New Englander

Yeah, but look at the date of the original post...

Yes. the result being a 3 month member who does not post much except in a few topics. Pretty funny.

Fooled me for the first minute. Ugh

Nearly closing out a January 30 miles sw of Boston. Yeah it has been cold but not very cold if the month is taken into account fully. One week of  a very mild thaw in mid month will put us nearly on line with January 2011. A month that made headlines here for its near 40 inch snow depth but not cold. It's been colder than the past few winters, which right now...is about 1 degree below normal. January 2009, now that was cold. January 2003 was impressive and January 2004, that was the most impressive.

 

On a side note.  December was up quite a bit year to year.  I have seen some say we may max out around 450.  But I highly doubt that.  So far we are not slowing down at all.

 

 

Recent Monthly Average Mauna Loa CO₂

December 2013:     396.81 ppm

December 2012:     394.28 ppm

 

Weekly CO2:

 

Week beginning on January 5, 2014:     398.06 ppm

Weekly value from 1 year ago:     395.67 ppm

Weekly value from 10 years ago:     376.34 ppm

 

 

And year to year changes:

 

2000   1.62

2001   1.58

2002   2.53

2003   2.29

2004   1.56

2005   2.52

2006   1.76

2007   2.22

2008   1.60

2009   1.89

2010   2.43

2011   1.84

2012   2.66

2013   2.44

 

 

 

I remember thinking to myself about 25 yrs ago "wow, 400 would be really high" Here we are.....

Definitely something to consider, the significant feature of recent NAEC SSTs is that they have remained warm even in colder years like 2013, albeit the east coast was not as cold as the central US.

 

Overall, it appears to be a heat transport phenomenon either from the disappearance/weakening of the Labrador current or an intrusion of the Gulf stream. Perhaps a culmination of both processes.

 

As a result, I do not think one year of stormy weather will fix the problem. I've read that deeper parts of the ocean are also warming so eventually up-welling will be less effective as a mitigation factor.

Definitely something to consider, the significant feature of recent NAEC SSTs is that they have remained warm even in colder years like 2013, albeit the east coast was not as cold as the central US.

 

Overall, it appears to be a heat transport phenomenon either from the disappearance/weakening of the Labrador current or an intrusion of the Gulf stream. Perhaps a culmination of both processes.

 

As a result, I do not think one year of stormy weather will fix the problem. I've read that deeper parts of the ocean are also warming so eventually up-welling will be less effective as a mitigation factor.

The warming in the colder yrs does cause concern....I have focused a lot of my thinking on the Gulf Stream, perhaps too much for I have not looked at the Labrador Current much lately. As you say, perhaps a combination of both. Right now mitigating factors, in my opinion, is what is keeping us from having a climate that should be warmer than what it is... from what I understand given the amount of CO2 etc in the atmosphere which is a very broad, simplified statement. To know that eventually the ocean, which is our BIg Friend right now, will get tol a point where it will no longer mitigate to the extent it is......gives me scary scenarios. So much data, observation, theory and the kitchen sink to look at with the interaction of the land/ocean. We live in a very fasinating time but one in which we may be on the cusp of something that people are not going to want in the long run.....Thanks Weatherguy701. I'm the last person who wants climate change. 

It becomes mind boggling when analyzing the ocean and trying to predict with the variables at hand but it is fascinating at the same time.. To be very overly simplistic, I worry about a rapid change, talking decade or two, where we edge ourselves to the tipping point then look out below. Then it becomes a matter of what can adapt to such massive changes. I certainly don't want such a scenario. The long term PH of the oceans is something that is troubling, one of many troubling issues.