Ice or flood?
Quick step back:
Not long ago, Supergirl had an episode in which she was worshiped as a goddess for saving a guy kn a plane but she corrects his misapprehension through a series of adventures and he ends of in jail for trying to blow up an auditorium. He ends up saying she is a god who has lost her way so he is praying to her god to reveal it to her.
The Gnostic idea of lesser gods, that God himself is too pure to reach out and touch us so Jesus must be some lesser version.
Meanwhile, Thor: Ragnarok is a fascinating case of the massive subversive nature of humor.
Does the plot sound familiar? Thor's older sister, Hela, used to be second in command of the kingdom and she and Odin forged the current empire. He became concerned about her ambition and banished her. She has returned now the Odin is gone and takes over again. Thor is cast into a chaos dimension, forced to fight in "hell". When he frees himself from this electronic "leash" he and his brother Loki who has been buddying up to the leader of "hell" start a rebellion among the slaves. They return to Asgard to free it from Hela. When Thor realizes she has too much power for them he gets Loki to summon up Surthur the god of fire to utterly destroy Asgard AND Hela with it. The people of Asgard are now in the wilderness of space with Thor to lead them. In other words, this woman who was once the leader is trying to take over a system she thoroughly understands how to run and run it with absolute authority though the ones in charge want to keep her from coming back and the rich kid god who has been on Earth and in love with beauties there decides to destroy the system and run it a new way. So long as he's the leader. This will likely be President Trump's favorite movie. Certainly, it will be Steve Bannon's. Or Bernie Sanders'.
The USA has been divided into us against them and the same thing has been going on in Europe. The stage is set for the Antichrist who will appeal to everyone since he wants to destroy the system and everyone seems to have a different reason to hate the system which they see as not understanding them. His first miracle will be to unite those feeling that way. His control of the monetary system will let him begin to rebuild poor countries to make them more attractive to the ones who would normally flee them and to also tell a successful Europe that the immigrants can go home now. He will shift money into youthful projects and will encourage older people to "go alone onto the ice floe" and open the way for the young. Everyone will think these are great ideas, especially the banks who have to fund retirement programs and pay people back if they live long enough. The unemployed young with limited education will love the idea of jobs being open. Europe will find a guy who doesn't have Christian values but portrays himself as having them while handling all the problems in an Earthly manner.
The main problem they will see is competition from other economic giants like the USA, Russia and China. But if two of those giants were gone due to acts of God...
Which brings me to discussing the weather. you know the stuff everyone talks about but no one does anything about.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/06/world/two-degrees-question-ice-ages/index.html
(CNN)As part of CNN's Two Degrees series on climate change, Jonas Martin of Seattle asked the following question, which travels a long way back in time: "There have been hundreds, if not thousands of ice ages in the past, before humans walked the Earth. How was this extreme climate change possible without humans, and isn't climate change natural?"
This is a popular question that we have received more than a dozen times in various forms. And it's a fair question: If the Earth has cycled naturally between extremes larger than where we are now and even where we could be heading, why should someone believe that humans are causing the recent warming?
The other part of this view point is if the Earth reaches these extremes periodically on its own, why should people worry if it does so because of human actions?
The quick answer to the first part of the question, which is likely already known by most who pose the question in the first place, is yes: The Earth's climate has changed, many times, going back millions of years.
These large-scale climate shifts consist of colder ice ages followed by much warmer interglacial periods, characterized by melting ice sheets and higher sea levels.
The causes of these shifts were indeed natural. After all, humans didn't begin to significantly interfere with the climate system through the burning of fossil fuels until the Industrial Revolution.
Our distant past helps us see our future
So how can we say that the recent warming we have seen is caused by humans and not just this natural cycle?
By knowing about these natural cycles and studying them, it makes us even more confident that the recent warming we have seen over the past 150 or so years is caused by humans and our emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
Scientists understand the natural processes behind the previous warm and cold periods that lead to ice ages. They occur in regular patterns called Milankovitch cycles. These cycles occur because the Earth's orbit around the sun is not constant.
The shape of the orbit changes, the tilt of the Earth on its axis changes and the even the direction of the axis changes over time. All of these changes result in varying amounts of energy (i.e. heat) that the planet receives from the sun. That, of course, determines how warm or cold the planet becomes.
While these cycles do impact Earth in much the same way as we are seeing now, they happen very, very slowly.
These cycles take place on 100,000 year time frames, and the amount of warming we have seen, even though it is "only" about 1.5°F (0.85° C) since 1880, would take many thousands of years to occur if the process were occurring purely naturally. Also, when you plot these orbital cycles out, we should be in a "cooling" phase of the cycle -- not warming.
The other important fact we learn when looking at these long-term cycles is that greenhouse gases, namely carbon dioxide and methane, move up and down with the global temperature. When greenhouse gases are high, the Earth is warm, when they are low, the Earth is cool.
But again, when these changes are occurring naturally, they take thousands to tens of thousands of years to occur, whereas humans have caused this to occur in just over 100 years. In fact, humans have pushed the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to levels not seen in millions of years. The last time levels were this high, sea levels were several meters higher and temperatures were several degrees warmer.
So yes, the climate changes naturally, in much the same way it is changing now, but it happens much, much slower. That in turn gives the Earth, and its various life forms, time to adapt. When these changes occur rapidly, you can have mass extinctions.
