“Arctic methane release due to melting ice is likely to happen again: New research, published on today in Geology, indicates that during the last two global periods of sea-ice melt, the decrease in pressure [from loss of covering ice-sheets] triggered methane release from buried reserves…
“The isotopic record showed that as ice melted and pressure on the seafloor lessened, methane was released in violent spurts, slow seeps, or — most likely — a combination of both.
“Their results demonstrate that as Arctic ice, such as the Greenland ice sheet, melts, similar methane release is likely and should be included in climate models.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210322135221.htm
“Lightning strikes in the Arctic tripled from 2010 to 2020, a finding University of Washington researchers attribute to rising temperatures due to human-caused climate change.
“The results, researchers say, suggest Arctic residents in northern Russia, Canada, Europe and Alaska need to prepare for the danger of more frequent lightning strikes.”
“Glaciers across the world are melting quickly in the face of climate change and the aberrant changes triggered in weather. Alaska’s glaciers are also melting.
“Now, a scientific model posits that the unprecedented melting of glaciers could be behind the earthquakes in the region.”
“‘Winter is vanishing’ from the deep waters of Lake Michigan…
“As the globe continues to warm at an astonishing rate due to climate change, winter is shrinking at depths we’ve never known before, including the Great Lakes.”
https://www.kake.com/story/43534827/winter-is-vanishing-from-the-deep-waters-of-lake-michigan
“California’s ‘superbloom’ is just pockets of flowers because of ‘abnormally dry’ winter…
“Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California each spring to experience the stunning super bloom, but a dry winter has left many tourists disappointed.”
“It’s been a busy offseason at the National Hurricane Center after last year’s storm onslaught…
“2020 bore witness to a host of destructive storms, including Category 4 Laura, which ravaged southwest Louisiana, as well as Category 4 and 5 Eta and Iota, respectively, which laid siege to the same swaths of Honduras and Nicaragua in just two weeks’ time… There are indications that, thanks to a lingering La Niña influence, the 2021 hurricane season may be abnormally active. “
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/21/hurricane-forecasters-off-season/
“Alert in Antioquia, Colombia due to floods, disasters and crises caused by heavy rains.
“At least 185 houses destroyed, 52 commercial premises and 10 vehicles affected by a ravine that overflowed at dawn this Monday, in Antioquia.”
“Five members of the same family died at home when they were buried by a landslide that slid off a hill in the Juan Velasco Alvarado town, Condorcanqui province, Amazonas region, Peru.
“The landslide occurred during the early morning, after eight consecutive hours of heavy rains… In Yurimaguas, the floods damaged more than 3,000 homes.”
“Western Sydney is now the “greatest concern” from the worst floods in decades to have ravaged eastern Australia, PM Scott Morrison says.
“Parts of New South Wales have seen almost 1m (3.2ft) of rain, flooding hundreds of homes and severing roads. Mr Morrison warned of more rain and days of danger to come as the emergency became not “just a coastal event”.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-56485246
“Taiwan is drilling wells, seeding clouds and beseeching a gold-faced sea goddess to help the sub-tropical island ride out its most serious drought in about half a century…
“The drought is worst across a band of western Taiwan, including the major metropolises of Hsinchu, home to many of Taiwan’s renowned tech firms…”
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/taiwan-sea-goddess-air-force-c-130s-drought-1782045-2021-03-22
“Chinese authorities are investigating scores of dead pigs found along a section of the Yellow River… turning the spotlight back on food and water safety in the country…
“This is not the first time China has found dead pigs in its rivers… The latest discovery comes as China’s hog herd is recovering from the ravages of African swine fever. The disease broke out in the country in 2018 and destroyed almost half the hogs in the world’s largest pork producer.”
“Harsh Heat wave in Thailand: Tak recorded 42.4C [108.3F] on 21 March, only 0.5C from the highest temperature ever recorded in Thailand in March set just 1 year ago at Thoen.
“In this NW Thailand area, this is the 37th consecutive warmer than average month, many of which at record levels.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1373613069084061697
“One of the reasons for the deadly heatwaves in India that result in loss of lives every year is the rise in temperatures in the Arctic region due to global warming, as per a study conducted by researchers from India and Brazil, including one from University of Hyderabad.
