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| Mussels Found Near N.Pole in Global Warming Sign |
| 2004-09-17 |
| Fri 17 September, 2004 19:27 By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent OSLO (Reuters) - Mussels have been found growing on the seabed just 800 miles from the North Pole in a likely sign of global warming, scientists said on Friday. The blue mussels, which normally favor warmer waters like off France or the eastern United States, were discovered last month off Norway's Svalbard archipelago in waters that are covered with ice most of the year. "The climate is changing fast," said Geir Johnsen, a professor at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology who was among experts who found the bivalves. Molluscs were a "very good indicator that the climate is warming," he said. "It seems like the mussels we found are two to three years old," he told Reuters. Such shellfish have not been recorded off the islands since Viking times 1,000 years ago during another warm period. U.N. scientists say the Arctic is now warming faster than any other region because of human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released from burning fossil fuels in cars, factories and power plants. As the white ice and snow melts, it exposes darker ground or water that soaks up heat and so accelerates warming compared to regions further south. By comparison, ice in Antarctica is thicker and acts as a deep freeze resisting global warming. Inuit peoples in Canada, for instance, are seeing robins for the first time and hunters are falling through previously solid sea ice. In Scandinavia, birch trees are moving northwards into previously icy areas used for reindeer herding. The scientists monitoring Svalbard also said they had found seas free of ice further north than for 250 years at one point this summer. "The climate has been warming," said Bjorn Gulliksen, a professor at the University of Svalbard. "The ice limit...has not been as far north since 1751." |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #6 Hey... I bet on global warning years ago. I have a nice Sequioa growing in my Chicago Suburban yard. Right now its about 6 feet tall. Sometimes it still gets topped in really icy winters. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2004-09-18 3:50:41 AM |
| #5 How do they taste? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-18 12:29:41 AM |
| #4 As far as the wacko pinko agenda types they use anything & everything to blow out of proportion whatever pet issue of the week they get locked into. I just feel we have re-entered into a powerful hurricane cycle. Is it dated from the 1950's? Not sure, although there were bad ones in the 1930's as well, real bad, like the 'Long Island Express' of 38 which had Providence under water, plus Fla Keys killer of 35, etc. It's hard to pin point a time frame of the cycle since in the 1940's there were monster Pacific and Atlantic tropical storms in 44. One of which caused more damage then the Japs for the U.S. Navy. Enough already with the hurricanes I can't take any more this season, and to think, 2 more months . |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-09-17 11:48:56 PM |
| #3 more scientific (as opposed to agenda-driven) study definitely needs to be conducted. I have yet to see real (data-driven) study that acknowledges long term cycles. The greens and Donks are too ready to throttle the American economy with poorly-derived theory while allowing 3rd world polluters carte blanche - call it economic guilt. Provide proof that we're at long-term fault, provide comprehensive long-term solutions that work, and I'll listen, otherwise STFU |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-17 11:05:26 PM |
| #2 Zhang Fei, Weather cycles do indeed seem have a historical content, but when reviewing events from 1751, and as was stated in the article in terms of the Svalbard mussels discovery dating back to the Viking era of 1000AD, do or could a repeat of a similar interconnected (warming trend-increase in Atlantic hurricanes) weather related history be upon us once again? "It seems like the mussels we found are two to three years old," he told Reuters. Such shellfish have not been recorded off the islands since Viking times 1,000 years ago during another warm period.' This is a very interesting topic since reporters on the Weather Channel are stating we have once again moved into a 10 to 20 year cycle of very damaging hurricanes. In other words, is this hurricane season's (only half over) tragic loss of life & economic destruction caused by this rash of very powerful tropical hurricanes a preview for the next 10 to 20 seasons? We should also mention during the last 3 to 4 weeks, North Asian nations have also been slammed by Pacific super typhoons, but Americans naturally have been deeply enveloped with our own weather headaches over the last month and most have not paid much attention to the huge Pacific weather storms. More intensive research is required on this over all subject in light of so many mega-hurricanes in the Atlantic in span of a month, although September is the height of the hurricane season. |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-09-17 10:22:41 PM |
| #1 The ice limit...has not been as far north since 1751. He just said that the climate was kind of like this in 1751. But of course - weather moves in cycles, just like the seasons. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-09-17 9:51:59 PM |