavy water.

“We packed our long underwear, and we never put it on,” Cooper said.

In years past, the pair could convince wary volunteers to accompany them by promising walrus sightings. But with no sea ice to perch on and fewer clams to eat, the tusked butterballs have moved to more comfortable accommodations on the beaches.

Instead, the research team saw huge fishing boats searching farther north for Pacific cod, and a container ship traveling a newly melted route from Quebec to Korea. It snowed only once during their three weeks on the water. ..............(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/13/arctic-melting-climate-change

[roamer65]

1. The Northwest Passage is now open.

Sadly.

[Hekate]

3. Yes

[Ferrets are Cool]

2. When the Gulf Stream is changed by climate change.

Climate tipping points: When Earth’s climate abruptly moves between relatively stable states.

Ocean circulation. As Arctic sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet melt, ocean circulation in the Atlantic may divert the Gulf Stream. This and/or other changes would significantly change regional weather patterns. A change in the Gulf Stream could lead to a significant cooling in Western Europe. This highlights the importance of ocean circulation in maintaining regional climates.

Ice loss. Due to the strong positive feedback of the ice albedo, if enough ice melts, causing Earth’s surface to absorb more and more heat, then we may hit a point of no return. Shrinking ice sheets contribute to sea level rise. Many hundreds of millions of people live near a coast, so our ability to predict sea level rise over the next century has substantial human and economic ramifications.

Rapid release of methane. Deposits of frozen methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and carbon dioxide lie beneath permafrost in Arctic regions. About a quarter of the Northern hemisphere is covered by permafrost. As the environment warms and the permafrost thaws, these deposits can be released into the atmosphere and present a risk of enhanced warming.

https://climate.nasa.gov/nasa_science/science/