Young Earth believers don't give this credence and I don't blame them. But there is evidence that Ice Ages have occurred some of it very hard to deny. How many and over how many years can be discussed, but ice has sometimes ruled the world. It could again.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/416786/global-warming-vs-the-next-ice-age/
Will the greenhouse effect prevent the return of glaciers?
by Franklin Hadley Cocks ’63, SM ’64, ScD ’65 December 21, 2009
Global warming is an inescapable issue for our age. But 180 years ago, most scientists believed that Earth had been steadily cooling since it was formed. When Louis Agassiz presented the concept of a Great Ice Age to the Swiss Society of Natural Sciences in 1837, his suggestion that the planet had turned colder and then warmed up again was met with skepticism and even hostility, triggering years of fierce scientific debate before the idea was accepted.
Exactly why our planet occasionally cools down has taken more than a century to work out. Now we know that cyclic gravitational tugs from Jupiter and Saturn periodically elongate Earth’s orbit, and this effect combines from time to time with slow changes in the direction and degree of Earth’s tilt that are caused by the gravity of our large moon. Consequently, summer sunlight around the poles is reduced, and high-latitude regions such as Alaska, northern Canada, and Siberia turn cold enough to preserve snow year-round. This constant snow cover reflects a great deal of sunlight, cooling things down even more, and a new ice age begins. Naturally, this process does not occur with anything like the speed portrayed in the movie The Day After Tomorrow, but geological and other evidence shows that it’s happened at least four times.
With so much attention focused on global warming, this chilly prospect has been all but forgotten. Given how catastrophic another ice age could be, one might be tempted to ask whether a human-caused increase in atmospheric and ocean temperatures will actually be a boon.
There’s little question that global warming is happening. Climate data show that Earth’s average temperature has risen at least 0.7 oC (1.3 oF) over the 20th century. Temperature increases over the 21st century will probably be two and a half to five times as large,because greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide allow sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere but make it harder for outgoing infrared radiation to escape. What’s more, just as carbonated soda fizzes when it warms up, warmer temperatures cause the ocean to release carbon dioxide taken up during colder periods. Analyses of air trapped in glacial ice over the last 800,000 years show that atmospheric carbon dioxide generally ranged between 200 and 300 parts per million by volume (ppmv); increases in these levels were slightly preceded by increases in temperature caused by natural orbital shifts. During this period, global temperature varied by about 12 oC. Now, carbon levels are approaching 400 ppmv as the burning of fossil fuels pumps more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Even if the rate of growth could be moderated enough to stabilize levels at about 550 ppmv, average temperatures might well rise by about 5 oC–with devastating effects for us earthlings, such as rising sea levels and dramatic changes in weather patterns.
But even that warming will not stave off the eventual return of huge glaciers, because ice ages last for millennia and fossil fuels will not. In about 300 years, all available fossil fuels may well have been consumed.Over the following centuries, excess carbon dioxide will naturally dissolve into the oceans or get trapped by the formation of carbonate minerals. Such processes won’t be offset by the industrial emissions we see today, and atmospheric carbon dioxide will slowly decline toward preindustrial levels. In about 2,000 years, when the types of planetary motions that can induce polar cooling start to coincide again, the current warming trend will be a distant memory.
This means that humanity will be hit by a one-two punch the likes of which we have never seen. Nature is as unforgiving to men as it was to dinosaurs; advanced civilization will not survive unless we develop energy sources that curb the carbon emissions heating the planet today and help us fend off the cold when the ice age comes. Solar, nuclear, and other non-fossil-fuel energy sources need to be developed now, before carbon emissions get out of hand. MIT alumni could play a prominent part in discovering the technology needed to keep us all going. And there are fortunes to be made from the effort. It’s worth thinking about.
Professor Franklin Hadley Cocks ‘63, SM ‘64, ScD ‘65, teaches energy technology and climate-related courses at Duke University and is the author of Energy Demand and Climate Change (Wiley-VCH), which summarizes energy and climate issues of the past, present, and future.
That was 2010. The writer neglected to mention that the long off ice age scenario isn't always the cause or even the sole cause of an ice age, especially a localized one. Also we see an element of other concerns in the urge for others to make money on the notion of a disastrous climate change. But then this is an engineer who is absolutely certain of himself. The arrogance of our age is astonishing, found in everyone of every social strata. It is especially dangerous in those who know nothing to begin with and are absolutely certain they know their jobs. I have been that person sometimes and it is the worst pace to be. Because some one will often believe you and get in trouble because of it. That's why it can be so dangerous to others. That's why I always say this is a scenario and not a prophecy.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/cause-ice-age.html
During the past billion years, the Earth's climate has fluctuated between warm periods—sometimes even completely ice-free—and cold periods, when glaciers scour the continents. In this article, climate scientist Kirk Maasch offers perspective on these historic changes, including the likely causes of the last great ice age—which contrary to common knowledge, we are still in the midst of.
Hubbard Glacier in Alaska, like other glaciers worldwide, is retreating. To understand changing climate today, we need a perspective on changes of the past.
THE NATURE OF ICE AGES
Ice ages are times when the entire Earth experiences notably colder climatic conditions. During an ice age, the polar regions are cold, there are large differences in temperature from the equator to the pole, and large, continental-size glaciers can cover enormous regions of the Earth.
