2006 TOP TEN Number 7

The winter season of 2006 began with Japan was bracing for more snow after some of the heaviest snowfall on record that has left 57 people dead and paralysed transport. Almost 13 feet of snow has piled up in the worst-hit areas of the Japan sea coast. And in February, the US saw it's record books changed. A record-breaking storm buried sections of the Northeast under more than 2 feet of snow.

Weeks later it was reported that Antarctica was losing about 36 cubic miles of ice every year. For comparison, Los Angeles consumes roughly 1 cubic mile of fresh water a year. The south polar region holds 90 percent of Earth’s ice and 70 percent of the total fresh water on the planet, so any significant pace of melting there is important and could contribute to an already rising sea.

By summer, global warming became one of the hottest topics discussed. Scientists reported that the earth was hotter than it had been in nearly 2,000 years and that the earth was continuing to heat up. Other new research showed that global warming produced about half of the extra hurricane-fueled warmth in the North Atlantic in 2005, and natural cycles were a minor factor. Throughout the coming months, record high temperartures were reported across the country with the continental United States suffered through its second-hottest July on record because of a blistering heat wave from California to Washington, D.C. The heat wave broke more than 2,300 daily temperature records for the month and eclipsed more than 50 records for the highest temperatures in any July. Also, heavy rain and flooding were reported throughout El Paso, Texas.

More recently, NASA scientisits reported that the vast sheet of ice that covers Greenland is shrinking fast, but still not as fast as previous research indicated. The Greenland ice sheet is considered an early indicator of the consequences of global warming, so even a slower ice melt there raises concerns.

Greenland Ice Sheet Shrinking

from CNN

Accoding to NASA scientisits, the vast sheet of ice that covers Greenland is shrinking fast, but still not as fast as previous research indicated. Greenland's low coastal regions lost 41 cubic miles of ice each year between 2003 and 2005 from excess melting and icebergs. The high-elevation interior gained 14 cubic miles annually from excess snowfall. This is a change from the 1990s, when ice gains approximately equaled losses.

The Greenland ice sheet is considered an early indicator of the consequences of global warming, so even a slower ice melt there raises concerns.

UPDATE Global Warming

from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The continental United States suffered through its second-hottest July on record because of a blistering heat wave from California to Washington, D.C. The heat wave broke more than 2,300 daily temperature records for the month and eclipsed more than 50 records for the highest temperatures in any July. The hottest July on record occurred in 1936, and the third hottest was 1934.

UPDATE Global Warming

Major Flooding in El Paso
from KFOX El Paso

Heavy rain and flooding have been reported throughout El Paso, Tex. Check out some of the astonishing pictures of the floods. So far 7 inches of rain has fallen since Monday with another 4 inches expected to hit the area. So far no deaths or injuries have been reported.

Rare Clouds Spotted Over Antarctica
from the Daily Mail

Like brushstrokes rippling across the sky, this iridescent cloud dazzles with the colours of the fading sun.

Photographed over Antarctica, the rare nacreous cloud is made up of millions of ice crystals which bend and scatter the sun's rays, creating a pastel rainbow

Also known as mother of pearl clouds, these formations only occur high in the atmosphere, in some of the coldest temperatures on Earth.

But their ethereal beauty may conceal a dark secret - it is thought that chemical reactions on the surface of the clouds help deplete the ozone layer.

This spectacular picture was taken at sunset in East Antarctica. The clouds' formation is dependent on a combination of extreme weather conditions, including temperatures below minus 80c, and they are visible only at sunrise and sunset.

The clouds may be an indicator of global warming, according to scientists. The build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that traps heat on Earth, causing it to heat up, also stops heat from reaching the stratosphere and causes it to become cooler. If global warming gets worse, these clouds could be a regular sight.

UPDATE Global Warming

All time record high temperatures broken in 2 cities and tied in another.

The record for Mt. Rushmore was previousl established in 1985 at 100 degrees. The record was tied yesterday. Also in SD, Maurine had a record of 106 back in 1975, but yesterday temperatures reached 112.

And in New Castle, Wyoming, the record of 106 was established back in 1995, but yesterday temperatures reached 106.

UPDATE Global Warming

from CNN

It has been 2,000 years and possibly much longer since the Earth's temperature has been this high. The National Academy of Sciences reported that the recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia.

A panel of top climate scientists said that Earth is heating up and that human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming. The report said average global surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere rose about 1 degree during the 20th century.

Other new research showed that global warming produced about half of the extra hurricane-fueled warmth in the North Atlantic in 2005, and natural cycles were a minor factor.