(no subject)

[gothwalk]

Here's an an article about global climate. It argues that contrary to the majority opinion, there is in fact no global warming, and that we're about to start the slide into a Little Ice Age, bottoming out around 2030. It's well written, and fairly convincing in and of itself, although it's not for the faint-hearted, containing sentences like "Two consecutive negative extrema transgressing the threshold indicate grand minima of the Maunder minimum type, whereas a single extremum below the threshold goes along with an event of the Dalton minimum type.".

What I'm finding interesting is that either way, Little Ice Age, or global warming leading to the Gulf Stream shutting down, Europe seems to be in for some cold times. I'm not getting my hopes up, though - my bet is that the global warming (which I do think exists) will counter the effects of the cyclical minima, leaving us with pretty ordinary weather, barring the odd storm.

But it'd be nice to have real winters in Ireland.

Comments

[sciamachy.livejournal.com]

A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.
James Joyce, "The Dead"

[bardiphouka.livejournal.com]

It would seem,sitting here in the Great Lakes area of the US, that Europe in general managed to take our summer this year. Perhaps you will get our winter also? All we ask in return is ale...and jaffa cakes. and more ale.

[socmot.livejournal.com]

It might be nice when you think about it, but it might be a disaster for economic reasons. a colder winter would be a colder year all around. Agriculture would suffer more than it is now, road and rail transport would probably become much tougher...fishing stocks would possibly become depleted as well. And mortality rates would drop as well - as Ireland's population grows older, they might well die off in higher numbers...

And it would give my poor arthritic left hip absolute hell :-)

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely. All you heat-lovers would have to move to Spain or somewhere. Me and grutok will have the whole country to ourselves. :)

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

No clue if they are better organised in Ireland, but considering how most of England falls apart as soon as there's the slightest covering of snow (even though it usually snows), or too much rain (it always rains) I shudder to think how things would be if we got actual extremes of weather in winter. So does this mean the past tropical summer was a one off and everyhing goes cold now? I never did understand this climate thing.
::goes hunting for woolly scarf and snowshoes just in case::

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

They're worse organised here, by far. I think there may be one snowplough in the country, total. But it hasn't snowed here worth a damn for... oh, about ten years; we haven't had deep (more than six inches) snow since 1986/87, and we haven't had really deep snow since 1982.

I think the warm summer was more due to stable air over Europe this year than anything else, although the temperatures were very high even for that - I think global warming is at work there.

I don't agree with this guy, myself; there's plenty of other evidence for global warming, and I think he's ignoring that to point at his historical measures.

However, if global warming continues, the Gulf Stream, which keeps Europe much warmer than other places at the same latitude, will shut down, and we'll have a climate more like Canada.

So either way, keep an eye on those snowshoes!

Deep snow

[cheerfulcynic.livejournal.com]

Winter 2000. Enough real snow to go up to my knees, and the drifts were worse. Bad enough that we had to walk down to the village with the sledge to get food in as the roads were genuinely impassible except by tractor.

Re: Deep snow

[gothwalk.livejournal.com]

*tries to remember where I was in winter 2000*

Winter 2002, Finland, from Mt Argus.
Winter 2001, Finland, from Mt Argus.
Winter 2000, Finland, from Moyola...

Oh, I remember that. Dublin only got an inch or so, though. It was nice while it lasted, but it didn't last long. There was a cold snap at the end of February/beginning of March 2001 as well, which had some snow, but again, it didn't stay all that long.

Bizarre how much difference over what, fifty miles?

Re: Deep snow

[cheerfulcynic.livejournal.com]

Less - 30. And even wierder, the town 5 miles away didn't get that much either. We were definitely stuck though - my brother got snowed out for his 21st and I couldn't get back to Dublin for nearly a week longer than planned.