Ever since the Pre-Cambrian (600 million years ago), ice ages have occurred at widely spaced intervals of geologic time—approximately 200 million years—lasting for millions, or even tens of millions of years. For the Cenozoic period, which began about 70 million years ago and continues today, evidence derived from marine sediments provide a detailed, and fairly continuous, record for climate change. This record indicates decreasing deep-water temperature, along with the build-up of continental ice sheets. Much of this deep-water cooling occurred in three major steps about 36, 15 and 3 million years ago—the most recent of which continues today.
During the present ice age, glaciers have advanced and retreated over 20 times, often blanketing North America with ice. Our climate today is actually a warm interval between these many periods of glaciation. The most recent period of glaciation, which many people think of as the "Ice Age," was at its height approximately 20,000 years ago.
Although the exact causes for ice ages, and the glacial cycles within them, have not been proven, they are most likely the result of a complicated dynamic interaction between such things as solar output, distance of the Earth from the sun, position and height of the continents, ocean circulation, and the composition of the atmosphere.
As glaciers spread and retreat, they shape the geology of continents.
CLIMATIC COOLING FROM 60 MILLION YEARS AGO TO PRESENT DAY
Between 52 and 57 million years ago, the Earth was relatively warm. Tropical conditions actually extended all the way into the mid-latitudes (around northern Spain or the central United States for example), polar regions experienced temperate climates, and the difference in temperature between the equator and pole was much smaller than it is today. Indeed it was so warm that trees grew in both the Arctic and Antarctic, and alligators lived in Ellesmere Island at 78 degrees North.
But this warm period, called the Eocene, was followed by a long cooling trend. Between 52 and 36 million years ago, ice caps developed in East Antarctica, reaching down to sea level in some places. Close to Antarctica, the temperature of the water near the surface dropped to between 5 and 8 degrees Celsius. Between 36 and 20 million years ago the Earth experienced the first of three major cooling steps. At this time a continental-scale temperate ice sheet emerged in East Antarctica. Meanwhile, in North America, the mean annual air temperature dropped by approximately 12 degrees Celsius.
We are still in the midst of the third major cooling period that began around 3 million years ago.
Between 20 and 16 million years ago, there was a brief respite from the big chill, but this was followed by a second major cooling period so intense that by 7 million years ago southeastern Greenland was completely covered with glaciers, and by 5-6 million years ago, the glaciers were creeping into Scandinavia and the northern Pacific region. The Earth was once more released from the grip of the big chill between 5 and 3 million years ago, when the sea was much warmer around North America and the Antarctic than it is today. Warm-weather plants grew in Northern Europe where today they cannot survive, and trees grew in Iceland, Greenland, and Canada as far north as 82 degrees North.
We are still in the midst of the third major cooling period that began around 3 million years ago, and its effect can be seen around the world, perhaps even in the development of our own species. Around 2 and a half million years ago, tundra-like conditions took over north-central Europe. Soon thereafter, the once-humid environment of Central China was replaced by harsh continental steppe. And in sub-Saharan Africa, arid and open grasslands expanded, replacing more wooded, wetter environments. Many paleontologists believe that this environmental change is linked to the evolution of humankind
(The Garden became a woods. W.)
POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE PAST 60 MILLION YEARS OF COOLING
Climate change on ultra-long time scales (tens of millions of years) are more than likely connected to plate tectonics. Plate motions lead to cycles of ocean basin growth and destruction, known as Wilson cycles, involving continental rifting, seafloor-spreading, subduction, and collision. Several explanations of the latest cooling trend that involve a climate-tectonic connection are summarized below.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND SIZE OF CONTINENTS
Through the course of a Wilson cycle continents collide and split apart, mountains are uplifted and eroded, and ocean basins open and close. The re-distribution and changing size and elevation of continental land masses may have caused climate change on long time scales. Computer climate models have shown that the climate is very sensitive to changing geography. It is unlikely, however, that these large variations in the Earth's geography were the primary cause of the latest long-term cooling trend as they fail to decrease temperatures on a global scale.
Likewise, changing topography cannot, by itself, explain this cooling trend. Computer model experiments performed to test the climate's sensitivity to mountains and high plateaus show that plateau uplift in Tibet and western North America has a small effect on global temperature but cannot explain the magnitude of the cooling trend. Plateau uplift does, however, have a significant impact on climate, including the diversion of North Hemisphere westerly winds and intensification of monsoonal circulation.
GEOMETRY OF OCEAN BASINS
Another theory explaining these changes in climate involves the opening and closing of gateways for the flow of ocean currents. This theory suggests that the redistribution of heat on the planet by changing ocean circulation can isolate polar regions, cause the growth of ice sheets and sea ice, and increase temperature differences between the equator and the poles.
Ocean modeling experiments suggest that the ocean could not have carried enough heat to the poles to maintain the early warm climates. But atmospheric climate modeling experiments show that even if the ocean did transport enough heat up to the coast of Antarctica to maintain sea surface temperatures at 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, the interior conditions would still be much colder—and this is contrary to the geologic record. It is possible, however, that changes in heat transport caused by variations in ocean gateways may have played a significant role in cooling trends over the last 60 million years, and, in particular, may help explain some of the relatively sudden cooling events.
ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE
Changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are a strong candidate to explain the overall pattern of climatic change. Carbon dioxide influences the mean global temperature through the greenhouse effect. The globally averaged surface temperature for the Earth is approximately 15 degrees Celsius, and this is due largely to the greenhouse effect. Solar radiation entering earth's atmosphere is predominantly short wave, while heat radiated from the Earth's surface is long wave. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere absorb this long wave radiation. Because the Earth does not allow this long wave radiation to leave, the solar energy is trapped and the net effect is to warm the Earth. If not for the presence of an atmosphere, the surface temperature on earth would be well below the freezing point of water.
