Snow And Ice In The Northern Hemisphere 2012/13

[be cause]

Only a fall of 127000 sq km in the last 24 hours (CT) ..yet  maintain today's rate of ice loss and we would be in new territory by July 12th ..

[BornFromTheVoid]

Only a fall of 127000 sq km in the last 24 hours (CT) ..yet  maintain today's rate of ice loss and we would be in new territory by July 12th ..

 

Much of the CT ice loss is due to surface melt ponding, causing the "blue ice" effect you can see on the MODIS imagery. This causes the sensors to read the areas as having open water, when it's actually water on top of ice. The area losses should level off soon methinks, and the extent losses should pick up as the melt ponds eat through the ice.

 

 

MODIS image with the blue ice near the Pacific side

 

Sea Ice concentration 

 

Compare the MODIS image with the concentration map above, and you can see how the blue ice is "confusing" the sensors.

 

That's not to say is ice is looking good, it isn't. A similar thing occurred this time last year with the blue ice, and we still ended up with a record low. It's just the rate of loss on CT isn't really an accurate representation of the actual ice loss rate at the moment.

[Gray-Wolf]

It still surprises me that we are still told 'We do not know' when we tell folk that any anomalous hhigh snow levels will be all gone by June? This is my 7th season of warning folk about pretending 'old world' systems are still operating across the 'new Arctic'???

 

Some whit will soon be treating us to the DMI80N plot to show us how cold it is across the basin even with the ice in free fall! ( honest! it happens thistime every year!!!)

 

The snow loss allows whacky land temps to arise which , in their stead, impacts coastal ice which , in it's turn, impacts the rest of the basin?

 

This year we have also a major fracture event ( Feb) and a persistent Arctic Cyclone to make melt season even more interesting! Still , by late July we will be looking at another frighteningly low remnant pack with the potential that, this year, it is all positioned in areas that will not protect it from the tail end of melt season?

Edited June 20, 2013 by Gray-Wolf

[cooling climate]

The cold start to summer continues in the high Arctic. The cold just does not want to let

go this year.Minimum could be well up on last year 4+ maybe but mid September is a

long, long way off yet.

It seems to me that any modeled warming in the Arctic seem to get watered down nearer

the time.

[Gray-Wolf]

 

It seems to me that any modeled warming in the Arctic seem to get watered down nearer

the time.

 

That is a tad disingenuous do you not think? How much of The Arctic circle is covered by land surfaces? What temp are we currently seeing from these 'Arctic landmasses'?

 

Once again, the Arctic is not the Area beyond 80n!

[cooling climate]

The very cold start to summer continues in the Arctic, especially north of

80 degrees.

Apart from 2009 there is no other listed year in the archives of the DMI with

as cold a start to the melt season as this one.

[BornFromTheVoid]

The very cold start to summer continues in the Arctic, especially north of

80 degrees.

30.06.13.png

Apart from 2009 there is no other listed year in the archives of the DMI with

as cold a start to the melt season as this one.

 

Indeed, an impressively cool start to the summer, for the Arctic as a whole, probably the coolest since the late 90s I'd say.

 

2004 was pretty close to this year north of 80N though.

 

[BornFromTheVoid]

3rd lowest June snow cover on record.

 

http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/table_rankings.php?ui_set=1

 

 

Sea ice extent finishes June at 6th lowest on record (averaged 12th lowest for the month)

 

Sea ice area finishes June at 7th lowest on record (averaged 7th lowest for the month) http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/arctic.sea.ice.interactive.html

 

[be cause]

1/8th of NH ice has gone in 7 days .. ! million sq km  ... Cryosphere Today area figures                                                                                          

[be cause]

Despite the cold Arctic reported above and elsewhere .. today's fall in ice area was a very impressive 160000 sq kms  ..

[cooling climate]

The cool summer in the high Arctic continues and looking at some of the

latest model runs ( FI I know) it could possibly be a very short melt season

as well.

[be cause]

The cool summer in the high Arctic continues and looking at some of the

latest model runs ( FI I know) it could possibly be a very short melt season

as well.

11.07.13.png

The Ice Age is coming .. and I have no fear  .. it's 28 degrees and I've stopped drinking beer ...

[Methuselah]

The Ice Age is coming .. and I have no fear  .. it's 28 degrees and I've stopped drinking beer ...

