From the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (June 2012).
After reaching near-average levels in late April, sea ice extent declined rapidly during the early part of May. The rest of the month saw a slower rate of decline. Ice extent in the Bering Sea remained above average throughout the month.
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Director of the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland
I must say, that’s quite a quote from the new Queensland Premier. Premier Newman was responding to the UNESCO report which has brought the spotlight on the coastal Queensland and Australia’s management of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef. I guess what we had all been suspecting is now true. Queensland equals coal not coral! Continue reading
Contact: Katy Human, 303-497-4747
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Barrow, Alaska, reached 400 parts per million (ppm) this spring, according to NOAA measurements, the first time a monthly average measurement for the greenhouse gas attained the 400 ppm mark in a remote location.
Carbon dioxide (CO2), emitted by fossil fuel combustion and other human activities, is the most significant greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
“The northern sites in our monitoring network tell us what is coming soon to the globe as a whole,” said Pieter Tans, an atmospheric scientist with NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder, Colo. “We will likely see global average CO2 concentrations reach 400 ppm about 2016.”