An enormous iceberg, a little bigger than the state of Rhode Island, has broken off of Antarctica.

The iceberg broke off the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, as observed by the European Space Agency (ESA).

The finger-shaped chunk of ice, which is roughly 105 miles (170 kilometers) long and 15 miles (25 kilometers) wide, was spotted by satellites as it calved from the western side of Antarctica’s Ronne Ice Shelf, according to the European Space Agency. The berg is now floating freely on the Weddell Sea, a large bay in the western Antarctic.

The 1,667-square-mile iceberg—is now the world’s biggest…

Almost 90% of the glacial area in the world is in Antarctica, which is crucial to our climate.

The bright white spots act like a protective cover over the Earth and our oceans, reflecting excess heat back into space to keep the planet cooler. But because of our greenhouse gas pollution, our glaciers are rapidly melting, which only further speeds up dangerous warming of our earth.

Our planet’s ecosystems are intricately intertwined, so when polar ice melts, it has far-reaching consequences.

For instance, rapid melting of the polar ice caps causes less heat to be repelled back into space and creates a feed-back loop resulting in warmer poles and a warmer planet. That in turn not only creates an even greater loss of sea ice that animals like polar bears and walruses rely on for their habitat, but the entire ocean ecosystem is impacted.

The consequences of polar melting don’t just impact animals, it directly harm humans.  

The polar regions and current climate-induced meltdown, the result of accelerated global warming, puts the whole planet at greater risk of the dangers we are already seeing – fires, storm surges, drought and other destabilizing forces that put our island communities at risk.

The wild waters of the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica are one of the planet’s biggest carbon stores.

The ocean absorbs around 12% of all carbon dioxide generated by humans each year, but despite its huge importance in regulating the Earth’s climate, it has barely been studied by science.

Melting glaciers change ocean currents by introducing cold water to warmer oceans. This changes the habitats of countless animals and has been linked to the collapse of fisheries.

We’re becoming used to constant news showing greater disasters around the world, rising temperatures in every region, and record-breaking glacial collapse.  Scientists have been telling us for years that we need to act now in order to avoid devastating consequences now underway.

Related Climate News

California is at the edge of another protracted drought, just a few years after one of the worst dry spells in state history left poor and rural communities without well water, triggered major water restrictions in cities, forced farmers to idle their fields, killed millions of trees, and fueled devastating megafires.

– Food supply is the next climate victim

Last week, the unofficial end of California’s wet season, officials announced that the accumulation of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Cascades was about 40% below average levels. The state doesn’t have enough snow and rain banked to replenish its groundwater supplies, feed its rivers and streams or fill depleted reservoirs.

Just four years since the state’s last drought emergency, experts and advocates say the state isn’t ready to cope with what could be months and possibly years of drought to come. Heading into the summer, battles are heating up between cities, farms and environmentalists over how scarce supplies are rationed.

Many of the state’s reservoirs are at extremely low capacity and levels are expected to drop further in the coming months. Already, the state’s 154 major reservoirs are collectively at 71% of where they typically are on average. Federal climate analysts with the National Integrated Drought Information System called the outlook for California’s reservoir levels recovery “grim” in their most recent report.

California is America’s primary produce supplier and diversified agricultural exporter to Hawaii and other states.

California’s drought will result in supply shortages and higher food costs for consumers.

A third of global food production will be at risk by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at their current rate, new research suggests.

Many of the world’s most important food-growing areas will see temperatures increase and rainfall patterns alter drastically if temperatures rise by about 3.7C, the forecast increase if emissions stay high.

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have calculated that about 95% of current crop production takes place in areas they define as “safe climatic space”, or conditions where temperature, rainfall and aridity fall within certain bounds.

If temperatures were to rise by 3.7C or thereabouts by the century’s end, that safe area would shrink drastically, mostly affecting south and south-eastern Asia and Africa’s Sudano-Sahelian zone.

– Onward to a Hotter World –

Over the past decade, scientists have been able to produce a far more nuanced picture of how temperature rise affects the complexities of cloud cover and atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns and ecology.

• We’re looking at vast dead zones in the oceans as nutrients from fertilizer runoff combine with warmer waters to produce an explosion in algae that starve marine life of oxygen.

• This will be exacerbated by the acidity from dissolved CO₂, which will cause a mass die-off, particularly of shellfish, plankton and coral.

