Warming North Atlantic Water Tied to Heating Arctic

The temperatures of North Atlantic Ocean water flowing north into the Arctic Ocean adjacent to Greenland -- the warmest water in at least 2,000 years -- are likely related to the amplification of global warming in the Arctic, says a new international study involving the University of Colorado Boulder.
Led by Robert Spielhagen of the Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Literature in Mainz, Germany, the study showed that water from the Fram Strait that runs between Greenland and Svalbard -- an archipelago constituting the northernmost part of Norway -- has warmed roughly 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the past century. The Fram Strait water temperatures today are about 2.5 degrees F warmer than during the Medieval Warm Period, which heated the North Atlantic from roughly 900 to 1300 and affected the climate in Northern Europe and northern North America.

Source

None of this comes as a surprise to me personally but I still find this article of interest and hope others can learn something and/or add to their research.

the total loss of Arctic sea ice extent from 1979 to 2009 was an area larger than the state of Alaska, and some scientists there believe the Arctic will become ice-free during the summers within the next several decades.

The team believes that the rapid warming of the Arctic and recent decrease in Arctic sea ice extent are tied to the enhanced heat transfer from the North Atlantic Ocean, said Spielhagen. According to CU-Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center, the total loss of Arctic sea ice extent from 1979 to 2009 was an area larger than the state of Alaska, and some scientists there believe the Arctic will become ice-free during the summers within the next several decades.

( Added emphasis by me )
Let us hope this forecast is incorrect although evidence presently seems to state otherwise

"We know that the Arctic is the most sensitive region on the Earth when it comes to warming, but there has been some question about how unusual the current Arctic warming is compared to the natural variability of the last thousand years," said Marchitto, also an associate professor in CU-Boulder's geological sciences department. "We found that modern Fram Strait water temperatures are well outside the natural bounds."

I believe these discoveries are absolutely significant.Now as to whether it is simply a case of us just now presently being able to measure & see a natural climatic change and then compare to what we have actually recorded and known up until this point is still too early to say for sure.

Talk about 'cosmic climate change' (i.e.- the planets in our solar system undergoing climatic changes simultaneously to Earth ) I think has to be included in the discussion to be weighed overall as a possibility.

Are we now starting to see actual signs of entering an ice age in the near future? possibly sooner than later from what we are being told or that we expect?

The point I would like to make without the argument of the "why" or "when" ( natural climate cycles,man made greenhouse emissions etc.) I'd like to say it is my opinion no matter what theory you believe,the fact of the matter is something is happening to the planet.

reading this scares me, because here in Germany warmer Arctic water always brought the worst winters. some people argue that only the sun can cause global warming and it has nothing to do with human activity, well I agree but co2 keeps the sun-power trapped and it is true that the energy itself comes from the sun and not from burning fossil fuels. in the end it is getting warmer. warmer air and water has more energy and can/will move faster. It also holds much more humidity so more rain and snow.
[size=-3]sorry my english is not very good right now it is 2:30am i need some sleep

well that much is obvious !


the planet her self can not continue on this path much longer before sudden and major changes happen..

once upon a time all of today landmasses were one and to go on believing that she wont change again be it a super eruption , long term new ice age or what not ( it will happen again maybe sooner then we think). the fact remains she has the power to wipe us out ( mankind . without a 2nd thought.

she did to the dinosours and god only know how many other animals as well.

reply to post by alysha.angel


It is unfortunate that most are either in the dark or completely belligerent when it comes to topics involving the climate of our planet.
I personally believe that widespread worldwide,life altering catastrophes & disasters may be cyclic and something could be definitely brewing again presently...I hope this is not the case and all is well.
Something tells me intuitively that something is certainly happening to our world.

As soon as the water in the North gets warm enough (relatively speaking), the major ocean currents like the Gulf Stream will shut down. When that happens, hellooooo Ice Age!!

reply to post by harrytuttle


exactly,so much is changing and fluctuation with our planet is is almost too much to keep up with anymore