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Record Arctic temperature in 2011

The year 2011 was another heat record in the Arctic. Climate change is therefore in no way retreating.

The image on the right clearly shows the annual temperature rising. Click to enlarge the image.

NASA has released data on the temperatures yeasterday. According to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the annual mean surface temperature (land and air) for the region north of 64°N (the Arctic Circle is at 66° 33’N) in 2011 was 2.28 degrees Celcius above that which characterized the 1951-1980 period.

Temperatures in the region have been rising rapidly since the late 1970s and have not dropped below the long term mean since 1992, for nearly 20 years.

This year’s annual mean temperature broke the record that was just set in 2010, when the temperature was 2.11oC above 1951-1980 levels.

The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to NASA scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000.

Sources

NASA´s Goddard Institute

January 26, 2012
Statoil strengthens around Greenland

Statoil in Norway, owned at 70% by the state, has bought searching permissions in Greenland. This strengthens the status of Statoil around Greenland.

The seller is oil explorer Cairn Energy who sold 30% of their oil research permissions.

The reason is that Cairn wants to go into cooperation with a big company with experience of searching for oil in the Arctic.

Statoil is the frontrunner in that race.

Cairn spent more than anticipated in research in 2011, over 400 million pounds. Simon Thomson, says that Statoil´s experience will increase the odds of finding oil around Greenland.

“In Greenland, Statoil’s extensive Arctic operating and development experience makes them the partner of choice for the Pitu block where we see significant potential,” he said to the BBC.

Sources

BBC

January 26, 2012
Water bulge might cause changing weather

Scientists have found an enormous dome in the western Arctic Ocean, full of fresh water. The bulge is thought to be around 8000 cubic meters in size and has risen about 15cm in 10 years.

The image on the right shows the rise of the bulge, rising fast in 10 years. The second picture then shows how a bulge is made.

“In the western Arctic, the Beaufort Gyre is driven by a permanent anti-cyclonic wind circulation. It drives the water, forcing it to pile up in the centre of gyre, and this domes the sea surface,” explained lead author Dr Katharine Giles from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) at University College London to the BBC.

An ESA satellite was used to discover the bulge. Most of the fresh water is coming from the Russian side of the Arctic.

Winds and currents have transported this fresh water around the ocean until it has been pulled into the gyre. The volume currently held in the circulation probably represents about 10% of all the fresh water in the Arctic, according to BBC.

If the fresh water were to enter the North Atlantic in large volumes, the concern would be that it might disturb the currents that have such a great influence on European weather patterns.

These currents draw warm waters up from the tropics, maintaining milder temperatures in winter than would ordinarily be expected at northern European latitudes.

“The ice is now much freer to move around,” said Dr Giles to the BBC.

“So, as the wind acts on the ice, it’s able to pull the water around with it. Depending on how ridged the surface of ice is or how smooth the bottom of the ice is – this will all affect the drag on the water.”

“If you have more leads, this also might provide more vertical ice surfaces for the wind to blow against.”

Sources

BBC

January 25, 2012
New production record for Russia

Oil production in Russia last year set a new record for post-soviet times. A total of 511 million tons were produced in 2011.

The production only went up one percent from 2010. The trend is unlikely to continue for the next three years.

Sergei Kudriashov, Russias vice minister of energy, confirmed this to Russian public television station Russia 24.

“We understand that in the three coming years, we are going to have a lull in the operation of new deposits. That’s why the principle task now is to use the resources we have and maximise the efficiency of work in old deposits,” he said.

HIs estimate is that Russia will produce around 510 million tons the next three years, but no more records will be set for a few years.

“In 2008, when oil prices were at a high, we saw a drop in production. In the last three years, we’ve succeeded in reversing the trend,” he said.

Sources

Sunday Times

Russia 24

January 23, 2012
No oil rigs available – Many being built

Over 70 oil rigs are being built around the world to meet growing demand. Many of them are custom made for the Arctic, specially made to cope with harsh conditions and deep waters.

Lack of oil rigs could be hindering search for oil. But many oil rigs are made for the Arctic, like the Aker Barents.

