Global Climate Change, can we talk about it now?

[NickB79]

19. As much as you'd like us to believe, it's not one or the other

For example, you can still have hurricane cycles AND see the frequency of hurricanes increase due to global warming. The cycles are just amplified, sped up, and the storms more frequent overall.

For example: http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2007/hurricanefrequency.shtml

Frequency of Atlantic Hurricanes Doubled Over Last Century; Climate Change Suspected

July 29, 2007

BOULDER—About twice as many Atlantic hurricanes form each year on average than a century ago, according to a new statistical analysis of hurricanes and tropical storms in the north Atlantic. The study concludes that warmer sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and altered wind patterns associated with global climate change are fueling much of the increase.Greg Holland

"These numbers are a strong indication that climate change is a major factor in the increasing number of Atlantic hurricanes," says Holland.

The analysis identifies three periods since 1900, separated by sharp transitions, during which the average number of hurricanes and tropical storms increased dramatically and then remained elevated and relatively steady. The first period, between 1900 and 1930, saw an average of six Atlantic tropical cyclones (or major storms), of which four were hurricanes and two were tropical storms. From 1930 to 1940, the annual average increased to 10, consisting of five hurricanes and five tropical storms. In the final study period, from 1995 to 2005, the average reached 15, of which eight were hurricanes and seven were tropical storms.

And: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-hurricane-frequency-20121015,0,4179372.story?track=rss

Now, a new study is likely to stoke the debate even further. On Monday, a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, or PNAS, concluded that large Katrina-sized hurricanes were twice as likely to form off the United States' southeast coast in hotter years than they were in colder years.

The analysis, which focused only on the North Atlantic, also concluded that the frequency of hurricanes with large storm surges has been increasing since 1923.

The study is unique in that it relies primarily on storm surge data taken from tide gauges along the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

Other studies have relied on satellite imagery that has only been used for the last 40 years. The tide gauge data date to the 1920s.

The evidence is pretty clear, even if you don't want to look at it.