Through a million year period, the average amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is affected by four fluxes: flux of carbon due to (1) metamorphic degassing, (2) weathering of organic carbon, (3) weathering of silicates, (4) burial of organic carbon. Degassing reactions associated with volcanic activity and the combining of organic carbon with oxygen release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Conversely, the burial of organic matter removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The inevitable shifting of tectonic plates is also a driver of climate change.
Plate collisions disrupt these carbon fluxes in a variety of ways, some tending to elevate and some tending to lower the atmospheric carbon dioxide level. It has been suggested that the Eocene, the early warm trend 55 million years ago, was caused by elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and that a subsequent decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide led to the cooling trend over the past 52 million years. One mechanism proposed as a cause of this decrease in carbon dioxide is that mountain uplift lead to enhanced weathering of silicate rocks, and thus removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
In addition, the collision of India and Asia led to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. While topography may not be enough to explain the cooling trends, another mechanism may account for changing climate. The uplift may have caused both an increase in the global rate of chemical erosion, as well as erode fresh minerals that are rapidly transported to lower elevations, which are warmer and moister and allow chemical weathering to happen more efficiently. Through these mechanisms, then, it has been hypothesized that the tectonically driven uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas is the prime cause of the post-Eocene cooling trend.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/gulf_stream.shtml
The Gulf Stream
The world's oceans move constantly. Ocean currents flow in complex patterns and are affected by the wind, the water's salinity and temperature, the shape of the ocean floor, and the earth's rotation.
The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world. It is driven by surface wind patterns and differences in water density. Surface water in the north Atlantic is cooled by winds from the Arctic. It becomes more salty and more dense and sinks to the ocean floor. The cold water then moves towards the equator where it will warm slowly. To replace the cold equator-bound water, the Gulf Stream moves warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north into the Atlantic.
The Gulf Stream brings warmth to the UK and north-west Europe and is the reason we have mild winters. Without this steady stream of warmth the British Isles winters are estimated to be more than 5C cooler, bringing the average December temperature in London to about 2C.
At the end of the last Ice Age, when the ice sheet covering North America melted, the sudden increase in fresh water reduced the salinity of the north Atlantic surface water and therefore less 'dense water' sank and moved towards the equator. This reduced, or even shut-down completely, the warm Gulf Stream. Temperatures in north-west Europe fell by 5C in just a few decades.
Recent observations have shown that since 1950 there has been a decrease of 20% in the flow of cold water in the Faeroe Bank channel between Greenland and Scotland. This is one source of cold dense water that drives the density-based component of the Gulf Stream. There may be an increase in flow from other cold water sources, but, if not, it could be the start of the slow down of the Gulf Stream.
The IPCC believe it is very likely that the Gulf Stream will slow down during the 21st Century but very unlikely it will undergo a ‘large abrupt transition’. The average reduction predicted by the various models used is 25%. This slowing will have a cooling effect but the temperature will still increase in the region overall.
It suggests that the British Isles, especially western regions, will see a significantly smaller temperature increase than other areas of land mass.
The ice age could begin with the alteration of the Gulf Stream. Great Britain recently experienced a touch of the climate event.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/26/gale-force-winds-heavy-rain-hit-uk-tail-end-hurricane-maria/
Hurricane Maria is on its way across the North Atlantic and could hit the UK at the weekend, forecasters have warned.
The Met Office said the potential weather effects will be "far from those experienced in the Caribbean", but added that weather systems like Maria can bring very strong winds and heavy rain.
Autumn weather will dominate this week with foggy nights alongside wet and windy spells, while forecasters advise keeping an eye on updates about the potential impacts of Maria over the coming days.
http://www.actforlibraries.org/jet-stream-gulf-stream-polar-shifts-and-climate-changes/
Jet Stream Gulf Stream Polar Shifts and Climate changes
Earth Science
The Jet Stream, Gulf Stream, Polar Shifts and Global Climate Change
Are the two connected? Yes I firmly believe they are.
What is happening to the jet stream is similar in ways to what is happening to the Gulf Stream. Both are being affected by the changing conditions on the planet and both are causing changes to our climate. Throw into the mix the weakening polar field that is the beginning of a polar flip and our planet really is in a state of turmoil.
What is the Jet Stream?
In simplistic terms they are fast flowing air currents in the upper atmosphere. The main ones on Earth are westerly winds, which flow from west to east. The main jet streams on earth are the Polar Jets, which are located around 7-12km above sea level, above these are the slightly weaker Subtropical Jets which sit around 10-16km above sea level. Both poles have their own set of Polar and Subtropical Jets, the Northern hemisphere jet flows over the middle to northern latitudes, thus covering North America, Europe and Asia. While the southern hemisphere polar jet tends to mostly circle the Antarctic. The Jet Streams are caused by a combination of factors, the planets rotation on its axis and atmospheric heating from solar radiation.
What is the Gulf Stream?
Again in simplistic terms, the Gulf Stream is a fast flowing, warm Atlantic Ocean current that begins at the tip of Florida, it follows the eastern coastlines of the U.S and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the east coast of North America to Newfoundland, and the west coast of Europe.
It would appear then that in some ways the two forces are linked; now throw in the polar activity and see what we get.
