Is the next Ice Age here?

probably not. but if you're out in a t-shirt or jumper, here in england, it bloody feels like it is

In England in a tee shirt - now, outside?

Not bleedin' likely!

If you are in this unfortunate position now, you must be tapping away on your laptop waiting for a train or something wearing your tee shirt cause it's casual day on Fridays.............




Nice not to be the only Brit here! Have fun, and wrap up warm!!!

Is it part of the freezing process for things to get abnormally warm first? I believe[opinion] that the weather is in a state of change. This is not a localized phenomenon it appears to be global. The climate is out of whack, next Ice age maybe but I think its something else something we havnt seen. something worse. Id rather freeze than fry.

every year the earth had different weather patterns. some years theyre more severe than others thats all. this year we might even have less natural dsasters than 05'.

Originally posted by GrowingConspiracy
every year the earth had different weather patterns. some years theyre more severe than others thats all. this year we might even have less natural dsasters than 05'.

Finaly someone who is optimistic that is refreshing.ofcourse I think your partially wrong. Look at it as a trend I know I have it certainly seems to be persistantely getting worse or as i prefer out of whack ofcourse I should also state i hope im wrong

I only mention all this because im concerned. This is a situation that we are seemingly powerless against and yet it affects every life form on the planet.For those unconcerned I would trade it all to live in and bask in their bliss.

Some folks greet the warm Winter temperatures, like it's a good thing. I don't know if you really want what may be coming though. If things go too far out of shape, then agriculture can surely be harmed. That could mean terrible things like starvation for many people. Be careful what you wish for.

I'm still not sure what exactly is going on with this planet, because of the diferent theories. I do know that pollution still isn't helping us no matter what.

Troy

Originally posted by SoLaR513
Is it part of the freezing process for things to get abnormally warm first? I believe[opinion] that the weather is in a state of change. This is not a localized phenomenon it appears to be global. The climate is out of whack, next Ice age maybe but I think its something else something we havnt seen. something worse. Id rather freeze than fry.

Glacial cycles start with warmer winters, but cooler summers - warmer winters mean more snow at high latitudes whilst the cooler summers mean a higher chance of it surving oin the ground till the next winter.

So we're not entering a normal ice age just yet

but if it was colder less, wouldn't that mean the growing seasons would be longer? I guess then the foods could be of even better quality, but the drawback would be waiting longer for the food to hit market.

Or would it allow for two growing cycles, thus doubling production of certain quick growing crops?

Just curious.

Yes, warmer conditions would extend the growing season and lead to increased farming productivity - though it would also allow weeds to grow more and may result in some pests spreading further afield. Overall though, the benefits should outweigh any disadvantages.

If you're worried about it being too warm in the US, then hope is on the way. I saw where it is -50 degrees Fahrenheit in Alaska. The cold air is up there and probably just waiting for an excuse to come south at some time.

Originally posted by Essan
Yes, warmer conditions would extend the growing season and lead to increased farming productivity - though it would also allow weeds to grow more and may result in some pests spreading further afield. Overall though, the benefits should outweigh any disadvantages.

Really? Tell that to the people of the Gulf Coast Warm weather makes storms stronger.

Also the warming will not be uniform and is not as I've been hearing of a cooler then normal winter in Florida ruining lots citrus crops

Now its time to get down to the meat of this thread, Is the next ice age here? Well,no,its not. Last time I checked the majority of the planet isnt covered in snow and ice, yes i know a good chunk of real estate is but you see what im saying. Could this be the beginning? I dont know im not a meteorologist or a climatetologist or whatever, I invite anyone who is to please inlighten us with some facts.please. In my opinion we are heading towards a major shift in climate conditions,ice age, completely frying or whatever but certainly a shift. The air just dosnt feel right.

I'm with you on this SoLaR - maybe I should have titled the thread "Are the conditions right for the next Ice Age" or maybe "is the next Ice Age imminent" or even "Climate - what next?" For sure I would like to hear from more knowledgeable people than me what they think. The climate is definately changeing - it has before, it will again. There was also this article from yesterdays' news re :- Greenland Ice Sheet

news.bbc.co.uk...

On the same page there is a link which is interesting:-

news.bbc.co.uk...