“The findings are of concern as the Arctic region is warming at an alarming rate.”
“The [Uttarakhand glacier] disaster last month in India demonstrated the risks from rising temperatures to the eight countries in the region…
“…an explosive cocktail of climate change and aggressive road and dam building in the geologically unstable range threatens… the people, economies and security of the eight countries in the greater Hindu Kush Himalayan region.”
https://www.ft.com/content/387f5b4d-69cd-45f6-b0fc-69d659381109
“Zimbabwe’s disappearing cows… The main cause of the dwindling herd is recurrent drought, which diminishes water supplies and reduces grazing pastures nationwide…
“Matabeleland South Province in the southwest has been the hardest hit, with more than 4,500 cows dying of thirst in 2019 alone.”
https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/zimbabwes-once-robust-cattle-herd-falling-victim-drought-and-disease
“22nd March was an exceptionally hot day in Egypt with the temperature reaching 44.0C [111.2F] in the oasis of Kharga.
“This value is just 0.2C from the highest temperature ever recorded in Egypt in March which was recorded at Asyut.”
https://twitter.com/extremetemps/status/1374078294589587457
“Drought begins to deeply affect Turkey: academic…
“Turkey has been under the deep effects of drought due to misuse of existent water sources, a staggering amount of waste that accounts for 60% of total water use, climate change and differing rainfall regimes, an academic from northern Ondokuz Mayıs University said in a statement to Ihlas News Agency on Sunday.”
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/drought-begins-to-deeply-affect-turkey-academic/news
“Pollution is killing Herefordshire rivers [UK]… The stats are in. Much of the river system in the Wye and Lugg catchment is virtually dead through poisoning by a chronically high concentration of phosphates…
“The local anglers confirm that ‘wild’ fish are in catastrophic decline.”
https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/19167345.pollution-killing-herefordshire-rivers/
“Authorities in Norway have recovered the body of the last victim from December’s deadly landslide, nearly three months after the disaster.
“A total of 10 people were killed when the landslide swept residential homes in the village of Ask on December 30… heavy rainfall in the area may have disturbed quick clay, which rapidly changes from solid to liquid form.”
“Global businesses sourcing commodities such as cattle, soybeans or rubber stand to lose some $53 billion due to deforestation unless they take action.
“In a survey of more than 500 global businesses, climate-disclosure platform CDP identified risks such as extreme weather, changes in consumer preferences, as well as market and reputational impacts from commodity-related forest loss.”
“Water scarcity… is not anymore a problem for the distant future… More than 40 per cent of the global population is already suffering from water scarcity…
“Approximately one in three people in the world, 2.2 billion are living without access to clean drinking water; 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services; and 3 billion lack basic handwashing facilities.”
https://gulfnews.com/opinion/op-eds/world-water-day-water-crisis-is-real-and-serious-1.78000310
“Seen from the sky: Polluted waters around the world…
“As the UN marks World Water Day, aerial pictures reveal the impact of pollution on waterways around the world.” [Photos]
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/3/22/seen-from-the-sky-polluted-waters-around-the-world
You can read the previous ‘Climate’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with an ‘Economic’ thread.
If you found value in this content, please help me continue this work by becoming a patron of my work via patreon.com.
“Michael G. O’Brien
James Charles
What has happened during the past 125K years is uplift of the ESAS clathrate deposits from their formation and safe zone 700 meters deep to 50 meters deep by mantle convection . At that depth when the ice is gone latent heat takes two years to start the chain reaction of methane runaway. They were not import last interglacial because they were safely deep enough then. “
James Charles
I emailed Prof. D. E. Archer and he was kind enough to reply.
“This doesn’t make much sense to me. Mantle convection does not move methane hydrate, because the hydrate is in the sediments on the crust, not in the mantle. There isn’t a chain reaction of melting; melting takes heat rather than giving it off, like regular ice.
hope this helps. “
Thank you for that, James. I think we have enough problems with marine and atmospheric warming. Mantle convection had not even factored into my thinking!