What is the Polar Shift
It appears that our Magnetic field is weakening, and the result could be a mass polar flip, North becomes south and vice versa, if this is indeed on the cards and a flip of the magnetic poles already underway this would undoubtedly have some connection to the extreme and weird weather we are experiencing.
The current issue is down to the ‘Blocked Jet Stream’ which has caused our weather pattern to literally become locked in place, hence the sudden and continued change in climate for most of the Northern Hemisphere.
The Blockage appears to have started mid-July, since which time the good warm weather in the UK has ceased, Russia and Japan are locked in a heat wave and Pakistan has been ravaged by floods.
Look at each case on its own and the capacity of noticeable changes to our climate is apparent, put all three together and they could be the combined reason for the ‘freak weather’ we are currently experiencing. The saying, ‘A butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil and a Tornado strikes Kansas’ comes to mind. What we are seeing s the ever changing cycle of life that the planet has undergone many times, the only difference now is we are here and aware of what is happening to the world around us.
It would be foolish to believe that each seemingly separate issue is in fact separate, if it effects are planet wide then it is connected. If the Gulf Stream weakens due to melting polar ice then surely this will affect the Jet Streams, and if the magnetic poles are weakening this will also affect the behaviour of the Jet Streams. The final factor of our sun being at a point of low solar activity could be another, more external cause to our current dilemma. The exact causes for the unusual weather system and the blockage of the Jet Stream is unknown, we can but hypothesis as to the reasons. But I firmly believe that the above mentioned issues are all connected, when one part of our fragile eco-system beings to fail then other area’s will eventually being to suffer.
The weather in England will be cooling also. The ice encroaches on Northern Europe during this cycle. EU membership falls as ice increases. The AC run EU forms a alliance with Israel and then moves it's HQ to Jerusalem to keep it safe from weather change. Banking interests move to the economically secure Iran due to weather fears. Security provided by the American trained and supplied troops makes it seem like a good idea, too. Everything is done by electronic monies by that time so keeping records in a safe society is essential. Bit coin is the new gold standard. American currency has become irrelevant,
North Korea sees the ice trap as an opening, launching their twelve long range missiles at the USA, but first launching a short range one at the Sea of Japan. The device is designed to explode a half mile above the US fleet stationed there, cooking the sailors, marines and seals in their mighty ships.
North Korea means this act to force the hand of it's mighty ally, China. The leader feels it will inspire his communist ally to join in the exchange of bombs. Surely, once they see the imperialists are so weak, they will send their full might to destroy them.
China has other things on its mind as since the attack is launched without warning even to them they are taken as much by surprise as anyone. They have no intention of emptying their arsenal on a weakened USA. the former enemy has so few nukes left thanks to the freeze, they could hardly so significant damage to the People's Republic. The strongman heading the country now sees a far greater threat in a destabilizing Russia, one which did not launch nukes into the Middle East because they understood that their loss in the Israel battle was not cause to destroy the massive oil reserves held by Israel's neighbors, something they threatened to do when the battle started, were o the verge of when the hailstorms, more results of the cursed American weather tampering, won the day for them. The Chinese do not relish the idea of a wounded dog at their western frontier, especially if they use up a lot of nuclear weaponry on an unneeded war.
But the North Koreans have placed most of their nuclear research and and development facilities and their testing areas near of on the border of Southern China. Neighboring Jilin and Liaoning provinces. If the US retaliates against those bases, it will surely send radioactive fallout into China. The leader of North Korea has truly forced China's hand, But too late.
North Korea would likely have been made to understand that had it made it through it's war.
Ship to shore missiles blast the North Korean nuke from the sky miles from the fleet. Radioactive debris falls into
The map located below shows that the nuclear facilities are located mainly near along the Yalu Jiang and the capital of P'Yongyang.
http://www.nti.org/gmap/nuclear_north_korea.html?/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Yalu-River
Yalu River, Chinese (Pinyin) Yalu Jiang or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ya-lü Chiang, Korean Amnok-kang, river of northeastern Asia that forms the northwestern boundary between North Korea and the Northeast region (Manchuria) of China. The Chinese provinces of Jilin and Liaoning are bordered by the river. Its length is estimated to be about 500 miles (800 km), and it drains an area of some 12,260 square miles (31,750 square km). From a mountainous source in the Changbai Mountains, the river flows southwestward to drain into Korea Bay (an embayment of the Yellow Sea). The river is an important source of hydroelectric power, is used for transportation (especially of lumber from the rich forests on its banks), and provides fish for the riverine populations.
In addition to serving as a political boundary, the Yalu River constitutes a dividing line between Chinese and Korean cultures. It is generally known abroad by its Chinese name, Yalu, instead of by its Korean name, Amnok. According to ancient writing, the Chinese name, which is derived from the characters ya (“duck”) and lu (“greenish blue”), is a comparison of the blueness of the river’s waters to the greenish blue of a particular species of domestic duck that inhabits it. The Yalu did not become a political boundary until the Korean-Chinese border was established toward the end of the Korean Koryŏ dynasty in the 14th century. The river played an important political role in the Korean War (1950–53).
The Yalu rises in Tian Lake (known in Korean as Ch’ŏn Lake), a body of water of indeterminate depth on top of Mount Baitou (Mount Paektu), on the Chinese–North Korean border, at an elevation of about 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) above sea level. Winding southward as far as Hyesan, N.Kor., and then meandering northwestward for some 80 miles (130 km), the river reaches Linjiang, Jilin province, from which it flows southwestward for 200 miles (320 km) before emptying into Korea Bay.
