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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>December 9, 2020</b></font></i></p>
[NOAA official report]<br>
<b>Arctic Report Card: Update for 2020The sustained transformation
to a warmer, less frozen and biologically changed Arctic remains
clear</b><br>
<b>Arctic Essays</b><br>
2020 Headlines<br>
The sustained transformation to a warmer, less frozen and
biologically changed Arctic remains clear<br>
<br>
Extreme warm air temperatures in the Eurasian Arctic illustrate
significant region-wide effects of year-to-year variability and
connections across the Arctic environment.<br>
<br>
<b>Highlights</b><br>
<p>The average annual land surface air temperature north of 60 N for
October 2019-September 2020 was the second highest on record since
at least 1900. Record warm temperatures in the Eurasian Arctic
were associated with extreme conditions in the ocean and on the
land.</p>
<p><b>In the oceans</b></p>
Sea ice loss in spring 2020 was particularly early in the East
Siberian Sea and Laptev Sea regions, setting new record lows in the
Laptev Sea for June. The end of summer sea ice extent in 2020 was
the second lowest in the 42-year satellite record, with 2012 being
the record minimum year.<br>
August mean sea surface temperatures in 2020 were ~1-3C warmer than
the 1982-2010 August mean over most of the Arctic Ocean, with
exceptionally warm temperatures in the Laptev and Kara seas that
coincided with the early loss of sea ice in this region.<br>
During July and August 2020, regional ocean primary productivity in
the Laptev Sea was ~2 times higher for July and ~6 times higher for
August compared to their respective monthly averages.<br>
Bowhead whales have been a staple resource for coastal Indigenous
peoples for millennia and are uniquely adapted for the arctic marine
ecosystem. The Pacific Arctic population size has increased in the
past 30 years likely due to increases in ocean primary production
and northward transport of the zooplankton they feed on.<br>
Shifts in air temperatures, storminess, sea ice and ocean conditions
have combined to increase coastal permafrost erosion rates, in
regions where a high proportion of Arctic residents live and
industrial, commercial, tourist and military activities are
expanding.<br>
<p><b>On the land</b></p>
The exceptional warm spring air temperatures across Siberia resulted
in record low June snow cover extent across the Eurasian Arctic, as
observed in the past 54 years.<br>
Extreme wildfires in 2020 in the Sakha Republic of northern Russia
coincided with unparalleled warm air temperatures and record snow
loss in the region.<br>
Since 2016, tundra greenness trends have diverged strongly by
continent, declining sharply in North America but remaining above
the long-term average in Eurasia.<br>
From September 2019 to August 2020, the Greenland Ice Sheet
experienced higher ice loss than the 1981-2010 average but
substantially lower than the record 2018/19 loss.<br>
Glaciers and ice sheets outside of Greenland have continued a trend
of significant ice loss, dominated largely by ice loss from Alaska
and Arctic Canada.<br>
<p><b>Observing Arctic change</b></p>
Advancements in the integration of models and observations have
increased the skill and utility of Arctic sea ice predictions on
seasonal to decadal to century timescales.<br>
Important additions to the Arctic Observing Network (AON) systems
and data products and advancements in process-level understanding
have improved the quality and accessibility of information used to
produce the Arctic Report Card.<br>
The unique Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of
Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) project concluded a historic, international,
yearlong expedition into the Arctic ice pack in September 2020,
collecting a legacy dataset that aims to advance the understanding,
modeling and predicting of Arctic environmental change.<br>
Opening of the new NOAA Barrow Observatory, near Utqiaġvik, Alaska,
enables the continuation of nearly half a century of atmosphere and
terrestrial in situ observations...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card/Report-Card-2020">https://arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card/Report-Card-2020</a>
<p>- - <br>
</p>
[4 min Video report]<br>
<b>Arctic Report Card 2020</b><br>
Dec 8, 2020<br>
NOAAPMEL<br>
Arctic Report Card: Update for 2020 - Tracking recent environmental
changes, with 16 essays prepared by an international team of 134
researchers from 15 different countries and an independent peer
review organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme
of the Arctic Council.<br>
This is the 15th anniversary of the Arctic Report Card.<br>
