Late spring in the north

[Stan Gorodenski]

How interesting. Could this be the beginning of the next ice age? There
was a theory around the 1970's I believe that went something like this.
As nutrients are depleted from the previous ice age, forests start dying
and catch fire from lightning. Over many years the build up in CO2
causes warming which increases the force of the atmospheric convection
currents as they return from the far northern regions to the equator.
The higher winds blow down more forest which catches fire and adds to
the greenhouse warming. The higher air temperature causes more moisture
to be transported to the polar regions from the equator and is deposited
as snow. This builds up and the weight from the glaciated snow deposits
pushes up volcanoes which further adds even more to the greenhouse
warming. When that happens the earth has entered another ice age.
Paradoxically, greenhouse gases brings on another ice age. If this
theory is true, in the past the onset of an ice age was caused by
natural causes. Now the cause would be anthropogenic. 

It seems I vaguely remember mentioning this theory some time in the
past.

Sort of tongue in cheek,
Stan

Kenelm Philip wrote:
> 
>         Yesterday (5 May) I saw the first Mourning Cloaks of the spring
> in Fairbanks. The temperature was around 50F. This is 10 days later than
> the normal range of 5-25 April for the first sightings here. April was
> one of the 5 coldest Aprils in recorded history here, and had the highest
> precipitation (over 15" of snow plus rain) ever recorded in April since
> record-keeping began in 1904. All this after a very warm and dry winter...
> 
>         Today, by the way, it's snowing. A rather short spring?
> 
>                                                         Ken Philip
> 
> 
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