terra central

Multi-Year Sea Ice Thins in the Arctic

Professor David Barber of the University of Manitoba Center for Earth Observation Science recently spoke at the International Polar Year conference in Oslo. An excerpt from his talk refers to the sea ice cover satellite data produced by the National Snow and Ice Data Center, which describes areal extent only:

“Scientists spend a lot of energy discussing the ‘squiggly line’ generated by satellite data on sea ice extent,” Dr. Barber told the audience, showing a graph from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. “But extent alone does not reflect the real condition of the sea ice. I think we are all looking forward to getting reliable data on thickness from CryoSat. Because what really matters is the condition and thickness of the multiyear ice.”

“We are losing 70 000 square kilometres of sea ice (the size of Lake Superior) every year. That adds up to 2.5 million square kilometres over the last 30 years. The reality is even worse,” continued Dr Barber. “Even though the extent of the sea ice – both the winter maximum and the summer minimum – increased in 2008 and 2009, the amount of multiyear ice continued to decline rapidly.”

Barber’s observations came from over-wintering in the Arctic aboard a research ice-breaker. Expecting to be stopped by thick multi-year ice up to 12-meters thick, the icebreaker cut through ice only a couple inches thick at 13-knots.

The entire talk is available here.

A Tragic Ignorance of Mineral Weathering

Rainwater harvesting offers a safe alternative to arsenic-tainted groundwater.

Following up on a report from the British journal Lancet, global news agency AFP reports:

“Up to 77 million Bangladeshis have been exposed to toxic levels of arsenic from contaminated drinking water, and even low-level exposure to the poison is not risk-free, The Lancet medical journal reported.

By some estimates, between 35 and 77 million people in Bangladesh have been chronically exposed to arsenic-contaminated water as a result of a catastrophically misguided campaign in the 1970s.”

The “misguided campaign” had the good intention of providing safe water to millions of people living on the vast, low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta. The delta receives drainage and sediment from the Himalayan mountains and, due to the wet tropical climate and relative solubility of arsenic-containing soil minerals, the groundwater is contaminated.

Rainwater harvesting is an inexpensive, sustainable alternative to using tainted groundwater for drinking. Expanded use of rainwater harvesting with simple technological enhancements to improve on an ancient practice is showing good results. The problem seems to be difficulty expanding the program fast enough.

Bangladesh, squeezed between the mountains and the sea, and most of which is less than 40-feet above sea level, has the coastal problem of saltwater intrusion into surface freshwater sources. Here is an interesting video on that topic and efforts to build more rainwater harvesting systems.

Further information on Rainwater Harvesting

Luna Pier Beach Ordered Closed

UPDATE
As of June 25, 2010 at 4:30 pm, the Total Body Direct Contact Advisory for Luna Pier has been lifted. There is no longer an advisory against using the waters at City of Luna Pier beach.

Qi Gong class on the beach at Luna Pier, Michigan. Source: Mayor Mary Liske.

High coliform bacteria (Escherichia coli) counts close Lake Erie beach.

According to the Monroe County Health Department, fecal coliform bacteria levels found in water samples collected at Luna Pier Beach exceeded the limit for full body contact. From the County’s website:

“Streams and creeks, connected to county and private drain systems, have carried the heavy burden of draining the landscape to allow us to develop the land that predominately was a low-lying marsh landscape. The rivers shuttle vast amounts of water from the inland landscape and form an entire river “water shed”. The River Raisin Watershed encompasses over 100 square miles. Rivers are community resources because contamination or unhealthy alteration above stream can dramatically alter the waterside experience of those downstream.”

There was a time, back in the day, when folks rode a street car up the shore from downtown Toledo, north to a boardwalk and bandstand, and good summer times, and Luna Pier was “considered the best spot for dancing under the stars.” The more adventurous and uninhibited might still find that (bring your own music), but they’d best stay out of the water.

Sharp Decrease in May Arctic Sea Ice Cover

May saw a sharp decrease in Arctic sea ice cover, based on satellite observations. The average ice cover for the month was about 13 million square kilometers, 500,000 square kilometers less than the 30-year average. The rate of icemelt averaged 46,000 kilometers per day, the fastest rate recorded. The graph above indicates the area of Arctic sea ice is now below two standard deviations of the mean ice coverage observed since 1979. Two standard deviations make up about 95 percent of the data, placing the May data in the skinny “tail” of the bell curve.

Temperatures were 2 to 5 degrees Celsius higher than average over the Arctic while central North America saw colder than average temperatures.

Source: June 8, 2010 Update, National Snow and Ice Data Center