Reply to: “Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes”

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Reply to: “Ice cap thaw may awaken Icelandic volcanoes” Steven Goddard tugs on his alleged “volcano researcher and igneous petrologist” hat to declare that melting Icelandic ice caps will actually make the volcanoes less dangerous. Of course it’s always easier to nit-pick over a magazine article than it is to do the same to the scientific paper it is based on.

Steven discusses the melting point of basaltic minerals (failing to recognize that Icelandic magma also contains the more explosive rhyolitic minerals) and estimates that losing 500m of ice would only lower the magma melting point by about 0.5°C. Then he wanders off into an irrelevant discussion of ash and steam. With less ice/water around there would less volcanic plume and more bubbling, so Global Warming would be good! Like most denialist arguments, this is both inconsequential and irrelevant.

As it turns out, in Iceland the magma is rising at roughly 5 cm/yr and the glacial mass loss equates to removing  5 cm/yr of rock. Thus the effective rate of magma ascent has doubled due to de-glaciation. Doesn’t seem inconsequential to me…

Nice try, Steven. But I’m glad to see you didn’t miss the chance to make a snide allusion to Al Gore’s recent misstatement about the temperature of the earth’s core. Snap!

NCAR’s missing heat – they could not find it any-where

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“NCAR’s missing heat – they could not find it any-where“. Anthony Watts gives us a particularly painful bit of doggerel as his insight into an National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) article on global energy flows:

The heat is gone, oh where, oh where?
Maybe in the oceans?
Maybe in the air?
It’s just not there.
They could not find it any-where.

“Missing” heat may affect future climate change discusses how the measured energy flows are inadequately tracking where that heat is being stored.

Either the satellite observations are incorrect, says Trenberth, or, more likely, large amounts of heat are penetrating to regions that are not adequately measured, such as the deepest parts of the oceans. Compounding the problem, Earth’s surface temperatures have largely leveled off in recent years. Yet melting glaciers and Arctic sea ice, along with rising sea levels, indicate that heat is continuing to have profound effects on the planet.

NCAR Global Net Energy Budget

Satellite measurements vs measured Ocean heat content. NCAR.

For Dr. Roger Pielke Sr. this is an opportunity to declare that “Thus, a large amount heat (measured as Joules) does not appear to be stored anywhere; it just is not there.” Therefore, of course, there is NO GLOBAL WARMING. Except for all the other evidence.

Funny how every rational discussion of the need to improve climate change measurement is to the Denialists proof that the conventional understanding of Global Warming processes are FALSE, while every example of unsupported Denialist arm-waving is blindly accepted.

We knew, it was only a matter of time…

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“We knew, it was only a matter of time…“. Anthony Watts sneers at Scientific American, with a side dish of Goreophobia, for suggesting that thawing ice caps in Iceland many trigger future volcanic eruptions.

I suggest Anthony and his pseudo-geologist friends Google “isostatic rebound”. It’s not likely to be a big factor, but it’s also not just theoretical.

Where’s the Climate Beef?

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“Where’s the Climate Beef?” Willis Eschenbach decides he can disprove Global Warming by talking about just the USA. And the WUWT commenters are gobbling it up.

I don’t think anything further needs to be said…

A House bill aiming to make research and data open to the public

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“A House bill aiming to make research and data open to the public“. Anthony Watts says “Climategate demonstrated what can go wrong when a few misguided scientists take control of data and keep it from the public.” I say it demonstrated what can happen when a few denialist cranks run wild. In any case, he’s pasted a press release from the Alliance for Taxpayer Access about the Federal Research Public Access Act.

As it happens, in the climatology field publicly funded research in the US has been “open to the public” for years. Try the RealClimate web site’s Data Sources page for a decent listing. This is something that denialists have always whined about, even with their noses shoved in it.

The Federal Research Public Access Act’s real purpose is apparently to “stimulate scientific and technological innovation and competitiveness.”