• “We will have lost all the reefs decades before 2100 – at somewhere between 2C and 4C,” says Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

• Sea levels will be perhaps two meters higher and, more worryingly, we will be well on our way to an ice-free world, having passed the tipping points for the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheets, committing us to at least 10 meters of sea-level rise in coming centuries

PGV is the first and only commercially-productive geothermal electrical plant in Hawaii. Constructed on a site adjacent to failed experimental wells drilled and operated by the Hawaii Geothermal Project in the 1970s and 80s, construction on the generating facility began in 1989 and was completed in 1993.

Prior to 2018 Kilauea eruption and subsequent lava damage to the plant, PGV had an installed generating capacity of 38 MW from six production wells and five injection wells within Kilauea’s East rift volcano zone.

The PGV’s geothermal power output was sold to the Hawaiian Electric Industries (HELCO) under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the utility. The PGV claims to have generated up to 10% of the island’s utility energy at the beginning of 2018, just prior to the eruption.

Volcanic Changes Could Spell Trouble for PGV

Since the operational inception of PGV area island residents have complained of a chocking stench of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide, as well as rumbling noises and vibration (allegedly due to PGV’s near continuous drilling operations). 

Local residents concerns regarding the plant’s drilling operations are many, including an alleged and unproven link to Lower East Rift Zone eruptions and the plant’s drilling operations on what the scientific community consider the world’s most active volcano.

One thing is for certain the 2018 eruption in the Lower East Rift Zone is a reminder of the dramatically altered the physical environment, destroyed the substation, and event that forced an emergency shutdown of PGV operation and power production.  PGV was in fact incredibly lucky as the potential for much greater plant damage from a volcanic eruption remains a constant reminder of Kilauea’s active volcanism.

State Sen. Russell Ruderman of Puna described the images of the 2018 eruption with lava nearly surrounding PGV plant this way… “Even if you don’t know anything more than that, it’s obviously not the place to put any critical infrastructure.”

Since the 2018 eruption, Kilauea continues to see movement of fresh magma into the rift zone indicating a very dynamic situation.   Kilauea’s intruded magma at depth has altered the discrete pocket of geothermal fluids that the plant uses for power.

It is no longer a brine dominated resource which indicates that the plumbing has changed. Water trapped in the dike complex within the rift may have been driven out and that process may continue raising questions of the PGV’s long term viability.

Another factor facing PGV is the “clean” and renewable energy marketplace which offers energy alternatives of less risk, and are potentially more price and performance competitive, e.g. solar-wind-storage.

Then there are recent changes in the state’s regulatory framework.  Subsequently, the PUC has adopted rules with greater detail that have the effect of law.

The state legislature also adopted the Ratepayers Protection Act in 2018 which set up performance standards and incentives to encourage faster movement to renewables while bringing costs down for consumers. It is the latter point that may spell the greatest challenge to PGV’s future plans.

In short, there are several good reasons, which are in the public’s and ratepayer interests, for the PUC to require PGV to provide the Agency with a (supplemental) SEIS at this time.

PGV requests a compromise… the PUC responds

The Hawaii PUC’s recent docket now contains an amended and restated Power Purchase Agreement, which the PUC has placed “on hold” requiring a supplemental EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), as much has changed since 1993.

The whole point of an environmental review within the EIS is so the PUC has available to it essential information in meeting its regulatory obligations and to support its decision process. It isn’t just a paperwork exercise as some might allege.

In response, PGV recently proposed to the PUC a “compromise”.

The comprise proposed by PGV places the EIS decision process with other less qualified agencies who do not share the PUC’s public interest mission, and more to the point, that the PUC proceed processing PGV’s amended Power Purchase Agreement request without delay or further due diligence – hardly a compromise.

The denial of a continued waiver from PGV participating in a competitive bidding process seems likely to follow, which is likely driving PGV’s urgent compromise ploy.

If the PUC were to continue to allow PGV’s non-competition wavier, holding open the waiver while PGV pursues a (supplemental) EIS, then it makes no sense, at least until more fundamental questions are addressed.

But for PGV, the loss of a waiver could be a major setback for PGV’s expansion plans, as there are no current solicitations for renewable energy projects on the Big Island currently open.

—

The PUC has responded, reinforcing its SEIS fulfillment requirement of PGV.

