lightblueline

Source: AFP: June 17, 2008
The Jason 2 satellite will keep sea-level data stream going for some years.

You can read the original article here: Satellite for tracking sea levels set for launch

Excerpt below:
"The French-US satellite Jason 2, slated for lift-off Friday from California, will provide precise monitoring of rising sea levels and currents and track the effects of climate change.

Source: The Daily of the University of Washington: By Brian Smoliak: May 1, 2008
Speaking of Science: UW scientists offer sea level rise projections, investigate icy uncertainty

Come the year 2100, Washington State’s coastline could be in for some noticeable changes. Coastal cities from Bellingham to Olympia are already planning for the possibility of rising waters over the next 50-100 years.

Source: Reuters, April 15, 2008. By Karin Strohecker

World sea levels to rise 1.5m by 2100--scientists

As the climate models start to incorporate dynamic ice characteristics a better picture of the extent of projected sea level rise in the middle term (before 2100) is emerging. This time frame would mean that people born today will potentially live long enough to experience the impacts.

Roger Harrabin,BBC News environment analyst (April 4, 2008) reports on the effects of a major 'la nina' in the Pacific Ocean. This part of a multi-year fluctuation, and it's cooling the planet this year. These types of short-term fluctuations have been built into the climate models, which are still predicting a longer-term warming trend. Still, it's good to be cool! (Unless you live in Wisconsin, which gets enough cool every winter).

Global warming 'dips this year'

Here is an excerpt:

Scientific American (February 2008) outlines the risk that the major ice sheets (particularly the West Antarctic Ice Sheet) hold for potential rapid sea level rise. This piece is written by Robin Bell at Columbia University.

The Unquiet Ice (stub)

NOTE: the whole article requires a subscription.

Key Concepts:
The land-based ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica hold enough water to raise global sea level by more than 200 feet.

The publishers at Nature have created a web space for climate change science.

Nature Reports: Climate Change offers "the science behind the news, and the news behind the science.

Source: CNN December 11, 2007

Scientist: 'Arctic is screaming'

Excerpt:

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.

As is the case with the dozens of climate scientists who have support Lightblueline, scientists across the world are dismayed that their research results have not led to policy efforts in places like the United States. The time to act is now, and so a group of 200 scientists have signed the Bali Declaration to urge action by the UN and its members:

Bali Declaration
Here is the text:

"2007 Bali Climate Declaration by Scientists

Source: BBC, Helen Briggs reporting, Dec. 1, 2007

50 years on: The Keeling Curve legacy

Excerpt below:
"It is a scientific icon, which belongs, some claim, alongside E=mc2 and the double helix.

Its name - the Keeling Curve - may be scarcely known outside scientific circles, but the jagged upward slope showing rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere has become one of the most famous graphs in science, and a potent symbol of our times.

Twenty five polar ice experts met at the University of Texas, Austin, in March of 2007 to examine the state of scientific knowledge about the potential contributions of the West Antarctic ice sheet to future sea-level rise.

The report of the West Antarctic links to Sea Level Estimation (WALSE) Workshop states that more attention needs to be paid to this element of the climate system.