Monday, May 06, 2019

The Bering Strait should be covered in ice, but it's nearly all gone


Satellite imagery of the mostly ice-free Bering Strait on Feb. 28. 2019.
IMAGE: SENTINEL HUB EO BROWSER/SENTINEL 3

BY MARK KAUFMAN MAR 04, 2019

During winter, the Bering Strait has historically been blanketed in ice. But this year, the ice has nearly vanished.

"The usually ice-covered Bering Strait is almost completely open water," Zack Labe, a climate scientist and Ph.D. candidate at the University of California at Irvine, said over email.

At its narrowest point, the Arctic strait between the U.S. and Russia is 55 miles across, and there's a prominent theory that people once crossed from Asia into North America across an exposed Bering land bridge (back when sea levels were lower). In modern times, however, this frigid waterway usually builds ice through the winter, reaching its greatest extent in late March.

After that, the ice usually lingers for months.

"There should be ice here until May," Lars Kaleschke, a climate scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, said over email.



Lars Kaleschke@seaice_de
· Mar 3, 2019


There is something significant going on in the Bering Sea: a very low ice extent for the second year in a row.




Lars Kaleschke@seaice_de


A new record low sea ice extent for the day of the year in the Bering Sea. pic.twitter.com/DuznyRcKV4
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But now, in early March, the ice extent is the lowest in the 40-year satellite record, said Labe. On March 2 specifically, the ice extent was lowest on record for that day of the year, added Kaleschke.

Overall, the last two years have now seen exceptionally low ice cover in the Bering Sea, and there are a few reasons why.

In the longer-term, the Arctic is warming over twice as fast as the rest of the globe, leading to significant melting across much of the Arctic, even where the ice is the thickest, oldest, and most resilient. "The 12 lowest extents in the satellite record have occurred in the last 12 years," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2018 Arctic report concluded.

This Arctic warming is especially notable near the Bering Strait. "In the long-term, temperatures in northern Alaska have been rising faster than anywhere else in the United States," said Labe.


SEE ALSO: An appreciation of the persistently grim tweets from the Norway Ice Service




It was the warmest March on record for nearly all of Alaska. Deadhorse, Alaska, hit a whopping 40 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. 
Exacerbating matters are storms in the Bering Sea, which roll through and batter whatever sea ice is left. There will be little to no sea ice here before the onset of summer, allowing the sea to stock itself with even more heat before the warm season, noted Rick Thoman, a climate specialist for the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Meanwhile, after a long, sun-drenched summer, the melted Arctic reaches its lowest sea ice extent, or minimum, in late September. This year promises to fit the trend: The 12 lowest ice extents on record have all occurred in the last 12 years
"The changes in the Arctic are happening faster than they’re happening anywhere else on the rest of the planet," Jeremey Mathis, a NOAA oceanographer, told Mashable

SEE Satellite photos show how pitiful ice cover is in the Arctic right now

Some icebergs are a glorious emerald green. Why?



A green iceberg.
IMAGE: AGU/JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: OCEANS/KIPFSTUHL ET AL 1992

BY MARK KAUFMAN MAR 05, 2019
While traversing the seas off of eastern Antarctica in 1988, glaciologist Stephen Warren came upon green icebergs floating in the ocean. "We never expected to see green icebergs," said Warren, noting that a deep blue hue — not emerald green — is commonly observed in these chunks of ice.
Over three decades later, Warren and a team of researchers have put forward an explanation for these rarely seen icebergs' green hue. Their hypothesis, published Monday in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, argues that tiny iron-rich rocky particles, similar to flour or dust, are the culprits. Specifically, this finely ground-up rock, aptly named "glacial flour," gets trapped in the ice on the bottom of ice shelves — the ends of glaciers that float over the ocean — ultimately lending to the ice's deep green appearance. When the icebergs eventually snap off, the fresh bergs carry the verdant hue.
This irony-rich glacial flour, though, is reddish-yellow. So, why are the icebergs green? 
The answer is simple: light. Pure icebergs naturally reflect a blue color, as ice crystals reflect short blue wavelengths of sunlight while absorbing longer wavelengths of light like reds. But when masses of ice are infused with that yellowish-red glacial flour (which naturally absorbs blue light), the resulting iceberg ends up absorbing both blue and red, while reflecting what's left — a color that falls in the greenish spectrum.
"So what gets through is the green," said Warren, a professor emeritus at the University of Washington's Department of Atmospheric Sciences.


Pure blue marine ice, without iron glacial flour.
IMAGE: COLLIN ROESLER
Decades ago, Warren didn't suspect ground-up glacial dust was responsible for the greenery. Rather, he thought it was long dead sea life frozen in the ice. "We thought it was some dissolved, organic matter, bits of dead cells." But there just wasn't enough of this organic matter in the ice to account for the deep green color. The quandary lasted for years. Then, in 2016, researchers found that ice in the undersides of an Antarctic ice shelf contained nearly 500 times more iron than the ice above it, which rekindled Warren's curiosity and led him to this theory.
Now, Warren wants to return to eastern Antarctica to collect ice samples and see if their hypothesis holds true.