Climate change presents Hawaii and mid-Pacific Islands with a set of unique challenges including: rising temperatures, sea-level rise, contamination of freshwater resources with saltwater, coastal erosion, an increase in extreme weather events, coral reef bleaching, and ocean acidification. Hawaii’s marine coral systems were significantly damaged during an unprecedented warming event of 2015-16, which killed off over 90% of native coral in some coastal areas and permanently damaged West Hawaii’s once robust coral system.

Scientific studies project for the rest of the 21st century a continuing rise in air and ocean surface temperatures for the Pacific, increased hurricane intensities and the frequency of extreme weather events. Along with these changes, increased rainfall during the summer months and a decrease in rainfall during the winter months.

In Hawai’i, the annual rainfall has decreased and surface temperatures have risen during the last several decades, but it is unknown whether these trends will persist or be enhanced through global climate change. Coastal areas will certainly be at increased risk due to greater hurricane wind speeds and coastal inundation due to the combined effects of sea-level rise and storm surges, e.g. West Maui today.

Since 1950, temperatures across the Hawaiian Islands have risen by about 2°F.

Temperatures in Honolulu have increased by 2.3°F over this period and have consistently been above the 1951–1980 average since 1975 (Figure 2).

Both the number of hot days (days with maximum temperature above 90°F) and number of warm nights (days with minimum temperature above 75°F) have been near to above average since 1980.

The rate of temperature increase is greatest at high elevations, far exceeding the global average rate of change. The annual number of days below freezing is decreasing over time, as is the diurnal temperature range, largely due to nighttime warming.

Temperatures in Hawai‘i (orange line) have risen about 2°F since the beginning of the 20th century.

Historically unprecedented warming is projected during the 21st century.

Less warming is expected under a lower emissions future (the coldest years being about as warm as the hottest year in the historical record; green shading) and more warming under a higher emissions future (the hottest years being about 8°F warmer than the hottest year in the historical record; red shading).

Source: CICS-NC and NOAA NCEI.

Observed changes (compared to the 1951–1980 average) in annual near-surface air temperature for four stations in Hawai‘i: Līhu‘e, Kaua‘i (red line), Honolulu, O‘ahu (blue line), Kahului, Maui (yellow line), and Hilo, Island of Hawai‘i (green line).

Data are for 1950–2015. Temperatures across the islands have increased since 1950, at rates of between 0.2°F and 0.4°F per decade.

Temperatures in Honolulu have increased by 2.3°F over this period and have consistently been above the 1951–1980 average since 1975.

Source: CICS-NC and NOAA NCEI.

Rainfall

Precipitation varies greatly by both season and location. Hawai‘i experiences a drier season from May through October, in which warm, steady trade winds cause frequent light-to-moderate showers, and a wet season from November through April, with weaker and less frequent trade winds and a significant amount of rain from storms.

The mountainous terrain, persistent trade winds, heating and cooling of the land, and other factors interact to result in dramatic differences in average rainfall over short distances. Annual total rainfall sometimes exceeds 300 inches along the windward slopes of mountains, but less than 20 inches in leeward coastal areas and the highest mountain slopes.  Despite great variability in precipitation amounts across the islands over the past century, annual rainfall has decreased throughout the island chain, particularly during recent years.

The Big Island

The Island of Hawai‘i has experienced the largest significant long-term declines in annual and dry season rainfall, with annual total precipitation in Hilo decreasing the most among four major airports: a decrease of almost 20 inches since 1950.

An increase in the frequency of the trade wind inversion is also linked to a decrease in precipitation at high elevations.

Hilo not so wet

The Hilo side of Hawaii Island, generally referred to as the wet side of the Big Island, is demonstrating greatest swings in wet-to-dry and wet again, year upon year since 1950.

Annual precipitation varies greatly from year to year, however, overall amounts have decreased since 1950 at all four stations. The greatest decrease has been seen in Hilo, where annual precipitation has decreased by almost 20 inches across the period of record

Hawaiian Islands

The number of consecutive dry days across the major Hawaiian Islands has become longer since 1950s. An increase in drought conditions has been seen in recent years, particularly at high elevations. In 2010, more than 40 percent of the Hawaiian Islands experienced severe, extreme, or exceptional drought conditions. Such conditions lead to a lack of useable water and increased risk of fire. On the other side of the coin, the number of extreme precipitation events has been below average in recent years, with areas at the highest elevations experiencing the strongest downward trend.