NOAA says – Hottest (Warmest) March on Record

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“NOAA says – Hottest (Warmest) March on Record“. Anthony Watts pastes in some weather info from NOAA, but prefaces it with this sullen complaint:

I’m sure the press will make this into a much bigger story. This today from NOAA News. The choice of “hottest” in the title is interesting. We should ask our Canadian friends if it was “hot” during March, since Canada seems to be leading the world in “hotness” according to the NOAA image.

NOAA Global Temp. Anomalies. Yes, it was "hotter than average" in Canada.

Guess what, Anthony? It was a “hot” March up here. To quote NOAA, “Temperature anomaly is the difference from average“. This is not a story, this is evidence. Deal with it.

‘Hockey stick’ graph was exaggerated – McIntyre gets props

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“‘Hockey stick’ graph was exaggerated – McIntyre gets props“. Anthony Watts pastes an article from the noted denialist newspaper The Telegraph entitled ‘Hockey stick’ graph was exaggerated. “Exaggerated” being their way of edging around the fact that the ‘hockey stick’ has still not been disproved. Dr. Mann’s out-dated (but influential) 1998 paper has of course been reproduced with improved data and methods since then.

Professor Hand is head of the Royal Statistical Society and apparently praised climate curmudgeon Steve McIntyre for “uncovering the fact that inappropriate methods were used which could produce misleading results” (emphasis mine). Pretty thin gruel, because the results have actually proven correct.

No mention of the Oxburgh Report’s description of Steve McIntyre as “selective and uncharitable“.

More denialist Fail from Anthony: the top graph is global, the bottom one just "europe". Can you can spot the other two obvious boners?

Lockwood demonstrates link between low sun and low temps

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“Lockwood demonstrates link between low sun and low temps“. Steven Goddard takes solar scientists to task for changing their opinions to reflect apparent changes in the Sun’s behavior. That’s called science, Steven. Unlike ignorantly misconstruing or misquoting Dr. Lockwood’s statements about Solar activity.

Plenty of confusion in the comments too. Is it a conspiracy? Are the solar physicists trying to quietly switch to the denialist side? Are the climate changes driven by low sunspot activity or high sunspot activity? Steven’s own sour contributions to the comments are particularly amusing.

The truth is that the Sun’s output is very constant with only trivial changes in activity such as sunspots and convection. These correlate poorly with the Earth’s climatic variations. Yes, the Sun’s energy input is the single largest input into our climate. But it doesn’t actually vary.

Keep looking for that “final nail”.

It’s us against phlegm – global warming makes you sneeze

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“It’s us against phlegm – global warming makes you sneeze“. Anthony Watts criticises at a Time magazine article titled Allergies Worse Than Ever? Blame Global Warming. Warmer climates may increase the range of pollen-producing trees (typically deciduous and not coniferous).

Anthony chooses to infer that the researchers have ruled out environmental factors other than CO2, which makes it easy to sneer. But he’s attacking a straw-man of his own creation. Here’s the gist of the article:

Here’s how it works: higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere generally speed plant growth, while warmer temperatures mean that spring — and with it, allergy season — arrives earlier. Spring-like conditions in the East are already arriving on average 14 days earlier than just 20 years ago.

The writers may talk about CO2 first, but warmer springs will be a much stronger influence. Anthony ignores this for his own benefit.

From Bonn with Love

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“From Bonn with Love“. Oooh, this is good. Anthony Watts has posted a blog and video from Count Chocula, I mean The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (“Global Warming Expert”) talking about tolerance! In particular, the lack of it in others. Monckton was recently famous for calling Jewish environmentalists “Nazis”. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth…

He’s also mad that the wealthy nations will foot the bill for an extra two weeks of climate pre-negotiation time in Mexico this December. Taxpayer’s money wasted! Of course the urgency comes from the need to complete the secret ‘world government’ before everyone realises that the whole Climate Change thing is just a made-up excuse to get the real ball rolling.

Also those African delegates can be so cute with their ” charming, old-world courtliness”. Except those “two messily-dressed ladies of uncertain age, with untidy hairdos and a hectoring, bossy manner”.

Count Chocula warns America. Love, love, LOVE the tie!

The video is basically a warning to America that the World Gubmint is coming to take away their freedoms. For no good reason at all.