Global Climate Change Weather Update
Posted on 12 August 2010 by e-news
Global Round Up, early August 2010
Ice Melt
(Aug. 7) — A giant chunk of ice four times the size of Manhattan has broken off from one of Greenland’s two biggest glaciers, creating the largest Arctic iceberg since 1962.
The new ice island has a surface area of about 100 square miles and a thickness of about half the height of the Empire State Building. It broke off from the Petermann Glacier on Thursday, and was spotted by a NASA satellite sensor.
Detailed report
and maps are here: 2007 was the worst year on record for arctic ice melt, but 2010 looks like being very similar.
Peak wheat?
European grain prices have jumped around 25% in the past three weeks as hot weather and drought have hit crops just before harvesting in Western and Eastern Europe. This will raise flour prices, and farmers are facing higher bills for animal feed, with some increase in grain based products like eggs and beer. But some analysts say they doubt whether recent price rises are sustainable in view of large global grain stocks and the fact that overall grain supplies are currently still satisfactory.
There are lots more useful articles on sustainability and climate issues at www.EurActiv.com – the independent media portal fully dedicated to EU affairs.
Peak phosphate?
Recent data indicates that the world’s phosphate reserves are being rapidly used up. See
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/08/05/2973513.htm
More changing climates:
This is some coverage of the Pakistan floods
Unusual cold in South America
Heatwave in US
Floods in China, Three Gorges Dam
By July 20, the Yangtze River at the Three Gorges Dam experienced its highest river discharge in 130 years, and the highest since the dam was built. The dam’s walls released 40,000 m3/s of water, while 30,000 m3/s of the river flow was held back in behind the dam, after water levels in the Reservoir had risen four meters overnight.[44] The reservoir’s water levels peaked at 158.86 meters on the morning of July 23, whereas the “alarm level” of the reservoir was at 145 m. All ferry service in the Reservoir was halted as total flow rate exceeded 45,000 m3/s, although the crest of the flooding passed the dam by July 24.[23] A second peak in the river arrived at the dam on July 28[42], when the peak flow from the dam was a record 56,000 m3/s.[45]
By early August, a thick layer of garbage covering 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft) and 60 cm (2 ft) deep, including tree branches, plastic bottles and domestic waste, swept into the reservoir by floods since July threatened to clog the shipping locks at the dam’s wall. Workers are removing 3,000 tons of garbage daily, and the company responsible for the dam has paid for 150,000 to 200,000 cubic meters of garbage to be removed annually.[46][47]
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