Too *much* Ice blocks Iceland fish supply

[Flubber]

Oh and just to be clear. I find the relatively rapid warming of the ocean in a couple of years when the cycles of warming and cooling typically take decades . .. to be an alarming indicator.


But I had to point out that in this situation, the result was exactly the opposite of what people here are proposing. Now Iceland and newfoundland are different places so different factors may be at play. BUt the simplistic "glacial melt makes then ocean colder" approach doesn't seem to necessarily follow. In fact the opposite has been true in northen climates

[Dinner]

Agreed, the only way to decern a long term trend is to take data over a long period and create a best fit trend line. Variations will occur on a regular basis. Currently we do have a long term trend line showing higher temperatures over all and all I am trying to come up with is a hypothosis of why there is localized cooling off the coast of Greenland east towards Iceland.

We'll have to see if the trends hold over a longer period but if they do then it makes sense that the introduction of large amounts of cold but never still less dense (meaning it will float on the salty water) water could be a factor. Indeed this is exactly the scenerio which resulted in the younger dryas; lots of cold fresh water going into the north Atlantic lowering water temperatures and modifying ocean currents.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Agreed, the only way to decern a long term trend is to take data over a long period and create a best fit trend line. Variations will occur on a regular basis. Currently we do have a long term trend line showing higher temperatures over all and all I am trying to come up with is a hypothosis of why there is localized cooling off the coast of Greenland east towards Iceland.

With respect to sea temperatures (at sea bottom) do we even know that there is a localized cooling. The air temp and surface sea temp are such that the ice pack remained but thats all we know on that score.

IN Newfoundland you get serious ice packs on average every 10 years or so (in the harbors). It was always a combination of wind and wave conditions since high waves would break up the pack while anything otehr than a northeasterly meant the pack went elsewhere.

In Iceland it could just be a similar unusual combination. Now the change in waves and wind COULD somehow be a result of global warming .

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Flubber
Guys get my position straight--


Consider the hurricanes in the US. Two years ago the high level of hurricanes was cited as a result of global warming. Then the following year it seems that hurricane activity was way down.

GW also increases the frequency of El Niño, which depresses Atlantic basin hurricanes (at the expense of Pacific hurricanes, which were up last year).

[Flubber]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara

GW also increases the frequency of El Niño, which depresses Atlantic basin hurricanes (at the expense of Pacific hurricanes, which were up last year).

Exactly my point. Some people say that more Atlantic hurricanes are a result of global warming. It appears you say fewer Atlantic hurricanes . I bet I could find someone that says these things tend to balance and a relatively steady quantity and force of Atlantic hurricanes would be consistent with GW

[Lul Thyme]

Originally posted by MOBIUS


You can't get more large scale than what is happening to the Gulf Stream, the Greenland ice sheet - the Arctic as a whole!

It is at the poles that the tangible (i.e. NO ONE can deny them) effects of Global Warming are most making themselves felt.

Well, first obviously you can (get more large scale).
Second, scale also includes time scale.
So if it happens only this year, it is a "small scale" event.

[Ãskallin]

Well I know that pack ice was much more common about 40 years ago. It used to stay for months in the northern lying fjords (I lived in NE Iceland). But the last instance in my fjord (Vopnafjörður) was in the late sixties. I have never seen pack ice in my life.
Pack ice is still very much the norm in NW Iceland during the winter.

As for the global warming thing. We only have to look back to 1783 to see the concrete results from what happens when large quantaties of SO2 are realesed into the atmosphere. That was a massive eruption releasing as much sulphur dioxide as the whole industrial output of Europe in 2006 - times three. Just this eruption which lasted for 8 months was enough to lower the tempature of the northern hemisphere by 1°C.

Imagine a eruption of this magnitude(or more) now with all the global warming already in effect because of man.
Nature could plunge us easily into ice age if it wanted.

I have noticed reports of massive icebergs coming from the Antartic while I have been here downunder (a single iceberg was estimated 55 km2). Thats pretty large scale stuff.