M5.1 Earthquake hits Greenland Sea

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale hit the Greenland Sea on April 26, 2014, at 03:55:33 UTC at a depth of 10.00 km (6.21 mi). The epicenter of the earthquake is located right on the faultline that crosses the Arctic Ocean, at 73.479°N 7.974°E, some 567km (352mi) SSW of Longyearbyen, Svalbard.[ click...

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M4.4 Earthquake hits Arctic Ocean north of Greenland

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter scale hit the Arctic Ocean north of Greenland on April 22, 2014, at 10:30:23 UTC at a depth of 10.00 km (6.2 mi).[ click on image to enlarge ]The epicenter of the quake is located right on the faultline that crosses the Arctic Ocean, at 83.328°N 4.568°W, 262km (163mi) NE...

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Arctic Sea Ice in Steep Descent

Arctic sea ice area is in steep descent, as illustrated by the image below. Sea ice area was only smaller at this time of the year in 2007, for all years for which satellite data are available.[ click on image to enlarge ]Earlier this year, on March 9, 2014, Arctic sea ice area was at a record low for the time of the year....

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Near-Term Human Extinction

Global Warming and FeedbacksIs there a mechanism that could make humanity go extinct in the not-too-distant future, i.e. within a handful of decades?Most people will be aware that emissions due to human activity are causing global warming, as illustrated by the arrow marked 1 in the image on the left. Global warming can cause...

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M4.5 Earthquake hits Arctic Ocean

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale hit the Arctic Ocean on April 13, 2014, at 02:12:19 UTC at a depth of 10.00 km (6.21 mi).The epicenter of the quake is located right on the faultline that crosses the Arctic Ocean, at 86.687°N 45.393°E, some 800 km north of Franz Josef Land.Earthquakes at this location...

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Methane buildup in the atmosphere

Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere are now firmly above the 400 parts per million (ppm) level, as illustrated by the graph below, from keelingcurve.ucsd.edu.As above graph shows, levels of CO2 go up and down with the seasons. Even higher levels are expected to be reached in May 2014. Importantly, 400 ppm is 143%...

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March 2014 Arctic Sea Ice Volume 2nd lowest on Record

The March 2014 Arctic sea ice volume, as calculated by the Pan-Arctic Ice Ocean Modeling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS) at the Polar Science Center, was the 2nd lowest on record at 21.818 km³. Only March 2011 had a lower volume, at 21.421 km³, as illustrated by the graph below, by Wipneus.Another way of depicting...

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Permafrost thawing could accelerate global warming

"If the permafrost melts entirely, there would be 5x the amount of carbon in the atmosphere than there is now" - Jeff ChantonJeff Chanton, the John Widmer Winchester Professor of Oceanography at Florida State.A team of researchers lead by Florida State University have found new evidence that permafrost thawing is releasing...

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River ice reveals new twist on Arctic melt

A new study led by Lance Lesack, a Simon Fraser University geographer and Faculty of Environment professor, has discovered unexpected climate-driven changes in the mighty Mackenzie River’s ice breakup. This discovery may help resolve the complex puzzle underlying why Arctic ice is disappearing more rapidly than expected.Lance...

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Like a giant elevator to the stratosphere

Recent research results show that an atmospheric hole over the tropical West Pacific is reinforcing ozone depletion in the polar regions and could have a significant influence on the climate of the Earth.Potsdam, 3 April 2014. An international team of researchers headed by Potsdam scientist Dr. Markus Rex from the Alfred Wegener...

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Escalating extreme weather events to hammer humanity

By Paul BeckwithExtreme weather events are rocketing upwards in their frequency of occurrence, intensity, and duration and are impacting new regions that are unprepared. These events, such as torrential rains, are causing floods and damaging crops and infrastructure like roads, rail, pipelines, and buildings. Cities, states,...

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