[GWSG] Extremer extremes; biochar report; old Arctic ice; Pilkey's warning; French Alps in flux; US offshore wind

[Tilley, Al]

1. With the poles heating faster than the global average, air circulation patterns are being influenced to provide stronger, more persistent weather extremes—drought, rain, and heat waves. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/20/summer-weather-is-getting-stuck-due-to-arctic-warming
Shifting storm tracks and monsoon patterns also contribute to the more extreme extremes. The study focuses on the northern hemisphere.  The Phys.org site supplies further details from the Nature Communications article. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-nice-sunny-days-wildfiressummer-weather.html
[https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/2015/weather.jpg]<https://phys.org/news/2018-08-nice-sunny-days-wildfiressummer-weather.html>

Nice sunny days can grow into heat waves and wildfires ...<https://phys.org/news/2018-08-nice-sunny-days-wildfiressummer-weather.html>
phys.org
Stalling summer weather like that right now in the Northern hemisphere can turn into "extreme extremes," from heat to drought, from rain to flood.



2. Biochar emerged years ago as an ecologically benign, cheap, and scalable way to capture and sequester carbon. A new and detailed study in Nature Communications estimates that it has the potential to store 12% of our carbon emissions yearly “without endangering food security, habitat or soil conservation.” In less than a decade we could recapture a year of carbon at current emission rates, making it possible to move back to under 350 ppm, especially with the help of such practices as kelp permaculture. Biochar can be made from about any agricultural waste. It’s essentially charcoal; when buried it permanently enhances the fertility of the soil by becoming a bacteria hotel. The poorer the soil the more effective the biochar is.   https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1053

3. The oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has started to break up this year, a new development. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/21/arctics-strongest-sea-ice-breaks-up-for-first-time-on-record
[https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/322939956743083b0ae4cbbace15978d48bc9c08/0_187_4000_2400/master/4000.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Centropy&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly9hc3NldHMuZ3VpbS5jby51ay9pbWFnZXMvb3ZlcmxheXMvZDM1ODZhNWVmNTc4MTc1NmQyMWEzYjYzNWU1MTcxNDEvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&s=c3edea97a3c1a59c5d374833b7de4153]<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/21/arctics-strongest-sea-ice-breaks-up-for-first-time-on-record>

Arctic’s strongest sea ice breaks up for first time on record<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/21/arctics-strongest-sea-ice-breaks-up-for-first-time-on-record>
www.theguardian.com
Usually frozen waters open up twice this year in phenomenon scientists described as scary



4. Orrin Pilkey, Professor Emeritus of coastal geology at Duke U, forthrightly warns coastal residents that relocation is upon us. “We need to plan now for retreat.” https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article217026850.html
[https://cf-images.us-east-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/5502557045001/62e678b4-7a80-474e-b294-524061d10bb8/b4f35a54-0c32-4bb8-8728-a9ededb8d9b3/1280x720/match/image.jpg]<https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article217026850.html>

Sea level rise: Beaches, coastal buildings ‘doomed,’ Duke ...<https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article217026850.html>
www.newsobserver.com
There’s a “disaster” approaching North Carolina’s coast, and it’s not a hurricane. It’s an increasingly encroaching sea, Orrin Pilkey says. An award-winning Duke University professor emeritus of geology, who is also the founder and director emeritus of the Program for the Study of ...



5. Melting ice has led to more rockfalls in the French Alps, with many traditional trails and routes becoming unusable. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/24/climate-change-is-melting-the-french-alps-say-mountaineers
[https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/11fa6a34a775f4cd35d149936ac46b6bfcf514bf/0_0_4928_2957/master/4928.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Centropy&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly9hc3NldHMuZ3VpbS5jby51ay9pbWFnZXMvb3ZlcmxheXMvZDM1ODZhNWVmNTc4MTc1NmQyMWEzYjYzNWU1MTcxNDEvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&s=f4d1a927f09cd15c71f979e797263f13]<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/24/climate-change-is-melting-the-french-alps-say-mountaineers>

Climate change is melting the French Alps, say mountaineers<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/24/climate-change-is-melting-the-french-alps-say-mountaineers>
www.theguardian.com
Permafrost ‘cement’ is evaporating, making rocks unstable and prone to collapse with many trails now deemed too dangerous to use



6. The US has ben slow to develop offshore wind power but is now leaping ahead, with over 8,000 megawatts in sight for the east coast by 2020. Some fishing and recreational interests may still pose objections. https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/08/were-on-the-verge-of-a-wind-revolution/?popupally_stop=subscriber

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