A climate change "hot spot"

From Mark Leon Goldberg, A Chilling Warning from a “Hot Spot” in Climate Change UN Dispatch 06/29/2011:

Scientists including Jan-Gunnar explained to us this week that evidence of climate change is a trend that has been playing out over years. There are fluctuations that take place from year to year, in temperature and sea ice extent. It is not as if every year is a record year…but the overall change is a global change. He said that "sometimes the media wants to see records every year.” He expressed frustration that many people in the world today only view climate information in very brief snapshots, either over short time periods or taking into account very limited areas. Many people get their information about climate from snippets of discussion on the news related to weather. But this does not paint a complete picture of climate change, its causes or its impacts. In Svalbard, a full range of issues and these questions come into view.

“Signals of climate change are visible in this region,” said Kim Holmén, Research Director of the Norwegian Polar Institute. This internationally acclaimed atmospheric scientist and expert in the Arctic region challenged us to think about what the ocean is telling us about the state of our planet. Acidification of the oceans worries Kim, and it should be worrying us. He explained that changes produced by human beings are having an alarming impact on levels of carbon dioxide in the polar regions. He said that by 2018, 10% of Arctic surface waters will be unable to sustain important organisms that are necessary to maintain the current balance in this delicate ecosystem. This will affect coral reefs, species like shrimp, lobster and plankton.

Tags: global climate change, global warming