"It makes perfect sense," Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center who had no role in the research, said in an interview. "When you put it in a red-absorbing material, you're going to get green light coming back out," he explained.


A 1988  image showing dark green marine ice, at center.
IMAGE: WARREN ET. AL/JGR OCEANS 2019
A key element of green icebergs isn't just what they contain, but how they're made. Unlike ice atop glaciers, which is made of compressed snow, this ice is built from below in the ocean (hence the name "marine ice"). Small, plate-shaped ice crystals form in the frigid water below the ice shelf, and as these crystals float up, they "bump into" particles of glacier flour and carry them into the ice shelf. In a way, it's snowing from below, explained Warren.
Green icebergs aren't regularly seen. They're only visible in certain parts of Antartica where the glacial flour mingles with the ice, specifically the Amery Ice Shelf on the eastern side of the great continent. "The tourist ships don't go there," noted Warren. What's more, the green ice usually only becomes visible when an iceberg capsizes and flips over, exposing the green, iron-infused ice formed in the ocean. 

Marine ice freezes and forms under ice shelves.
IMAGE: AGU
So green icebergs haven't just been a mystery for decades, they're also not easy to spot unless you're on an expedition near the Amery Ice Shelf. 
A big question still remains about the green icebergs: "Why would anyone pay us to do that research?" Warren asked.
Green icebergs aren't just a natural curiosity, though. They may serve a critical purpose in the vast Southern Ocean, which is starved of iron. The phytoplankton that live here are the base of the food chain and need iron to grow. The green icebergs, then, might transport these vital nutrients out to sea.
"This could be an important source of iron," explained Warren. 
"These things would be like big shopping carts for the microbes that live there," added Scambos.





More than 1 million species are likely to go extinct, many within decades, unless their habitats are restored through dramatic change, a UN report says.



Nature is in more trouble now than at any other time in human history, with extinction looming over one million species of plants and animals, scientists said ...


Nature is in more trouble now than at any other time in human history, with extinction looming over 1 million species of plants and animals, scientists said ...


Nature is being eroded at rates unprecedented in human history, says scientist Robert Watson.
video_youtube


There is hope in the face of environmental crises. But we must all embrace change, says naturalist Chris Packham.





Lauge & Baba Gnohm - Various Tracks [Full Album]




Old Liveset from Operaen, Christiania, Denmark. Download: http://soundcloud.com/laugebabagnohm/

The duo Lauge & Baba Gnohm consists of Henrik Laugesen and Kalle Christensen, both born in 1985 in Denmark. They first met in 2008 in Christiania. After a successful day in the studio, they decided to put their previous solo projects on hold, and team up. Lauge & Baba Gnohm was formed in the late winter of 2008, and that wintry feeling which was present in their first tracks, still leave traces in their more recent soundscapes. Henrik and Kalle are heavily inspired by nature,
especially the arctic parts of the world. Till now Lauge & Baba Gnohm have had many releases on various labels around the globe, as well as being part of a sync company dealing with soundtracks for movies and documentaries. The very first Lauge & Baba Gnohm collaboration release was The Perfect Stranger which was released on the German record label Blue Tunes Records. Along with releases on different compilations,

 Lauge & Baba Gnohm have released two EPs: Daybreak, on Soundmute, and Monolith, on Chillbase and the full length album "Langbortistan" on Altar Records... http://soundcloud.com/laugebabagnohm

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Laug... 

► Spotify: http://bit.ly/SpotifyTrancentral


BOEING FAILED TO DISCLOSE 737 MAX ALERT TO FAA FOR 13 MONTHS


Doug Ford Grants Interview to Fox News While Snubbing Canadian Media



Doug Ford, avoiding legitimate press, leans on state-funded propaganda outlet


North99 Staff May 1, 2019

On a recent trip to New York, Doug Ford granted an interview to Trump propaganda outlet Fox News while controversy swirled in Ontario about Ford’s treatment of Canadian media.

The controversy began when reporter Cynthia Mulligan pointed out that Ford’s trip included Ontario News Now, the government-funded propaganda outlet setup by Doug Ford when he became Premier.



Cynthia Mulligan
✔@CityCynthia


Your tax dollars paid for a crew to go to New York with the Premier to shoot this #onpoli
Ontario News Now
✔@OntarioNewsNow


During a jam packed two day trip to New York, Premier Ford sent a clear message: Our government is making it easier to do business in Ontario.





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Ford’s Press Secretary took to Twitter to respond, claiming Ford’s team had given numerous media advisories notifying Canadian outlets about the trip.



Ivana Yelich@yelich_ivana



Despite putting out numerous advisories and news releases on Premier @fordnation meeting with some of the biggest companies in America, I received one media request for information regarding his trip. And they wonder why @OntarioNewsNow exists.
Cynthia Mulligan
✔@CityCynthia


Your tax dollars paid for a crew to go to New York with the Premier to shoot this #onpoli https://twitter.com/ontarionewsnow/status/1123257367502708742 …

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Reporters took to Twitter to set the record straight.

Robert Benzie from the Toronto Star pointed out that Ford’s team gave no notice to the media until the night before Ford left.