He discovered oil 200 miles out of Norway, in freezing temperatures, blistering winds and at great depth. He can drill 10.000 meters in 3000 meters deep waters.

Aker Barents can also stand waves up to 12 meters and wind velocity up to 45 knots for some time.

But most oil rigs in the world are booked for many years. New areas could get in trouble, although the new rigs could come to the rescue.

Norwegian company Oddfjell Drilling is one of many making custom-made-for-the-Arctic rigs, made to drill in hard conditions and deep sea.

Sources

Offshore.no

January 23, 2012
Arctic Frontiers online webcast
The 2012 Arctic Frontiers conference starts in Tromsø on the 22. of January and runs until the 27^th. The conference will be broadcasted live online.

The theme of the conference is Energies of the High North, including nonrenewable and renewable resources of energy. The conference will have both a science section and a policy section which will commence with a “State of the Arctic” segment.

Numerous interesting lectures will feature in the conference, which is even still open for registration.

Here is the schedule of the policy section on Monday and Tuesday, due to be shown live. Click here to access the section to watch the conference.

Monday 25 January, 09:00 to 17:00

Session I: State of the Arctic 2012 in the context of the global energy outlook
- 09:30 Thomas B. Johansson, Co-Chair, Global Energy Assessment: Setting the scene – global energy outlook and the Arctic.
- 10:00 Matt Entenza, Senior Advisor on Energy and the Economy to Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, USA.
- 10:30 Esa Härmälä, Director General of the Energy Department, Finland. (Midnight) Sun Belt – Areal of Growth
- 11:00 Coffee break
- 11:30 Clément Gignac, Minister of Natural Resources and Wildlife, Quebec, Canada: Development in Québec: the Plan for empowering the North
- 12:00 Lisa Murkowski, Senator for Alaska, USA: Video speech about priorities for energy politics in the USA and in Alaska.
- 12:05 Ola Borten Moe, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy: Norwegian Energy Policy.
- 12:35 Questions and debate with Minister Borten Moe
- 13:00 Lunch
Session II: Energy resources and industrial development in the Arctic
- 14:00 Marcia McNutt, Executing director of U.S. Geological Survey: Challenges ahead for oil and gas resources in the Arctic.
- 14:30 Sergey Kungurtsev, representative of the Administration of the Nenets Autonomous District, Russian Federation: Priorities for the development of industry in Nenets Autonomous District.
- 15:00 Joep Coppes, Vice president of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers: For a sustainable development in the High North, how can the oil and gas industry contribute?
- 15:30 Ann Christin Gjerdseth, Chair of OG21, Norway: Sustainable development of Petroleum in the Arctic through superior technology and knowledge.
- 16:00 Tim Dodson, Executive vice president Statoil, Norway. Unlocking the resources of the north
Tuesday 24 January, 09:00 to 16:30

Session II (continued): Energy resources and industrial development in the Arctic
- 09:00 Salve Dahle, Chairman of Steering committee: Opening day 2
- 09:00 Aleksey Titovskiy, Head of Foreign Economy Division, on behalf of the Administration of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Russian Federation: Priorities for the development of industry in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.
- 09:30 Valborg Lundegaard, Executive Vice President Engineering, Aker Solutions, Norway: Technological achievements in the Arctic for more than 100 years – What are the Arctic challenges facing us now.
- 10:00 Elisabeth Harstad, Managing Director, DNV Research and Innovation, Norway: Barents 2020 – international industry cooperation for safety standards in the Barents Sea. Are there Pan-Arctic lessons?!
- 10:30 Coffee break
Session III: Developing secure and sustainable energy projects in the High North
- 10:50 Nina Jensen, Conservation Director Policy, WWF-Norway: Climate and energy challenges of the High North.
- 11:20 Ånund Killingtveit, Professor Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, NTNU, Norway: Renewable energy – How can it contribute to securing safe and sustainable energy in the High North?
- 11:50 Martin Fortier, Executive Director ArcticNet Inc., Canada: The Art of Successful Industry-Academia Collaboration: Lessons from the Canadian Arctic.
- 12:20 Lunch
- 13:10 Arctic Frontiers Emerging Leaders: Energies of the High North. Introduction by Barry B. White, US Ambassador to Norway
- 13:40 Anna Naikanchina, Vice president of RAIPON, Russian Federation: Indigenous peoples and energy projects in the Arctic: integration, risks and perspectives
- 14:10 Emma Wilson, International Institute for Environment and Development, UK: Risk and reward: the role of civil society, business and the state in shaping the impacts of large-scale energy projects in the North.
- 14:40 Coffee break
- 15:00 Arctic Lavvo Dialogue – «Energy and Industrial Development and Peoples in the Arctic. » Moderated debate.
- 16:15 Closing by Salve Dahle, Chairman of Steering committee of Arctic Frontiers
Sources

