Climate Letter #407

Big news about melting ice from Antarctica. The main story is that the loss of ice mass in a certain region has accelerated at a “remarkable rate” just since 2009. It was like flipping a switch, with evidence gained in the course of regular satellite readings that detect gravitational changes. While the focus here is on a small region, not terribly important by itself, the lesson to be learned is how rapidly this melting thing can progress when certain conditions reach a tipping point. Totten, anyone?

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An interesting study about typhoons (and hurricanes.) It concludes that warm oceans increase their intensity while upper atmosphere changes cause a decline in frequency. The net effect over time is held to be a reduction in the overall potential for destruction for a particular area. This potentially welcome idea is upheld by current observations.

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The role of global warming in California’s drought. The drought itself is nothing new but it probably has been worsened by the effects of current changes in both the oceans and upper atmosphere conditions.

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The high cost of dirty fuels, by the New York Times. This a good short review of information I have often talked about before, and which should get repeated over and over again until everyone understands what it really means. The damage from fossil fuel production and usage (don’t forget transportation) goes far, far, far beyond the greenhouse effect. Why should anyone not want it to get rid of it?

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Nuclear fusion update. If you have an interest in the subject this story will get you caught up on currrent developments, with some of the physics explained as a bonus. One small company is trying to speed things up in its own way. (That would certainly be nice.)

http://news.sciencemag.org/physics/2015/05/feature-new-shape-fusion