Point is, even with the undeniable warming that is occuring, there could be major effects which would occur and which may mean localised cooling - by "localised" I mean a large part of the N Northern hemisphere. And I think it could happen much faster than commonly held opinion predicts. For example, say that the general warming we are experiencing, c\w all the extreme weather we have been having of late, is cyclical and is not due to our efforts vis a vis greenhouse gases. The Greenland Ice Sheet just melts on its' own, and then refreezes in, say, thousands of years or so, part of a completely normal natural process. Part of this process could be that the Gulf Stream stops, or reverses or whatever, bringing with it the next Glacial Period. Remember the last El Nino? I saw the effects, in fact was on site in the Indian Ocean during the peak. The Indian Ocean saw mortality among hard and soft corals down to 30m deep as much as 90%. The area affected was enormous - look on a map how big the Indian Ocean is, then add some of the Indo-Pacific and parts of the Barrier Reef. All this from one cyclical ocean current half a world away! And it happened fast - not over a long period! Think what would happen if the Gulf Stream stopped or reversed? Now we are talking about a normal cyclical event, think what it means when we consider the human impact upon the scenario - the Warming which is man-made, piled on top of the normal cyclical Warming etc. See where I'm going?

It's all too easy to lie in a lagoon with the water temperature at 36 deg C thinking " Isn't this great?" or playing golf in January near New York thinking " Global Warming? - Great stuff!" We should all remember that climate change is maybe not the best thing to interfere with, as we may be excarbating a situation which is due to become bad enough without our help!

Would welcome other views/theories/ etc.

About 8,200 years ago, the biggest flood in modern geological times occurred when the remnants of glacial lakes Agassiz and Ojibway emptied into the North Atlantic - temporarily shutting down the gulf stream.

But it didn't start a new glacial.

Nor did a new glacial start during the Little Ice Age when there were deacdes of winters in N America and Europe each as bad or worse than this current winter.

So forget the fact that it's been a bit cold and snowy in Eastern Europe.

A full glacial - by which we mean the development of large Northern hemisphere ice sheets (the S Hemisphere has been in a permanet glacial, or ice age, for the past few million years ) will only develop, over a long period of time, when N Hemisphere winters become cool enough for winter snowfall to last from one year to the next. Simple as that.

Current global climatic conditions and orbital parameters are totally incompatible with the start of a new glacial period. And even if they were, it'd be thousands of years before we noticed any real effect.

Your reffering to a gradual change in the climate essan. This would be par for course for a normal evolution in climate. I think that the screwey weather is far from normal so we cant look at this in the context of normal or gradual. maldives01 is pointing to a drastic change happenning virtualy over night. From what ive seen I have to agree with this especially when mankind is helping out. I mean how much car exhaust was there 8200 years ago? I thought of another problem we will face,well in this area anyway, the ground has not froze at all this winter which means the bugs are going to be really bad this summer. Just more crap to deal with. So keep up the good work maldives this is one of my favorite threads I always enjoy talking about the climate. You should check out my thread ever see it snow in summer? it kinda goes along with this thread.

speaking of ocean currents
www.newscientist.com...

It seems like we may burn to death here... Already in the 60's when it should be in the 30's. No Snow, no rain. Hardly any cold. I don't think it has dropped under 30 but maybe twice all winter.

Thats how it has been here all winter. In fact this has been a trend. Several years ago there was the hundred year storm people got trapped on I40 by the snow. Ever since then the winters have gotten warmer and warmer. It has only snowed once here and it wasnt even an inch. Not to mention all the days of shorts and t-shirts when it should be freezing.

Thanks for the kind comments SoLaR! Overnight is maybe stretching it, but month or two of heavy snow cover over a large portion of the N Hemisphere would maybe trigger it. Glaciation I mean! ( Everything starts somewhere ) Have seen your thread about snowfall in winter - will add my two cents worth after this

Thanks also for your comments Essan - nice site you have there!

Seems like there's a storm coming to the US - there's a thread I just saw............

www.abovetopsecret.com...

New Orleans, of all places ! Just had a bad storm there - possible tornadoes, then this Pacific NW storm barrelling in there - or is this the one they've just had?