Arctic Sea Ice

Arctic methane: Russian researchers report

I vowed not to talk about this because it literally makes me sick to my stomach, but it's too important to deny. We all know about the vast deposits of methane clathrates on the Siberian continental shelf. They are kept in place by pressure and low temperatures. However, the temperatures (SAT as well as SST) are getting less and less low in the Arctic, so in theory it could mean that these deposits come loose and leave the ocean floor to end up in the atmosphere. Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 and some extinction events in the distant past have been linked to the deadly feedback of warming->methane release->more warming->more methane release->etc.

No one is really sure what is going on exactly with those methane deposits, but in the past years there has been much speculation (undoubtedly caused by the spectacular retreat of summer sea ice in the region) and reporting of a probable increase of methane bubbling up from the Siberian continental shelf. And so the results of this year's Russian research mission were eagerly awaited. Mind you, not by me.

It seems the results are in and were reported at AGU last week.
The Independent reports with this article:

Shock as retreat of Arctic sea ice releases deadly greenhouse gas

Russian research team astonished after finding 'fountains' of methane bubbling to surface

Flash melting

I introduced the term 'flash melting' in a recent SIE update. It was a pun on the term 'flash flooding' where lots of rain falls out of the sky in a short amount of time, causing creeks and rivers to flood very fast. I based the concept on the state of large parts of the ice pack in the Beaufort, Chukchi and East Siberian Seas that looks like slush puppie on the satellite images. It seems so weak that one can't help but wonder if it will all "just melt away quite suddenly", to quote Professor Peter Wadhams from this 2007 BBC interview (as I did in the piece CAPIE hits record low).

In the last two days something weird has happened on the sea ice concentration maps of the University of Bremen, with large swathes of ice suddenly disappearing from the radar (the full animation from August 6th-22nd can be watched here) on the upper left of the image:

Update August 24th: Added yesterday's image. Could be the sensor is picking up ice again.

Update August 25th: Added yesterday's image. No more flash melting (thank God).

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This looks so spectacular that it could just be a fluke, a deceived satellite sensor. Flash melting is a nice term for fast melting, but it can never be as fast as flash flooding. It ought to occur more on a time scale of say one week (which is very fast in the Arctic). Because however weak the slush puppie ice may be, it still takes large amounts of energy to make it disappear completely.

On the other hand IJIS extent took a bit of a nosedive with a reported melt of 98K square km for yesterday's date, and there's a huge cyclone battering the ice as we speak:

Arctic scientist suspended

Following a comment in the latest SIE update comment section, I draw attention to this article on the Guardian website:

Arctic scientist who exposed climate threat to polar bear is suspended

US government conducts 'integrity inquiry' on federal biologist amid lobbying by oil firms for Arctic permits

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent

It was seen as one of the most distressing effects of climate change ever recorded: polar bears dying of exhaustion after being stranded between melting patches of Arctic sea ice.

But now the government scientist who first warned of the threat to polar bears in a warming Arctic has been suspended and his work put under official investigation for possible scientific misconduct.

Read the rest of the article here.

I have to admit that I'm not really up-to-date when it comes to polar bear research, so I can't judge the accusation of scientific misconduct. Of course, the potential extinction of polar bears has been used by environmental organisations to keep the Arctic the pristine place that it is. And rightly so, in my opinion. I believe some organisations are a bit too eager to plunder the Arctic's mineral riches. But would they go as far as eliminating scientists in this way? I guess so, and I guess Barack 'Yes, we can' Obama is proving again he's nothing more than a puppet.

But first I'd like to know if there is any truth to these scientific misconduct charges. Does anyone here have a better overview of polar bear research?

UPDATE: In the Guardian article mention is made of a complaint filed by a group called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility:

Run, rabbit, run

The sun looks to be getting lower:

 

Run, rabbit, run

Dig that hole

Forget the sun

;-)

Maybe now the great Eli will finally honour me with a visit...

How's this for alarmism?

I consider myself to be quite an alarmist, but this video from Supreme Master Ching Hai...

I'm not sure I agree with the format or the conclusion, but the science bits are interesting in themselves.