http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/snow_and_avalanches/ Learn about snowfall and avalanches. Read research on snow and ice composition and more. en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 21:05:01 EDT Mon, 12 May 2008 21:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/snow_and_avalanches/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418112341.htm The average global land temperature in March of 2008 was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March. Global temperature averages have been recorded since 1880. An analysis by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center shows that the average temperature for March in the contiguous United States ranked near average for the past 113 years. It was the 63rd warmest March since record-keeping began in the United States in 1895. The average global land temperature in March of 2008 was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March. Global temperature averages have been recorded since 1880. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418112341.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092336.htm Uncovering a rare, two-billion-year-old window into the Earth's mantle, geoscientists have found our planet's geological history is more complex than previously thought. The researchers went on a North Pole expedition, resulting in a discovery that could shed new light on the mantle. Ancient rocks were found along the bottom of the Arctic Ocean floor, unearthed during voyages to Gakkel Ridge. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411092336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321140042.htm Major floods striking America's heartland in mid-March offer a preview of the spring seasonal outlook, according to NOAA's National Weather Service. Several factors will contribute to above-average flood conditions, including record rainfall in some states and snow packs, which are melting and causing rivers and streams to crest over their banks. The week of March 15, more than 250 communities in a dozen states are experiencing flood conditions. Sun, 23 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321140042.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318121552.htm Rain falling on snow sounds like a relatively harmless weather event, but when it happens in the far north it can mean lingering death for reindeer, musk oxen and other animals that normally graze on the Arctic tundra. Scientists say satellite data could be used to help save herds of musk oxen and reindeer from starvation when ice storms cut off their food supply. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318121552.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318151743.htm Using the latest satellite observations, NASA researchers and others report that the Arctic is still on "thin ice" when it comes to the condition of sea ice cover in the region. A colder-than-average winter in some regions of the Arctic this year has yielded an increase in the area of new sea ice, while the older sea ice that lasts for several years has continued to decline. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318151743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314175834.htm The average temperature across both the contiguous U.S. and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. In terms of winter precipitation, Pacific storms, bringing heavy precipitation to large parts of the West, produced high snowpack that will provide welcome runoff this spring. Sat, 15 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314175834.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105157.htm Spring in the Rockies begins when the snowpack melts. But with the advent of global climate change, the snow is gone sooner. Some of the region's wildflowers are blooming less because of it. Three flowers found in the Rockies are far more susceptible to late frost damage when the snow melts more quickly. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305105157.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210100441.htm When the Larsen B Ice Shelf in Antarctica collapsed in 2002, the event appeared to be a sudden response to climate change, and this long, fringing ice shelf in the north west part of the Weddell Sea was assumed to be the latest in a long line of victims of Antarctic summer heat waves linked to Global Warming. However scientists now say that the shelf was already teetering on collapse before the final summer. Global warming had a major part to play in the collapse, but it is only one in a number of contributory factors. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210100441.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131161810.htm The Rocky Mountains have warmed by 2 degrees Fahrenheit. The snowpack in the Sierras has dwindled by 20 percent and the temperatures there have heated up by 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit. All could lead to dire consequences for the water supply in the Western United States, including California. Scientists have noted that water flow in the West has decreased for the last 20 to 30 years, but had never explained why it was happening. Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131161810.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080115132835.htm Meltwater periodically overwhelms the interior drainpipes of Alaska's Kennicott Glacier and causes it to lurch forward, similar to processes that may help explain the acceleration of glaciers observed recently on the Greenland ice sheet that are contributing to global sea rise. Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080115132835.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080113143438.htm Increasing amounts of ice mass have been lost from West Antarctica and the Antarctic peninsula over the past ten years, according to new research. Scientists arrived at a best estimate of a loss of 132 billion tons of ice in 2006 from West Antarctica -- up from about 83 billion tons in 1996 -- and a loss of about 60 billion tons in 2006 from the Antarctic Peninsula. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080113143438.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111100652.htm A new study indicates older, multi-year sea ice in the Arctic is giving way to younger, thinner ice, making it more susceptible to record summer sea-ice lows like the one that occurred in 2007. Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111100652.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071206232453.htm Victims buried by an avalanche only have a chance of survival if they can be quickly and precisely located under the snow. A novel position-ing system, which will use the signals of Europe's future satellite system 'Galileo', is to help improve the search. It's the start of the skiing season: Attracted by bright sunshine and fresh snow, winter sports enthusiasts flock to the snow-covered slopes. But for some, the white splendor will prove fatal, especially for those who wander off the regular slope. Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071206232453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071205095305.htm City dwellers are less likely to head to the slopes when their backyards are bare, even if New England ski resorts have many feet of packed power and ideal skiing conditions, according to new research. Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071205095305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071126121737.htm How can we prepare for the natural hazards that will result from environmental change? How can we predict the effect of climate change on the Alps and other regions of Switzerland? How can we assess whether the use of natural resources is sustainable? By bringing the way we measure and model the environment firmly into the 21st century. Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071126121737.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071011102631.htm Climate change is a reality today, but how can we find out about the future dangers it poses? What we really need is a full record of the Earth's climate for several hundred thousand years, complete with samples of air from different epochs that can be taken to the lab for analysis. Incredibly, this record exists, in the icecaps of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071011102631.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070925160630.htm A new NASA-supported study reports that 2007 marked an overall rise in the melting trend over the entire Greenland ice sheet and, remarkably, melting in high-altitude areas was greater than ever at 150 percent more than average. In fact, the amount of snow that has melted this year over Greenland could cover the surface size of the U.S. more than twice. Wed, 26 Sep 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070925160630.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070920122154.htm In a new NASA study, researchers using 20 years of data from space-based sensors have confirmed that Antarctic snow is melting farther inland from the coast over time, melting at higher altitudes than ever and increasingly melting on Antarctica's largest ice shelf. Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070920122154.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820123745.htm Scientists have verified the accuracy of a model that uses October snow cover in Siberia to predict upcoming winter temperatures and snowfall for the high- and mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820123745.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070809172126.htm New research shows that industrial development in North America between 1850 and 1950 greatly increased the amount of black carbon -- commonly known as soot -- that fell on Greenland's glaciers and ice sheets. Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070809172126.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070723160137.htm The lengths of alpine glaciers quickly adjust to changes in temperature and precipitation, making them sensitive indicators of climate. Recording changes in length of current glaciers is a matter of visual observation. However, for glaciers that existed in the past, documenting the changes in length often requires rare geological and glaciological circumstances. Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070723160137.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070625142101.htm A new study spearheaded by the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center indicates wind-blown dust from drought-stricken and disturbed lands in the Southwest can shorten the duration of mountain snow cover hundreds of miles away in the Colorado mountains by roughly a month. Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070625142101.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070613094236.htm Examining the phenomenon of suburbanization in America, researchers the extent to which the construction of new highways contributed to population declines in cities. He estimates that each new highway passing through a city reduces its population by about 18 percent, making the national road network a major impetus for suburbanization and sprawl of US cities. Thu, 14 Jun 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070613094236.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070611153942.htm Two scientists writing in a new magazine article say that global warming has nothing to do with the decline of ice atop Mount Kilimanjaro, and using the mountain in northern Tanzania as a "poster child" for climate change is simply inaccurate. Tue, 12 Jun 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070611153942.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070606113327.htm The global warming debate has focused on carbon dioxide emissions, but scientists at UC Irvine have determined that a lesser-known mechanism -- dirty snow -- can explain one-third or more of the Arctic warming primarily attributed to greenhouse gases. Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070606113327.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070605121037.htm Hundreds of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula are flowing faster, further adding to sea level rise according to new research. Climate warming that is already causing Antarctic Peninsula increased summer snow melt and ice shelf retreat is the most likely cause. Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070605121037.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070529135130.htm In 2006, Greenland experienced more days of melting snow and at higher altitudes than average over the past 18 years, according to a new NASA-funded project using satellite observations. The resulting data help scientists understand better the speed of glacier flow, how much water will pour from the ice sheet into the surrounding ocean and how much of the sun's radiation will reflect back into the atmosphere. Tue, 29 May 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070529135130.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516101548.htm The small ice caps of Mont Blanc and the Dôme du Goûter are not melting, or at least, not yet. This is what CNRS researchers have just announced. At very high altitudes -- above 4200 meters -- the accumulation of snow and ice has varied very little since the beginning of the 20th century. But if summer temperatures increase by a few degrees during the 21st century, the melt could become more marked, and could affect the "permanent" ice fields. Thu, 17 May 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516101548.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070515152520.htm A team of NASA and university scientists has found clear evidence that extensive areas of snow melted in west Antarctica in January 2005 in response to warm temperatures. This was the first widespread Antarctic melting ever detected with NASA's QuikScat satellite and the most significant melt observed using satellites during the past three decades. The affected regions encompass a combined area as big as California. Tue, 15 May 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070515152520.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070424162558.htm A team of researchers recently completed a project to confirm what NASA satellites are telling us about how changes in clouds can affect climate in the coldest regions on Earth. Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070424162558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070405122347.htm As spring melt of winter snow is underway in the Baltic Sea watershed region, satellites are monitoring and mapping the snow melting process to help local authorities manage water supplies and predict and prepare for floods. Remote sensing is the only technique capable of providing a comprehensive view over such a large area. Fri, 06 Apr 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070405122347.