See <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card">https://www.arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://youtu.be/TcfQiKUkgBY">https://youtu.be/TcfQiKUkgBY</a><br>
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<p><br>
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[Cold Arctic now warm]<br>
<b>Warning bells jingle for December climate</b><br>
The Christmas month starts with exceptional heat across major parts
of the Arctic.<br>
Atle Staalesen - December 07, 2020<br>
Alarm bells are sounded over and again by climate experts, and the
Christmas season is unlikely to be much different than the preceding
months.<br>
<br>
According to the Russian meteorological service Roshydromet, the
extraordinary Arctic heat of November was on the first day of
December followed by temperature records in a number of places
across the Russian north.<br>
<br>
In the island of Bely, north of the Yamal Peninsula, the winter
month started with plus 1,1C, the highest ever local registration
for December 1. The same was the case in Dikson, the town on the
Kara Sea coast, where the registration was minus 0,6 C.<br>
<br>
Temperature deviations in the Russian Arctic on December 1, 2020.
Map by Roshydromet
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://thebarentsobserver.com/sites/default/files/arctic.temperatures.1dec2020-roshydromet.jpg">https://thebarentsobserver.com/sites/default/files/arctic.temperatures.1dec2020-roshydromet.jpg</a><br>
In Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point on the Russian mainland,
the meteorologists measured minus 4,7C, which is almost three
degrees higher than the previous record for that day.<br>
A temperature map presented by Roshydromet shows that parts of
Arctic Siberia on the 1 December had a temperature deviation from
normal of more than 20 degrees Celsius.<br>
<br>
"These temperatures are very far from winter [cold] records of
northern Siberia and Yakutia," Roshydromet laconically explains. <br>
<br>
According to the Russian state service, the average temperatures
along major parts of the Russian Arctic coast are now for a long
period between 10-15 C above normal, and in November the deviation
from normality in the region was set to 12 C.<br>
The November temperatures follow a great number of months with
abnormal heat across the whole Arctic.<br>
<br>
In October, the average temperature for the whole circumpolar Arctic
was 6,7C higher than normal, and in the Russian Arctic archipelago
of Severnaya Zemlya the average October temperature was as much as
10 C above normal.<br>
<br>
The melting of the Arctic sea-ice continues. According to the
National Snow and Ice Data Center, the sea ice extent averaged for
October 2020 was the lowest in the satellite record.<br>
<br>
Sea-ice levels increased through November, but still ended up as
second lowest in the satellite record for the month, just above
2016.<br>
<br>
The November average extent of 8.99 million square kilometers was
1.71 million square kilometers below the 1981 to 2010 average, the
Snow and Ice Data Center informs.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/climate-crisis/2020/12/warning-bells-jingle-december-climate">https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/climate-crisis/2020/12/warning-bells-jingle-december-climate</a>
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[Activism]<br>
<b>NRDC Energy Report: Slow & Steady Won't Win the Climate Race</b><br>
December 02, 2020 - Amanda Levin Sophia Ptacek <br>
Climate-related emergencies over the last two years have made it
clear: the time for ambitious climate action in the United States
and abroad is now. Deadly heat waves blanketing Europe during 2019
killed nearly 1,500 people in France alone, massive wildfires raged
from Australia to the Amazon to the western U.S. in 2019 and 2020,
and this year's Atlantic hurricane season has been the busiest on
record. NRDC's Eighth Annual Energy Report, released today, digs
into U.S. energy trends over the last two years to understand how
our energy system has changed since our last report, where we may be
headed, and what it all means for the worsening climate crisis.<br>
<br>
This year's report details both the good and bad news on energy and
climate in the United States in an interactive and explanatory
webpage. It focuses largely on 2019 because final energy data is not
released until 10 months after the previous year's conclusion. Our
report also includes early signs from 2020. You can scroll through
the maps, videos, graphics and text to learn more about the trends
on air pollution, renewable energy, energy efficiency,
transportation, oil & gas, and coal in the United States...<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/amanda-levin/slow-and-steady-will-not-win-climate-race">https://www.nrdc.org/experts/amanda-levin/slow-and-steady-will-not-win-climate-race</a><br>
