Posted on 25 October 2020 by John Hartz

Story of the Week...

Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record

Delayed freeze in Laptev Sea could have knock-on effects across polar region, scientists say

Climate change is pushing warmer Atlantic currents into the Arctic and breaking up the usual stratification between warm deep waters and the cool surface. This also makes it difficult for ice to form. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

For the first time since records began, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice in Siberia has yet to start freezing in late October.

The delayed annual freeze in the Laptev Sea has been caused by freakishly protracted warmth in northern Russia and the intrusion of Atlantic waters, say climate scientists who warn of possible knock-on effects across the polar region.

Ocean temperatures in the area recently climbed to more than 5C above average, following a record breaking heatwave and the unusually early decline of last winter’s sea ice.

The trapped heat takes a long time to dissipate into the atmosphere, even at this time of the year when the sun creeps above the horizon for little more than an hour or two each day.

Graphs of sea-ice extent in the Laptev Sea, which usually show a healthy seasonal pulse, appear to have flat-lined. As a result, there is a record amount of open sea in the Arctic. 

Click here to access the entire article as originally published on The Guardian website.

Alarm as Arctic sea ice not yet freezing at latest date on record by Jonathan Watts, Environment, The Guardian, Oct 22, 2020

Toon of the Week...

Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page.

Quote of the Week...

“Today, climate disasters are up close and personal for Americans,” said Jeremy Symons, a consultant to environmental nonprofit groups and former vice president for political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, who has closely followed U.S. climate policy for decades. “It’s leaped out of the science books and into the communities where people have to deal with the deadly consequences of pretending it doesn’t exist.”

It’s a sea change’: How climate went from the back burner to a central issue in this year’s debates by Bray Dennis, Politics, Washington Post, Oct 22, 2020 

Coming Soon on SkS...

• Debunking Handbook 2020: Debunk often and do it properly (John Cook & BaerbelW) 
• Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Volumes Video - 2020 edition (BaerbelW)
• SkS New Research for Week #43 (Doug Bostrom)
• Arctic sea ice death spiral freeze (Dana)
• On climate clock, it's parts per million, not minutes, that matter most (Bud Ward)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #44 (John Hartz)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #44 (John Hartz) 

Poster of the Week...

SkS Week in Review... 

• Sun: 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #42 by John Hartz (SkS Original) 
• Mon: A Skeptical Science member's path to an experiment on carbon sequestration by Doug Bostrom (SkS Original)
• Tue: The Debunking Handbook 2020: Prevent misinformation from sticking if you can by John Cook & BaerbelW (SkS Original)
• Wed: Skeptical Science New Research for Week #42, 2020 by Doug Bostrom (SkS Original)
• Thu: The Debunking Handbook 2020: The elusive backfire effects by John Cook & BaerbelW (SkS Original)
• Fri: 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #43 by John Hartz (SkS Original)