Crater lake is at the summit of Mount Paektu, northern Yanggang province, North Korea.
Tian (Ch’ǒn) Lake, source of the Yalu River, at the summit of Mount Baitou (Paektu), on the …
Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos
Except for small areas of basaltic lava along the easternmost part of the river’s course, the Yalu flows over Precambrian rock (more than 540 million years old) before its distributaries begin to spread out to form its delta. Throughout much of its course it flows through deep, gorgelike valleys, with mountains ranging in height from 1,900 to 3,800 feet (600 to 1,200 metres) above sea level rising on either bank. The principal tributaries are the Herchun, Changjin, and Tokro rivers from North Korea and the Hun River from China.
The upper part of the Yalu as far as Linjiang has rapid currents, many waterfalls, and sunken rocks. The middle part, which extends as far as Ch’osan (N.Kor.), contains considerable deposits of alluvium that make the riverbed so shallow in places that it prevents even timber rafts from passing downstream during the dry season. The lower part of the river’s course has a very slow current in which deposits of alluvium are even greater and form a vast delta containing many islands. The silting of the river has increased so much since the mid-20th century that, whereas ships of 1,000 tons could easily sail upstream to the port of Sinŭiju, N.Kor., in 1910, 500-ton ships can hardly manage to do so now.
The climate along the river’s course is typically continental and characterized by cold winters and warm summers. The river is frozen and thus closed to navigation during the four winter months (November through February). Because it is situated in mountain ranges and is not far from oceans, the river’s basin receives fairly heavy precipitation, much of which occurs as rainfall during June, July, August, and September. The abundant rainfall waters rich forests of conifers as well as deciduous trees. The forests provide a sanctuary for wildlife, including wild boars, wolves, tigers, jaguars, bears, foxes, and such birds as ptarmigans and pheasants. The river abounds in carp and eels.
It is notable that fish in two of the tributaries of the Yalu—the Herchun and Changjin—are like those in the upper stream of the Amur River in China and not like those in the Yalu. It is supposed that these tributaries once were connected with the Sungari (Songhua) River, a tributary to the Amur, only to be separated from it and connected with the Yalu when an eruption of Mount Baitou produced a flow of basaltic lava during the Quaternary Period (within the past 2.6 million years).
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Miyamoto Musashi. An actor playing Mukojima Miyamoto Musashi (artist, soldier, samurai, swordsman, ronin) in a Kabuki play. Woodcut, color; 36.4 x 24.8 cm., 1852. Signed: Ichiy-sai Kuniyoshi. Ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock printing. (see notes) Swords: Fact or Fiction?
Ever since a tribe called the Yojin was driven into Manchuria in the 16th century, the Korean side of the river has been inhabited only by Koreans. The northwestern (Chinese) bank is inhabited by Manchu and Han Chinese. The arable land along the river amounts to no more than 220,000 acres (89,000 hectares). Rice is the main crop grown along the river’s lower course; corn (maize), millet, soybeans, barley, and sweet potatoes are raised farther upstream, in the mountainous middle and upper reaches of the river.
The river measures about 460 feet (140 metres) in width and 3 feet (1 metre) in depth at Hyesan and is 640 to 800 feet (200 to 250 metres) wide and 4.5 feet (1.4 metres) deep at Chunggang. It reaches 1,280 feet (390 metres) in width at Sindojang, the location of an immense reservoir of the Sup’ung (Shuifeng) Dam hydroelectric station. In its estuary the river is 3 miles (5 km) wide and 8 feet (2.5 metres) deep.
The river is primarily important as a source for hydroelectricity. The largest dam on the river is located at Sup’ung, N.Kor., 35 miles (56 km) upstream from Sinŭiju. The height of the dam is 320 feet (100 metres) and its length is 2,880 feet (880 metres); the surface area of the reservoir is 133 square miles (345 square km). Its potential generating capacity amounts to about 7 million kilowatts, and it supplies electricity for a large area of the northern part of North Korea as well as adjacent areas of Jilin and Liaoning. Its importance to China, especially at the time of the establishment of the People’s Republic, was one of the main reasons that China entered the Korean War in 1950, when United Nations troops were advancing northward toward the Yalu.
Yalu River - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
An international waterway and a major source of hydroelectric power, the Yalu River forms the boundary between North Korea and the Northeast Region (Manchuria) of China. The river is 491 miles (790 kilometers) long. It begins atop Baitou Mountain at a height of 9,000 feet (2,750 meters) above sea level, winds southward to Hyesan, North Korea, changes course to the northwest for 80 miles (130 kilometers), and then turns to flow southwestward for 200 miles (320 kilometers) to empty into Korea Bay off the Yellow Sea. Its main tributaries are the Herchun and Changjin rivers.
If nuclear weapons were used to shut down the North Korean capacity to wage nuclear war, the Yalu river would be running with deadly poison for a very long time afterwards.
Meanwhile, the US President 's order is needed for nuclear weapons to be used in combat.
The warm weather may flood the USA coasts making it seem vulnerable. Rolling Stone magazine had an article last week about the very real danger to Washington DC if a 4th degree hurricane could reach that far north due to warming. The Potomac could become a powerful flood of mud and flotsam. Any of those could bring a similar scene, weapons on the way toward the US, Russia wounded but not dead, the Chinese the only large scale power untouched.
And all the Big Three still armed with weapons that can poison the Earth for centuries to come.