Come on guys?? CC makes quite a valid point...

[be cause]

today's loss in area of 272000 sq km on CT  is an even more valid point .. and this is an ice friendly year !!

[joggs]

Dont think there is such a thing as ice friendly year lol

[be cause]

arctic ice area fell 174000+ each of the last two days .. heading rapidly toward an extraordinary loss this month.

 

Meanwhile NH snow is holding up better than recent seasons .. July anomaly just negative ..

[cooling climate]

today's loss in area of 272000 sq km on CT  is an even more valid point .. and this is an ice friendly year !!

 

Your posts with the air of alarmism about them would definitely be better suited to the

Arctic threads in the climate and enviornment section.

 

The models certainly continuing the theme of the summer so far in the high Arctic with

a cool to cold pattern developing as we go into the final third of summer in the Arctic.

The normal melt ponds that occur over the high Arctic could start to refreeze if the

forecasted model predictions are correct.

[Ice Day]

And meanwhile in the Southern Hemisphere the Sea Ice anomaly continues to be positive; by almost 1 million square km's!  A short-lived trend or something more notable?

 

Edited July 30, 2013 by Ice Day

[be cause]

meanwhile ... in the Northern Hemisphere  ..

a change from the last few years as the snow anomaly has gone briefly positive and has been close to normal for July !

[BornFromTheVoid]

be cause, I reckon that's mostly due to the snow cover over the sea ice and the Greenland ice sheet remaining due to the cool conditions.

 

 

And meanwhile in the Southern Hemisphere the Sea Ice anomaly continues to be positive; by almost 1 million square km's!  A short-lived trend or something more notable?

 

 

Southern hemisphere sea ice area has been highest on record (for the time of year) over the last few days.

 

Despite this, global sea ice area is below average even though the Arctic sea ice area is only currently 5th lowest.

 

The increase in Antarctic sea ice is part of a longer term trend. A combination of increased westerlies blowing the ice away from the coast and extra melt water from the ice sheet and increased precipitation is also freshening the surface making it easier to freeze. The ice sheet is still melting though, and that melt is accelerating.

 

Antarctic sea ice extent looks a lot less remarkable than the area, which suggests a lot of fragmented and low concentration sea ice.

[be cause]

 I thought the Antarctic was in the southern hemisphere  ?

Edited July 30, 2013 by be cause

[BornFromTheVoid]

 I thought the Antarctic was in the southern hemisphere  ?

 

Of course, but I think that as long as it doesn't take over the thread, a post or 2 on the southern hemisphere should be ok.

 

I'd say a new version of this thread will be started soon anyway!

[summer blizzard]

May as well wait another month for the new one.

[LincolnSnowstorm]

Looking forward to the new thread, the evenings are drawing in and only about three or so weeks snow may begin to grow. http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/table_area.php?ui_set=0&ui_sort=0

 

Watching out for the 'signs' and then the long chase can begin for another year 1 september ish 

 

Already not long now  for the dip down to zero and the first flurry of snow at longyearbyen http://www.snsk.no/longyearbyen.145587.no.html http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Svalbard/Longyearbyen/long.html

 

Lots to interest to be having,  with the lack of sunspots, possible neg. Noa. The first of many winter forecasts not long away ie  http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/sandy-winter-2012-2013-forecast/1741302

 

The ice cover  is dreadful and a useful balance to the huge snow ramps that are in the process of being built for use over the coming months. We will see.

[johnholmes]

Looking forward to the new thread, the evenings are drawing in and only about three or so weeks snow may begin to grow. http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/table_area.php?ui_set=0&ui_sort=0

 

Watching out for the 'signs' and then the long chase can begin for another year 1 september ish 

 

Already not long now  for the dip down to zero and the first flurry of snow at longyearbyen http://www.snsk.no/longyearbyen.145587.no.html http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Svalbard/Longyearbyen/long.html

 

Lots to interest to be having,  with the lack of sunspots, possible neg. Noa. The first of many winter forecasts not long away ie  http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/sandy-winter-2012-2013-forecast/1741302

 

The ice cover  is dreadful and a useful balance to the huge snow ramps that are in the process of being built for use over the coming months. We will see.

I do love this far ahead meteorology!

your noa, is that the ark noah, or noaa or nao?