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<p><br>
</p>
[video - follow-the-money activism]<br>
<b>Divestment and Climate Action</b><br>
Streamed live on Dec 1, 2020<br>
Oxford Climate Society<br>
<br>
Divestment and Climate Action <br>
<br>
Earlier this year, Greta Thunberg called on world leaders at Davos
to end the 'madness' of fossil fuel investments and subsidies. In a
letter co-authored with other youth climate activists from across
the globe, they demanded that all companies, banks, institutions and
governments 'immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels',
citing the $1.9tn that has been poured into fossil fuels since the
2015 Paris Agreement.<br>
<br>
The global climate movement has grown exponentially over the past
few years, increasingly putting pressure on high profile
institutions and companies to take action and change their
investment portfolios to exclude fossil fuel companies, with some
notable successes. Many universities hold endowments funds
comprising millions of pounds, and whether these investments are
held in companies that discover, extract and distribute fossil fuels
raises difficult moral questions. <br>
<br>
But is divesting from these companies the best way for large
institutional investors like universities to effect change in the
energy sector, or is it just needless 'virtue-signalling'? Is it a
problem that universities considering divestment accept large
donations from the energy sector? Finally, would it not be more
productive to stay invested and capitalised on their position as
stakeholders to pressure Big Oil to be more environmentally
responsible? <br>
<br>
In the light of Cambridge University's recent announcement to fully
divest and the tireless campaigns within Oxford and its colleges for
divestment, we look forward to discussing the role that universities
and colleges can play, as investors, in the transition to a cleaner
economy. To provide insight to this debate, we are delighted to be
joined by Jonathon Porritt and Dr Ellen Quigley.<br>
<br>
Jonathon Porritt is a veteran campaigner and eminent writer,
broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development. A prominent
member of the Green Party in its early days, he served as co-chair
and presided over changes that rapidly expanded the party's
membership. He is the Founder-director of the Forum for the Future,
one of the UK's leading sustainable development charities, and was
previously the Director of Friends of the Earth from 1984-1990. An
alumnus of Magdalen College, where he studied modern languages,
Jonathon was installed as the Chancellor of Keele University in
February 2012 and is also a Visiting Professor at Loughborough
University and UCL.<br>
<br>
Dr Ellen Quigley is the Advisor to the Chief Financial Officer at
the University of Cambridge, on Responsible Investment. A Research
Associate in Climate Risk and Sustainable Finance at the Centre for
the Study of Existential Risk, she was lead author of a report
titled Divestment: Advantages and Disadvantages for the University
of Cambridge, published earlier this year. She holds an A.B in
english literature from Harvard College, an MSc in Nature, Society
and Environmental Policy from the University of Oxford and a PhD in
Economics Education from the University of Cambridge. <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5LE__4BeIE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5LE__4BeIE</a><br>
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</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[Revised site offers daily mailings]<br>
<b>Inside Climate News</b><br>
Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis
facing our planet.<br>
Science -- Politics & Policy -- Justice -- Fossil Fuels -- Clean
Energy<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://insideclimatenews.org/">https://insideclimatenews.org/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
[some stunning photos from Siberia]<br>
<b>Beauty of frozen methane bubbles on the world's deepest lake
shown in stunning video</b><br>
By The Siberian Times reporter - 24 November 2020<br>
Irkutsk photographer captures multi-layered columns of bubbles
through crystal clear ice.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Baikal-methane/st5.jpg">https://siberiantimes.com/PICTURES/OTHERS/Baikal-methane/st5.jpg</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://siberiantimes.com/upload/information_system_52/7/9/2/item_7926/information_items_7926.jpg">https://siberiantimes.com/upload/information_system_52/7/9/2/item_7926/information_items_7926.jpg</a><br>
A tranquil video of white and silver bubbles of methane caught in
newly-formed ice was filmed at Maloye More, a strait that separates
the lake's largest island of Olkhon from the western shore of Lake
Baikal.