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404172248.htm Two things that come to mind during wintertime are snowflakes and reindeer. Now, NASA is providing technology to help study both of those in various ways during a kick off of the International Polar Year in Norway. Thu, 05 Apr 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070404172248.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327122328.htm Greenland is cold and hot. It's a deep freezer storing 10 percent of Earth's ice and a subject of fevered debate. If something should melt all that ice, global sea level could rise as much as 7 meters (23 feet). Greenland and Antarctica - Earth's two biggest icehouses - are important indicators of climate change and a high priority for research, as highlighted by the newly inaugurated International Polar Year. Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327122328.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070316164359.htm NOAA reports that February's combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the sixth warmest on record, but a strong El Nino in January helped push the winter to its highest value since records began in 1880. Fri, 16 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070316164359.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070302082250.htm CNRS scientists in collaboration with a team announce findings that global warming has increased the average temperature by 0.74 degrees C over the last century. This result was published on Feb. 7, 2007, in the European Journal "Climate of the Past." Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070302082250.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070305140922.htm Tiny lab versions of 12-foot tall snow spikes that form naturally on some high mountain glaciers may someday help scientists mitigate the effects of global warming in the Andes, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder professor. Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070305140922.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070212182131.htm Two of Greenland's largest glaciers shrank dramatically and dumped twice as much ice into the sea during a period of less than a year between 2004 and 2005. And then, less than two years later, they returned to near their previous rates of discharge. Future warming may lead to rapid pulses of retreat and increased discharge rather than a long, steady drawdown, researchers say. Wed, 21 Feb 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070212182131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218140343.htm Western droughts wreak social, economic and environmental havoc. Yet the ability to predict drought at seasonal lead times -- months or longer -- has scarcely improved since the 1960s. Computer simulations aim to improve freshwater forecasts. Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218140343.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128083319.htm Scientists believe that during the Neoproterozoic era 750 million years ago, a severe ice age occurred that almost completely froze Earth's oceans. The factors that initiated this "Snowball Earth" have been the subject of much study. New research now focuses on determining the factors that pulled Earth out of its snowball state. Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128083319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061102125459.htm NASA satellite data and computer modeling and US Department of Agriculture information are helping track the remnants of the once mighty bison herd in Yellowstone National Park as they migrate with the melting snowpack. Fri, 03 Nov 2006 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061102125459.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061016105750.htm Scientists are getting their first glimpse into the inner secrets of an ice shelf, thanks to the innovative application of a new radar technique developed by British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Getting a clearer view of how ice behaves is important because it will help scientists predict more accurately how the ice sheet will respond to future climate change. The results are published this week in the Journal of Glaciology. Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061016105750.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060930094351.htm The search for a type of bacteria that creates better ice cream and artificial snow has suddenly become a lot easier, thanks to a discovery by Queen's University biologist Virginia Walker. Sun, 01 Oct 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060930094351.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060824222152.htm New research into climate change in the Western Himalaya and the surrounding Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains could explain why many glaciers there are growing and not melting. The findings suggest this area, known as the Upper Indus Basin, could be reacting differently to global warming, the phenomenon blamed for causing glaciers in the Eastern Himalaya, Nepal and India, to melt and shrink. Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060824222152.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060810210857.htm For an animated graphic of snowfall variability across Antarctica and over time and b-roll of the U.S. ITASE traverse on Betacam SP, contact Dena Headlee. The most precise record of Antarctic snowfall ever generated shows there has been no real increase in precipitation over the southernmost continent in the past half-century, even though most computer models assessing global climate change call for an increase in Antarctic precipitation as atmospheric temperatures rise. Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060810210857.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060725074044.htm New study provides a novel explanation for the rhythms of the ice ages, inverting established theory. New hypothesis may explain why the strongest cycles of ice response are not in correspondence with those in the orbital cycles. Tue, 25 Jul 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060725074044.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060519102250.htm By the century's end, the Andes in South America will have less than half their current winter snowpack, mountain ranges in Europe and the US West will have lost nearly half of their snow-bound water, and snow on New Zealand's picturesque snowcapped peaks will all but have vanished. Such is the dramatic forecast from a new, full-century Pacific Northwest National Laboratory model that offers detail its authors call "an unprecedented picture of climate change." Fri, 19 May 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060519102250.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060515143818.htm Fabled equatorial icecaps will disappear within two decades, because of global warming, a study British and Ugandan scientists has found. An increase in air temperature over the last four decades has contributed to a substantial reduction in glacial cover, they say. The Rwenzori Mountains are home to one of four remaining tropical ice fields outside of the Andes. The researchers expect these glaciers to disappear within the next twenty years. Mon, 15 May 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060515143818.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060407145817.htm An enormous iceberg, C-16, rammed into the well-known Drygalski Ice Tongue, a large sheet of glacial ice and snow in the Central Ross Sea in Antarctica, on 30 March 2006, breaking off the tongue's easternmost tip and forming a new iceberg. Mon, 10 Apr 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060407145817.htm