Science Conference Concentrates On Accelerating Polar Vortex

[hatrack]

Climate scientists study 'polar vortex'
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

SEATTLE--"Above the North Pole is a massive maelstrom of air, a 'polar vortex,' that University of Washington scientists have shown is speeding up and may explain some of the dramatic changes now being observed in the Arctic environment.

'This is possibly also related to global climate change,' said UW Arctic scientist James Morison. But then again, Morison noted, the increased rate of spin observed in this atmospheric whirlpool may also just be due to its natural cycle of variation.

EDIT

Changes in the polar vortex are the primary focus of the SEARCH project. As the vortex has gained speed and strength in the past decade, scientists have also observed increases in average Arctic temperatures, unprecedented bursts in the amount of plankton, jellyfish and vegetation, and changes in the Arctic Ocean's balance of fresh and salt water. Figuring out what's going on may be of significance well beyond the Arctic, Morison said.

"Changes in the polar vortex will have an impact on Seattle," he said. As the polar vortex speeds up, it tends to shift the jet stream and could make the Pacific Northwest even wetter, he said. The effect on Alaskan fisheries could be significant as well."

EDIT

Link

[On the Road]

1. Apparently, During Most of the Earth's History

temperatures at the poles were much closer to the rest of the earth. Ocean currents flowed more freely over the poles and even temperatures out, like the Gulf Stream does in the Atlantic.

There are only two conditions under which this polar warming does NOT take place: (1) when there is a land mass directly over the poles, and (2) when there is a body of water which is largely blocked from free circulation. The first describes the South Pole today; the second describes the North Pole.

This is actually not good news. It means that warmer poles are a naturally occurring state. It will be harder to prevent them returning to that state. And the poles are the first place to be hit hard by global warming.