Arctic ice starts growing
Posted by JAC on 9/22/2009, 4:10 pm
September 21st, 2009 at 12:56 pm by Bill Steffen under Bill's Blog, Weather

http://blogs.woodtv.com/category/bills-blog/




It looks like the Arctic icecap has reached it's annual minimum and has started to increase.  As you can see the areal extent of Arctic ice at the end summer 2009 is well above the level of last year, which was well above the level of 2007.  This year's minimum is almost one million square kilometers - around twice the size of Spain - above that for 2007, when the minimum sea-ice extent dropped to its lowest ever, at 4.1 million square kilometers. When you hear on the news that the Arctic icecap is shrinking rapidly, keep in mind that was true until 2007, but that it's come back about 40% toward the historic average in the past two years.  At the town of Alert in far northeast Canada, they had their first below zero temperature of the season on Sunday (high:  12, low -3).  BTW - Antarctic ice remains near a historic maximum.  While we may have one small emerging sunspot, the sun has been unusually quiet this year (in fact since 2004).   There are a number of scientists that are concerned about possibly global cooling associated with an extended sunspot minimum, as has happened in the past.  In any case, it won't be getting cool anytime soon in West Michigan.  Temperatures will continue to be warmer than normal this week and probably through early October.  The main jet stream is well north into Canada.  Mosinee on James Bay had a high of 83 on Sunday.  Up at Churchill, September is going to be warmer than it was in July by about three degrees.  Their average high is just 56.  Our overall pattern remains dry, so be grateful for the rain we receive.
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Arctic ice starts growing - JAC, 9/22/2009, 4:10 pm
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