Quick step back:
Not long ago, Supergirl had an episode in which she was worshiped as a goddess for saving a guy kn a plane but she corrects his misapprehension through a series of adventures and he ends of in jail for trying to blow up an auditorium. He ends up saying she is a god who has lost her way so he is praying to her god to reveal it to her.
The Gnostic idea of lesser gods, that God himself is too pure to reach out and touch us so Jesus must be some lesser version.
Meanwhile, Thor: Ragnarok is a fascinating case of the massive subversive nature of humor.
Does the plot sound familiar? Thor's older sister, Hela, used to be second in command of the kingdom and she and Odin forged the current empire. He became concerned about her ambition and banished her. She has returned now the Odin is gone and takes over again. Thor is cast into a chaos dimension, forced to fight in "hell". When he frees himself from this electronic "leash" he and his brother Loki who has been buddying up to the leader of "hell" start a rebellion among the slaves. They return to Asgard to free it from Hela. When Thor realizes she has too much power for them he gets Loki to summon up Surthur the god of fire to utterly destroy Asgard AND Hela with it. The people of Asgard are now in the wilderness of space with Thor to lead them. In other words, this woman who was once the leader is trying to take over a system she thoroughly understands how to run and run it with absolute authority though the ones in charge want to keep her from coming back and the rich kid god who has been on Earth and in love with beauties there decides to destroy the system and run it a new way. So long as he's the leader. This will likely be President Trump's favorite movie. Certainly, it will be Steve Bannon's. Or Bernie Sanders'.
The USA has been divided into us against them and the same thing has been going on in Europe. The stage is set for the Antichrist who will appeal to everyone since he wants to destroy the system and everyone seems to have a different reason to hate the system which they see as not understanding them. His first miracle will be to unite those feeling that way. His control of the monetary system will let him begin to rebuild poor countries to make them more attractive to the ones who would normally flee them and to also tell a successful Europe that the immigrants can go home now. He will shift money into youthful projects and will encourage older people to "go alone onto the ice floe" and open the way for the young. Everyone will think these are great ideas, especially the banks who have to fund retirement programs and pay people back if they live long enough. The unemployed young with limited education will love the idea of jobs being open. Europe will find a guy who doesn't have Christian values but portrays himself as having them while handling all the problems in an Earthly manner.
The main problem they will see is competition from other economic giants like the USA, Russia and China. But if two of those giants were gone due to acts of God...
Which brings me to discussing the weather. you know the stuff everyone talks about but no one does anything about.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/06/world/two-degrees-question-ice-ages/index.html
(CNN)As part of CNN's Two Degrees series on climate change, Jonas Martin of Seattle asked the following question, which travels a long way back in time: "There have been hundreds, if not thousands of ice ages in the past, before humans walked the Earth. How was this extreme climate change possible without humans, and isn't climate change natural?"
This is a popular question that we have received more than a dozen times in various forms. And it's a fair question: If the Earth has cycled naturally between extremes larger than where we are now and even where we could be heading, why should someone believe that humans are causing the recent warming?
The other part of this view point is if the Earth reaches these extremes periodically on its own, why should people worry if it does so because of human actions?
The quick answer to the first part of the question, which is likely already known by most who pose the question in the first place, is yes: The Earth's climate has changed, many times, going back millions of years.
These large-scale climate shifts consist of colder ice ages followed by much warmer interglacial periods, characterized by melting ice sheets and higher sea levels.
The causes of these shifts were indeed natural. After all, humans didn't begin to significantly interfere with the climate system through the burning of fossil fuels until the Industrial Revolution.
Our distant past helps us see our future
So how can we say that the recent warming we have seen is caused by humans and not just this natural cycle?
By knowing about these natural cycles and studying them, it makes us even more confident that the recent warming we have seen over the past 150 or so years is caused by humans and our emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
Scientists understand the natural processes behind the previous warm and cold periods that lead to ice ages. They occur in regular patterns called Milankovitch cycles. These cycles occur because the Earth's orbit around the sun is not constant.
The shape of the orbit changes, the tilt of the Earth on its axis changes and the even the direction of the axis changes over time. All of these changes result in varying amounts of energy (i.e. heat) that the planet receives from the sun. That, of course, determines how warm or cold the planet becomes.
While these cycles do impact Earth in much the same way as we are seeing now, they happen very, very slowly.
These cycles take place on 100,000 year time frames, and the amount of warming we have seen, even though it is "only" about 1.5°F (0.85° C) since 1880, would take many thousands of years to occur if the process were occurring purely naturally. Also, when you plot these orbital cycles out, we should be in a "cooling" phase of the cycle -- not warming.
The other important fact we learn when looking at these long-term cycles is that greenhouse gases, namely carbon dioxide and methane, move up and down with the global temperature. When greenhouse gases are high, the Earth is warm, when they are low, the Earth is cool.
But again, when these changes are occurring naturally, they take thousands to tens of thousands of years to occur, whereas humans have caused this to occur in just over 100 years. In fact, humans have pushed the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to levels not seen in millions of years. The last time levels were this high, sea levels were several meters higher and temperatures were several degrees warmer.
So yes, the climate changes naturally, in much the same way it is changing now, but it happens much, much slower. That in turn gives the Earth, and its various life forms, time to adapt. When these changes occur rapidly, you can have mass extinctions.
