Paleoclimatology Program - Perspective on Abrupt climate Change A positive feedback is a process in which an initial change will bring about an additional change in the same direction. An example of a simple positive feedback in everyday life is the growth of an interest-earning savings account. As interest is accrued the principal will begin to grow (assuming money is not withdrawn). As the principal grows, even more interest will be accrued, quickening the rate of principal growth. There are also negative feedbacks, processes in which an initial change will bring about an additional change in the opposite direction. It is positive, rather than negative feedbacks that contribute to abrupt climate changes. What are some examples of positive feedbacks in the climate system? Ice-albedo feedback Ice has a higher albedo (or reflectivity) than vegetation, soil, or water. Vegetation feedbacks Climate strongly influences what types of vegetation grow in a certain area. Salt advection feedback in the thermohaline circulation
As Arctic Sea Ice Melts Thanks to Climate Change, Drilling for Oil The state of the Arctic, which is bad, may have just made the dreaded jump to worse. This summer, the sea ice that caps the Arctic Ocean melted to the lowest level since at least 1979, when satellites first began keeping track of ice over the North Pole. By the end of August, the National Snow Ice and Data Center (NSIDC) reported that Arctic ice had fallen to 1.54 million sq. miles (4 million sq. km). That’s nearly six times the size of Texas, but it’s still 45% less than the average for August throughout the 1980s and 90s — and as of now the ice is still shrinking. Nor is 2012 an anomaly — the ice cap has been shrinking over the years as temperatures have increased, and now some scientists believe the total volume of Arctic ice is only a quarter of what it was 30 years ago. Environmental activists latched onto the news of the Arctic melt as evidence that climate change was happening in real time — and even faster than scientists had predicted. (MORE: The Future of Oil)
Scratch Markup Language (.sml) SML (Scratch Markup Language) is a new file format for recording and replaying turntablism. We’ve developed open-source tools for accurately capturing the record and crossfader movements of a scratch DJ, allowing us to analyze, transcribe, and recreate scratch performances. We want to do for turntablism what Graffiti Markup Language has done for tagging — especially teaching giant robot arms how to scratch. At Art Hack Day we collaborated with other artists and programmers to develop the first prototypes of ScratchML. Scratch data was saved to disk as .sml and broadcast as OSC, which allowed other Art Hack Day participants to build visualizations based on what the DJ was scratching during the exhibition. Our goal is to make capturing, replaying, and sharing a scratch performance accurate and easy. Throughout the week here on FAT we’ll be publishing ScratchML projects created during Art Hack Day, data specs, source code, hardware modification details and more. Want to get involved?
Why The Arctic Sea Ice Death Spiral Matters By Neven Acropolis with Kevin McKinney In the past week the Arctic sea ice cover reached an all-time low, several weeks before previous records, several weeks before the end of the melting season. The long-term decline of Arctic sea ice has been incredibly fast, and at this point a sudden reversal of events doesn’t seem likely. The question no longer seems to be “will we see an ice-free Arctic?” but “how soon will we see it?”. Arctic sea ice became a recurrent feature on planet Earth around 47 million years ago. Since the dawn of human civilization, 5000 to 8000 years ago, this annual ebb and flow of melting and freezing Arctic sea ice has been more or less consistent. What makes this event significant, is the role Arctic sea ice plays as a reflector of solar energy. But what happens in the Arctic, doesn’t stay in the Arctic. [JR: See Arctic Death Spiral: How It Favors Extreme, Prolonged Weather Events ‘Such As Drought, Flooding, Cold Spells And Heat Waves’.] Images used:
How to make a laptop cooling stand Laptops might have been designed with portability and long battery life in mind, but they weren't designed for comfort. Use a laptop on your coffee table for more than five minutes and you're transformed into a warped and twisted, hunchbacked visage of a human being. What you need is something that raises and angles your fine laptop into a more human-friendly angle. And while we do thank a clever clogs for pointing out a book shoved under the back of the laptop would do just that, it's hardly what we'd call an elegant solution. As it happens, it's easy enough to grab an acrylic sheet and bend the two ends to produce an effective custom laptop stand. An A3-sized acrylic sheet should be fine for most laptops. What you will need A3 acrylic sheetCase fanUSB cableProtective glovesHot-air paint stripperSoldering kitClampsWorkbenchWire wool 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Like this? Sign up for the free weekly TechRadar newsletterGet tech news delivered straight to your inbox.
Agulhas Current is said to attenuate the effect of melting ice Some good news in the world of climate research: the Agulhas Current off the coast of South Africa, is said to stimulate North-South ocean circulation in the Atlantic. This "conveyor belt", which redistributes and controls heat around the globe, is threatening to slow down due to melting ice. As has been shown in a recent study however, published in Nature Climate Change (1), based on satellite altimeter measurements, this famous current is accelerating. Located at the interface between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, this current multiplies injections of warm and, above all, highly salt water into the Atlantic from the Indian Ocean. The phenomenon, also caused by global warming, could in return be offsetting the effects of glacial melting on thermohaline circulation(2) and the global climate. Melting of Arctic ice due to global warming could slow down worldwide ocean currents*, responsible for controlling the global climate of the Earth. Agulhas rings The current is accelerating Notes:
Ergonomic Input Devices and Accessories for Canadians - Online Resource and Store Strength of Canadian Dollar Translates into Big Savings A good portion of our pricing on ErgoCanada.com is based on the list price in US dollars direct from the manufacturer. With the recent increase in the strength of our dollar against the US dollar, many of the products on the site have been reduced in price, in some cases by as much as $25! Take this opportunity to stock up on products for your home or office workstation, or buy that product that was slightly out of reach of your budget. Flextend Therapeutic Gloves FLEXTEND is used for the prevention and rehabilitation of carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injuries of the upper extremities. FLEXTEND helps provide relief from symptoms associated with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by exercising the extensor muscles in your forearm. To insure you order the correct size, measure from the base of the hand (first wrist crease closest to palm) to the tip of the middle finger. Mouse Manager LP Now Comes with Fixed Tenting Mechanism
Climate events drive High-Arctic vertebrate community into synchrony: Extreme weather potent force for Arctic overwintering populations Climate change is known to affect the population dynamics of single species, such as reindeer or caribou, but the effect of climate at the community level has been much more difficult to document. Now, a group of Norwegian scientists has found that extreme climate events cause synchronized population fluctuations among all vertebrate species in a relatively simple high arctic community. These findings may be a bellwether of the radical changes in ecosystem stability that could result from anticipated future increases in extreme events. The findings are published in the 18 January issue of Science. The Norwegian scientists, with lead authors from the Centre for Conservation Biology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), wanted to know how climate and weather events influenced an overwintering vertebrate community on the high arctic island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, at 78 degrees N latitude.