Regionally, extreme rainfall events have become less frequent for O‘ahu and Kauai, but more frequent for the Island of Hawai‘i.  Water, weather are the enablers for the staples of life, and as for Hawaii’s future livability like the rest of the world that is certainly the case…

Source: CICS-NC and NOAA NCEI.

Sea level rise in Hawai‘i

Increasing temperatures raise concerns for sea level rise in Hawai‘i.   

Since 1880, global sea level has risen by about 8 inches. It is projected to rise another 1 to 4 feet by 2100 as a result of both past and future emissions due to human activities.

Rates of sea level rise in Hawai‘i vary between the islands, ranging from 0.6 inches per decade for Kaua‘i and O‘ahu to 1.3 inches per decade on the Island of Hawai‘i.

Sea level rise across Hawai‘i is projected to rise another 1–3 feet by the end of the 21st century.  

Sea level rise has caused an increase in tidal floods associated with nuisance-level impacts. Nuisance floods are events in which water levels exceed the local threshold (set by NOAA’s National Weather Service) for minor impacts. These events can damage infrastructure, cause road closures, and overwhelm storm drains.

As sea level has risen along the Hawaiian coastline, the number of tidal flood days (all days exceeding the nuisance level threshold) has also increased, with the greatest number occurring in 2002–2003. Continued sea level rise will present major challenges to Hawai‘i’s coastline, through coastal inundation and erosion.

Seventy percent of Hawai‘i’s beaches have already been eroded over the past century, with more than 13 miles of beach completely lost. Sea level rise will also affect Hawai‘i’s coastal water management system and could cause extensive economic damage through ecosystem damage and losses in property, tourism, and agriculture.

The talk is all about net zero by 2050, but what the temperature will be in 2050 will be determined by what we do now

Massive melting of glaciers has tilted the planet’s rotation, showing the impact of human activities

The massive melting of glaciers as a result of global heating has caused marked shifts in the Earth’s axis of rotation since the 1990s, research has shown. It demonstrates the profound impact humans are having on the planet, scientists said.

The planet’s geographic north and south poles are the point where its axis of rotation intersects the surface, but they are not fixed. Changes in how the Earth’s mass is distributed around the planet cause the axis, and therefore the poles, to move.

In the past, only natural factors such as ocean currents and the convection of hot rock in the deep Earth contributed to the drifting position of the poles. But the new research shows that since the 1990s, the loss of hundreds of billions of tons of ice a year into the oceans resulting from the climate crisis has caused the poles to move in new directions.

The scientists found the direction of polar drift shifted from southward to eastward in 1995 and that the average speed of drift from 1995 to 2020 was 17 times faster than from 1981 to 1995.

Since 1980, the position of the poles has moved about 4 meters in distance.

“The accelerated decline [in water stored on land] resulting from glacial ice melting is the main driver of the rapid polar drift after the 1990s,” concluded the team, led by Shanshan Deng, from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Gravity data from the Grace satellite, launched in 2002, had been used to link glacial melting to movements of the pole in 2005 and 2012, both following increases in ice losses. But Deng’s research breaks new ground by extending the link to before the satellite’s launch, showing human activities have been shifting the poles since the 1990s, almost three decades ago.

The research, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, showed glacial losses accounted for most of the shift, but it is likely that the pumping up of groundwater also contributed to the movements.

Groundwater is stored under land but, once pumped up for drinking or agriculture, most eventually flows to sea, redistributing its weight around the world. In the past 50 years, humanity has removed 18tn tons of water from deep underground reservoirs without it being replaced.

Vincent Humphrey, at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and not involved in the new research said it showed how human activities have redistributed huge amounts of water around the planet: “It tells you how strong this mass change is – it’s so big that it can change the axis of the Earth.” However, the movement of the Earth’s axis is not large enough to affect daily life, he said: it could change the length of a day, but only by milliseconds.

Prof Jonathan Overpeck, at the University of Arizona, US, told the Guardian previously that changes to the Earth’s axis highlighted “how real and profoundly large an impact humans are having on the planet”.

Some scientists argue that the scale of this impact means a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene – needs to be declared. Since the mid-20th century, there has been a marked acceleration of carbon dioxide emissions and sea level rise, the destruction of wildlife and the transformation of land by farming, deforestation and development.

First published in The Guardian, April 23, 2021 – author Damian Carrington, Environment editor