Robert Benzie
✔@robertbenzie




1. The media were given no notice about the premier’s trip until the night before he and the treasurer jetted to New York.
2. The Star asked about his trade mission yesterday and today.
3. Ontario News Now does video press releases not journalism.
Ivana Yelich@yelich_ivana


Despite putting out numerous advisories and news releases on Premier @fordnation meeting with some of the biggest companies in America, I received one media request for information regarding his trip. And they wonder why @OntarioNewsNow exists. https://twitter.com/citycynthia/status/1123288218424705024 …

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Allison Jones from Canadian Press asked Ford’s office on Friday about their Monday plans. The trip was not mentioned.



Allison Jones
✔@allisonjones_cp




On Friday, CP asked what was on tap for Monday and the premier’s office didn’t bother mentioning this trip.
Ivana Yelich@yelich_ivana


Despite putting out numerous advisories and news releases on Premier @fordnation meeting with some of the biggest companies in America, I received one media request for information regarding his trip. And they wonder why @OntarioNewsNow exists. https://twitter.com/citycynthia/status/1123288218424705024 …

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Other reporters rightly pointed out the absurdity of the situation.



Colin D'Mello CTVNews@ColinDMello



Legitimate journalists were not informed about the Premier’s trip to NYC until 4:03 pm the day before he was scheduled to depart.

Yet, Ontario News Now was given a taxpayer funded assignment to ask the Premier flattering questions. #ONpoli
Ivana Yelich@yelich_ivana


Despite putting out numerous advisories and news releases on Premier @fordnation meeting with some of the biggest companies in America, I received one media request for information regarding his trip. And they wonder why @OntarioNewsNow exists. https://twitter.com/citycynthia/status/1123288218424705024 …

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This follows a similar pattern for how Ford treats the media.

In March Ford pointed out that social media allows him to circumvent journalists and the mainstream media. In a fundraising email in April, Ford attacked the media, claiming that they were “mocking” him and his supporters.

In an echo of comments made by Donald Trump, Ford called the media the official opposition in response to reporters questioning his appointment of close family friend Ron Taverner to head the OPP.

All of this fits a pattern we see across the world from right-wing leaders who disdain and attack the free press in favour of their own state-funded propaganda channels.

U.S. News // 1 day ago
One dead, two missing after 'catastrophic' plant explosion in Illinois
May 4 (UPI) -- A "catastrophic explosion" rocked a chemical plant in northern Illinois, sending four people to hospitals and three others unaccounted for and feared dead.
On This Day: Gandhi arrested, put in British jail in India
Top News // 1 day ago
On This Day: Gandhi arrested, put in British jail in India
May 5 (UPI) -- On May 5, 1930, British and Indian troops were put on alert in the major cities throughout India following the arrest and incarceration of Mahatma Gandhi.


House Bill Would Withhold Military Aid to Israel Over Detention of Palestinian Children

More than 10,000 Palestinian children have been arrested, detained, abused and prosecuted by Israeli security forces in the Israeli military court system since 2000, Rep. Betty McCollum’s statement said
Rep. Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, has introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would withhold funding from Israel over its detention of Palestinian children.
The bill is to “promote human rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation and require that United States funds do not support military detention, interrogation, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children, and for other purposes.”
It also establishes the Human Rights Monitoring and Palestinian Child Victims of Israeli Military Detention Fund, authorizing $19 million annually for nongovernmental organizations to monitor human rights abuses associated with Israel’s military detention of children.
“Israel’s system of military juvenile detention is state-sponsored child abuse designed to intimidate and terrorize Palestinian children and their families,” McCollum said in a statement. “It must be condemned, but it is equally outrageous that U.S. tax dollars in the form of military aid to Israel are permitted to sustain what is clearly a gross human rights violation against children.”
More than 10,000 Palestinian children have been arrested, detained, abused and prosecuted by Israeli security forces in the Israeli military court system since 2000, McCollum’s statement said, citing monitoring groups such as Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem.
McCollum had introduced the bill in November 2017 with at least nine co-sponsors. It never came to a vote, in committee or on the House floor.
She has previously called for the withholding of military aid to Israel over its detention of minors, citing the so-called Leahy Law, which bars the State and Defense departments from providing military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights with impunity.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., last month praised McCollum for her efforts during an interview when she said that cutting military and economic aid to Israel “is certainly on the table.”


"Peace can only be achieved by respecting human rights, especially the rights of children."
COMMONDREAMS.ORG
"Israel's system of military juvenile detention is state-sponsored child abuse designed to intimidate and terrorize Palestinian children and their families."







IS THAT A STRESS VEIN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HIS HEAD ?
May 5 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Sunday named Mark Morgan as the new head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Trump hailed Morgan, a former FBI agent and chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, as a "true believer and American Patriot" as he introduced him as the newest leader of the agency.
Morgan has publicly endorsed Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the border, including support for the wall.
"The president had no choice, Congress has failed, they continue to fail," Morgan said in a February interview with CNN.
Trump withdrew his nomination of then-Acting ICE Director Ronald Vitiello to permanently lead the agency last month, saying he wanted to go in a "tougher direction."