Jennifer Marohasy

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Subarctic Temperatures (Part 3): A Note from Nichole Hoskin

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Churchill is a town in subarctic Canada surrounded by the most studied polar bear population in the world.  Polar bears are believed to be under threat from global warming.

On Thursday, Jennifer Marohasy, posted a note stating:

“It is warming in Churchill.   At least thermometer temperature data from both Environment Canada and NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) indicate that it has been warmer since 1998 – but the annual mean is still below zero!”

Dr Marohasy was basing this assessment on annual mean temperature values for Churchill compiled by the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) back to 1884 and Environment Canada back to 1929.

Dr Marohasy also commented:

“I’m also curious to know why the GISS data for this site shows an annual average that is consistently warmer than the Environment Canada data.   And why the data gaps?  There is no GISS data for Churchill from 1994 to 1996 and also from 1911 to 1931?  And why the step change in temperature since 1998 – I didn’t know the Arctic was influenced by El Nino events?”

I cannot help with Dr Marohasy’s last two questions, however, by excluding all the estimated values from nearby weather stations in the Environment Canada data, and by excluding years with missing months from the GISS data, the annual averages are not generally warmer for the GISS data.  

[Read more…] about Subarctic Temperatures (Part 3): A Note from Nichole Hoskin

Near-Arctic Temperatures (Part 2)

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There are no roads to Churchill – a town in northern Canada on the shores of Hudson Bay.   This remote outpost is known as the polar bear capital of the world.   Polar bears have become something of an icon for those concerned that we have a climate crisis.  Indeed Al Gore in his movie, An Inconvenient Truth, suggested polar bears are already suffering from global warming.   

It is warming in Churchill.   At least thermometer temperature data from both Environment Canada and NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) indicate that it has been warmer since 1998 – but the annual mean is still below zero!

[Read more…] about Near-Arctic Temperatures (Part 2)

Remember ‘Community Home’

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Don’t forget that this blog has a community page.

Thanks to Art Raiche, there is a recent post with some great links to podcasts of the late Michael Crichton speaking about all sorts of things – even news as entertainment. 

If you scroll through the recent posts you will even see a picture of me ontop of the Sydney Harbour bridge – that was last Saturday.

Last Sunday, I took the picture of this lizard in Noosa National Park.

The Fox Glacier is Advancing

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Hi Jennifer,

I believed that all glaciers are in retreat due to global warming.   But then I discovered, when I recently visited New Zealand, that I had been deceived.

In September we visited the Fox glacier on the West coast.  We passed a sign some kilometres from its face telling us that this marked where the glacier was in 1750.

When we reached the face we were told that the glacier stopped retreating in 1985 and is in fact now advancing at the rate of one metre a week.

I understand that the nearby Franz Jeseph Glacier has a similar history.

So I wonder what has been happening to other glaciers in the world in the last few hundred years not just the last 100 years.   Were they also in retreat as long ago as 1750?

Doug Killeen
Seymour, Australia