Arctic Frontiers
January 20, 2012
Warm summer means cold winter

Warmer climate, spurred by climate change, can cause colder winters. This is the result of a new study by Jodah Cohen, released this week.

The study explains the Rube Goldberg-machine of climatic processes that can link warmer-than-average summers to harsh winter weather in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

Average temperatures have risen for over 200 years, most rapidly for the past 40 years. And average temperatures in the Arctic have been rising at nearly twice the global rate, says Cohen, a climate modeler at the consulting firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research in Lexington, Massachusetts.

A close look at climate data from 1988 through 2010, including the extent of land and sea respectively covered by snow and ice, helps explain how global warming drives regional cooling, Cohen and his colleagues report.

The strong warming in the Arctic in recent decades, among other factors, has triggered widespread melting of sea ice. More open water in the Arctic Ocean has led to more evaporation, which moisturizes the overlying atmosphere, the researchers say. Previous studies have linked warmer-than-average summer months to increased cloudiness over the ocean during the following autumn.

That, in turn, triggers increased snow coverage in Siberia as winter approaches. As it turns out, the researchers found, snow cover in October has the largest effect on climate in subsequent months.

Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science

January 20, 2012
WWF celebrates 20 years of Arctic program

The WWF’s Global Arctic Programme celebrates this year its 20^th anniversary of the creation of a WWF body to champion conservation in the Arctic.

When WWF was founded in 1992 it says that there was very limited understanding of the Arctic and its importance. That has however changed, and interest today is great from all over the world.

The WWF issues a magazine produced by the WWF Global Arctic Programme called The Circle, four times a year. Each issue focuses on a specific Arctic-related topic.

The Circle is distributed free to around 3,000 arctic stakeholders worldwide, including government officials and publicly-elected representatives, indigenous organisations, conservationists, scientists, NGOs, libraries, and business executives.

Its goal is to inform decision-makers, scientists and the interested public about arctic environmental and development issues.

The latest issue is fresh and it celebrates the history of the Global Arctic Programme, and its ongoing mission to ensure a resilient, sustainable future for the Arctic.

Click here to download the latest magazine.

Sources

WWF

January 18, 2012
Video shows enourmous glacier melt

A new time lapse vide footage shows the Columbia glacier in Alaska diminishing fast in only four years.

James Balog is responsible for the footage, to be shown in a new documentary on climate change later this month.

Balog is the founder of Extreme Ice Survey, a photographic study of glaciers, most around the Arctic. The EIS team has 27 time lapse cameras in 15 places in Greenland, Iceland, Alaska and in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, USA.

“Shrinking glaciers are the canary in the global coal mine. They are the most visible, tangible manifestations of climate change on the planet today,” he told the Idaho Press.

Click here to see the video.

Sources

Idaho Press

Huffington Post

January 17, 2012
Three polar bears in Kulusuk

Three polar bears were shot in Kulusuk, Greenland, yesterday. They drifted with sea ice to the town and were in search for food.

A young girl approached the bears but the 13 year old thought they were dogs. Luckily she was not harmed, as the bears were shot shortly after. The mother and here two cubs were close to the airport in Kulusuk when they were first seen.

The people tried to scare them away and thought they had succeeded. But the bears kept coming back and when the girl saw them yesterday afternoon they were shot.

Although it was not the ideal end to the story, it was a necessity in this instance. The local elderly peoples home were given the meat but the fur was given to the government of Greenland.

Source: Sermitsiaq

January 17, 2012