H.S. For Sunday 062908

Volcanoes are hot. Ice Melts in heat. REALLY?

Hey folks,

Let's see, looks like we have GWBS Gloom and Doom reporting again. First The AP warns us this. AP - This summer may see first ice-free North Pole

There's a 50-50 chance that the North Pole will be ice-free this summer, which would be a first in recorded history, a leading ice scientist says.

The weather and ocean conditions in the next couple of weeks will determine how much of the sea ice will melt, and early signs are not good, said Mark Serreze. He's a senior researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center and the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo.

The chances for a total meltdown at the pole are higher than ever because the layer of ice coating the sea is thinner than ever, he said.

There reason for this? GLOBAL WARMING! It's our fault.

The explanation is a warming climate and a weather phenomenon, scientists said.

For the last couple of decades, there has been a steady melt of Arctic sea ice — which covers only the ocean and which thins during summer and refreezes in winter. In recent years, it has gradually become thinner because more of it has been melting as the Earth's temperature rises.

The AFP - North Pole may have no ice this summer: US expert, just read the first paragraph.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - There could briefly be no ice at the North Pole this summer, a US scientist said Friday, an event that would mark a new stage in the melting of the Arctic ice sheets due to global warming.

CNN quoted the same moronic Scientist Mark Serreze

"It's not cyclical at this point. I think we understand the physics behind this pretty well," he said. "We've known for at least 30 years, from our earliest climate models, that it's the Arctic where we'd see the first signs of global warming."

But HERE is the problem. It's NOT Man-Made Global Warming. As a matter of fact, it has nothing to do with us at all. It's a VOLCANO! LiveScience.com - Volcanoes Erupt Beneath Arctic Ice

New evidence deep beneath the Arctic ice suggests a series of underwater volcanoes have erupted in violent explosions in the past decade.

Hidden 2.5 miles (4,000 meters) beneath the Arctic surface, the volcanoes are up to a mile (2,000 meters) in diameter and a few hundred yards tall. They formed along the Gakkel Ridge, a lengthy crack in the ocean crust where two rocky plates are spreading apart, pulling new melted rock to the surface.

Until now, scientists thought undersea volcanoes only dribbled lava from cracks in the seafloor. The extreme pressure from the overlying water makes it difficult for gas and magma to blast outward.

But the Gakkel Ridge, which is relatively unexplored and considered unique for its slow spreading rate, is just the place for surprises.

Robert Reeves-Sohn of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts and his colleagues discovered jagged, glassy fragments of rock scattered around the volcanoes, suggesting explosive eruptions occurred between 1999 and 2001.

They hypothesize that the slow spreading could allow excess gas to build up in pockets of magma beneath the oceanic crust. When the gas pressure gets high enough, it pops like a champagne bottle being uncorked.

With news this week that polar ice is melting dramatically, underwater Arctic pyrotechnics might seem like a logical smoking gun. Scientists don't see any significant connection, however.

"We don't believe the volcanoes had much effect on the overlying ice," Reeves-Sohn told LiveScience, "but they seem to have had a major impact on the overlying water column."

The eruptions discharge large amounts of carbon dioxide, helium, trace metals and heat into the water over long distances, he said.

The research, detailed in the June 26 issue of the journal Nature, was funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation and WHOI.

Volcanoes HOT. Ice Melts in heat. But they have no effect? {Laughing} No folks, it's not the volcanoes, it's you driving your gas guzzling SUV to work. It's NOT the Volcanoes, it's you using one of those old fashion light bulbs. It's not the Volcanoes, it's YOU not buying carbon credits. Yes YOU are to blame for Global Warming and YOU are to blame for the Arctic ice melting. Forget the VOLCANOES.
Peter

Sources:
AP - This summer may see first ice-free North Pole
The AFP - North Pole may have no ice this summer: US expert
CNN- North Pole could be ice-free this summer, scientists say
LiveScience.com - Volcanoes Erupt Beneath Arctic Ice