Eemian Greenland melting 55% warming, 45% solar and feedbacks – ice more stable now

Researchers of Utrecht University say the Greenland ice sheet may be more stable now than during the Eemian, the previous interglacial period, which lasted from 130,000-114,000 years BP. It turns out back then Arctic insolation was bigger – although still … Continue reading

Climate model shows possibility of multiple years of Arctic sea ice growth – or faster decline

Computer simulations of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research indicate that the natural Arctic climate variability, like seasonal and annual variations in pressure systems, wind patterns and precipitation or cloud cover, could be larger than previously thought.

Fossil driftwood tells Danish scientists the Arctic sea ice variations during Holocene are larger than we thought

During the Holocene Climatic Optimum of 8,000 to 5,000 years ago, the Arctic sea ice was less than 50% [so <2.6 mln sq km] of the lowest extent on satellite record, the 2007 melting record, researchers of Copenhagen University stated … Continue reading

Eemian sea level rise update: just 1.6-2.2m from Greenland – Antarctic ice sheet less stable than we think?

Last week we learned 5 percent of the Eemian sea level rise was thermal expansion of the oceans. Today we learn the slightly higher temperatures led Greenland to ‘only’ add an extra 1.6-2.2m. Do we fail to spot the Antarctic … Continue reading

Melting Arctic ice releases persistent organic pollutants

Global temperatures are rising and as a result icecaps are melting. But as a study in Nature Climate Change shows icecaps don’t just discharge water when they melt. They also release a gift from generations past in the form of … Continue reading

Ocean warming speeds up ice sheet melting Greenland and Antarctica

In March we learned ice sheet formation is two-sided. On Sunday, sipping coffee whilst reading the latest Nature Geoscience, we learned the same might go for ice sheet melting. If so, melting would likely accelerate over this century and sea … Continue reading

A bit of green on Antarctica to aid against global warming

Brilliant green pools teeming with life have been found among remote Antarctic sea ice. The pools owe their colour to the high amounts of algae in the water. The pools were observed in the Amundsen Sea’s polynya, a region of seasonally … Continue reading