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA2y3v4T3OY&feature=emb_logo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA2y3v4T3OY&feature=emb_logo</a><br>
<br>
'Ice covering the shallow straits and bays begins to form by the end
of November, while the rest of Baikal freezes by the middle of
January.<br>
<br>
'This kind of ice, the purest, can only be seen in some areas of the
lake in November and December', said Stanislav Tolstev, 46,
photographer and tour guide from Irkutsk. <br>
<br>
'The first time I paid attention to these bubbles was about four
years ago, then I learned to distinguish methane from air bubbles. <br>
<br>
'Methane bubbles freeze in layers one over the other, and the floors
of them can grow 1.5 metres (5ft) deep. <br>
<br>
'Local anglers say that other, smaller and more chaotic, bubbles are
'the breathing of Baikal seals' and point to the areas where these
animals rise to the surface to take some air'...<br>
Baikal is located in a rift zone which is a deep - in fact the
largest on the planet - crack in the Earth's crust which narrows at
depths of several dozen kilometres. <br>
<br>
It does not have a solid bottom: instead there is a cushion of
bottom sediments that has been filling the most narrow lower part of
the crack for millions of years<br>
<br>
These bottom sediments are similar to bogs in that they contain a
lot of gas, including methane. <br>
<br>
In deep winter, there are roads over the ice, but the larger methane
bubbles pose a threat. <br>
<br>
'There are areas of the lake where bubbles grow so big that cars
fall through the ice,' he said.<br>
<br>
'The location may vary from year to year, and usually the large
bubbles appear starting from February and can be seen through March
and April.'<br>
Scientists monitor methane rising from the floor of Baikal, and
while it is said to be increasing, they have disputed this is due to
global warming.<br>
<br>
Dr Nikolay Granin, from the Limnological Institute, Irkutsk,
previously said: 'There are deepwater seeps - at a depth of more
than 380 metres (1,247ft) - and shallow seeps, at a depth less than
380 metres.<br>
<br>
'Currently, we have information about 22-24 deepwater seeps and more
than 100 shallow seeps.'<br>
<br>
The temperature at the bottom of the lake - the deepest in the
world, with a maximum depth of 1,642 metres (5,387ft) - has not
warmed, he said. <br>
<br>
'There is a lot of speculation about this. We believe that warming
does not affect the seeps, as the bottom temperature practically
doesn't change.'<br>
<br>
Yet the lake's level has fallen, and this leads to increased methane
seeps, he said. <br>
<br>
The quantity of methane hidden in gas hydrates in Baikal is
estimated at one trillion cubic metres.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/beauty-of-frozen-methane-bubbles-on-the-worlds-deepest-lake-shown-in-stunning-video/">https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/beauty-of-frozen-methane-bubbles-on-the-worlds-deepest-lake-shown-in-stunning-video/</a><br>
<br>
<p>- -</p>
[video]<br>
<b>Methane bubbles Baikal</b><br>
Nov 24, 2020<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA2y3v4T3OY&feature=emb_logo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA2y3v4T3OY&feature=emb_logo</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
[Digging back into the internet news archive]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming -
December 9, 2009 </b></font><br>
<p>On MSNBC's "Countdown," Chris Hayes strongly criticizes the
Washington Post for running an article by Sarah Palin peddling
climate-denial conspiracy theories.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://youtu.be/R8rZ7YXHHfk">http://youtu.be/R8rZ7YXHHfk</a> <br>
<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
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