Young Earth believers don't give this credence and I don't blame them. But there is evidence that Ice Ages have occurred some of it very hard to deny. How many and over how many years can be discussed, but ice has sometimes ruled the world. It could again.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/416786/global-warming-vs-the-next-ice-age/
Will the greenhouse effect prevent the return of glaciers?
by Franklin Hadley Cocks ’63, SM ’64, ScD ’65 December 21, 2009
Global warming is an inescapable issue for our age. But 180 years ago, most scientists believed that Earth had been steadily cooling since it was formed. When Louis Agassiz presented the concept of a Great Ice Age to the Swiss Society of Natural Sciences in 1837, his suggestion that the planet had turned colder and then warmed up again was met with skepticism and even hostility, triggering years of fierce scientific debate before the idea was accepted.
Exactly why our planet occasionally cools down has taken more than a century to work out. Now we know that cyclic gravitational tugs from Jupiter and Saturn periodically elongate Earth’s orbit, and this effect combines from time to time with slow changes in the direction and degree of Earth’s tilt that are caused by the gravity of our large moon. Consequently, summer sunlight around the poles is reduced, and high-latitude regions such as Alaska, northern Canada, and Siberia turn cold enough to preserve snow year-round. This constant snow cover reflects a great deal of sunlight, cooling things down even more, and a new ice age begins. Naturally, this process does not occur with anything like the speed portrayed in the movie The Day After Tomorrow, but geological and other evidence shows that it’s happened at least four times.
With so much attention focused on global warming, this chilly prospect has been all but forgotten. Given how catastrophic another ice age could be, one might be tempted to ask whether a human-caused increase in atmospheric and ocean temperatures will actually be a boon.
There’s little question that global warming is happening. Climate data show that Earth’s average temperature has risen at least 0.7 oC (1.3 oF) over the 20th century. Temperature increases over the 21st century will probably be two and a half to five times as large,because greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide allow sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere but make it harder for outgoing infrared radiation to escape. What’s more, just as carbonated soda fizzes when it warms up, warmer temperatures cause the ocean to release carbon dioxide taken up during colder periods. Analyses of air trapped in glacial ice over the last 800,000 years show that atmospheric carbon dioxide generally ranged between 200 and 300 parts per million by volume (ppmv); increases in these levels were slightly preceded by increases in temperature caused by natural orbital shifts. During this period, global temperature varied by about 12 oC. Now, carbon levels are approaching 400 ppmv as the burning of fossil fuels pumps more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Even if the rate of growth could be moderated enough to stabilize levels at about 550 ppmv, average temperatures might well rise by about 5 oC–with devastating effects for us earthlings, such as rising sea levels and dramatic changes in weather patterns.
But even that warming will not stave off the eventual return of huge glaciers, because ice ages last for millennia and fossil fuels will not. In about 300 years, all available fossil fuels may well have been consumed.Over the following centuries, excess carbon dioxide will naturally dissolve into the oceans or get trapped by the formation of carbonate minerals. Such processes won’t be offset by the industrial emissions we see today, and atmospheric carbon dioxide will slowly decline toward preindustrial levels. In about 2,000 years, when the types of planetary motions that can induce polar cooling start to coincide again, the current warming trend will be a distant memory.
This means that humanity will be hit by a one-two punch the likes of which we have never seen. Nature is as unforgiving to men as it was to dinosaurs; advanced civilization will not survive unless we develop energy sources that curb the carbon emissions heating the planet today and help us fend off the cold when the ice age comes. Solar, nuclear, and other non-fossil-fuel energy sources need to be developed now, before carbon emissions get out of hand. MIT alumni could play a prominent part in discovering the technology needed to keep us all going. And there are fortunes to be made from the effort. It’s worth thinking about.
Professor Franklin Hadley Cocks ‘63, SM ‘64, ScD ‘65, teaches energy technology and climate-related courses at Duke University and is the author of Energy Demand and Climate Change (Wiley-VCH), which summarizes energy and climate issues of the past, present, and future.
That was 2010. The writer neglected to mention that the long off ice age scenario isn't always the cause or even the sole cause of an ice age, especially a localized one. Also we see an element of other concerns in the urge for others to make money on the notion of a disastrous climate change. But then this is an engineer who is absolutely certain of himself. The arrogance of our age is astonishing, found in everyone of every social strata. It is especially dangerous in those who know nothing to begin with and are absolutely certain they know their jobs. I have been that person sometimes and it is the worst pace to be. Because some one will often believe you and get in trouble because of it. That's why it can be so dangerous to others. That's why I always say this is a scenario and not a prophecy.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/cause-ice-age.html
During the past billion years, the Earth's climate has fluctuated between warm periods—sometimes even completely ice-free—and cold periods, when glaciers scour the continents. In this article, climate scientist Kirk Maasch offers perspective on these historic changes, including the likely causes of the last great ice age—which contrary to common knowledge, we are still in the midst of.
Hubbard Glacier in Alaska, like other glaciers worldwide, is retreating. To understand changing climate today, we need a perspective on changes of the past.
THE NATURE OF ICE AGES
Ice ages are times when the entire Earth experiences notably colder climatic conditions. During an ice age, the polar regions are cold, there are large differences in temperature from the equator to the pole, and large, continental-size glaciers can cover enormous regions of the Earth.
Ever since the Pre-Cambrian (600 million years ago), ice ages have occurred at widely spaced intervals of geologic time—approximately 200 million years—lasting for millions, or even tens of millions of years. For the Cenozoic period, which began about 70 million years ago and continues today, evidence derived from marine sediments provide a detailed, and fairly continuous, record for climate change. This record indicates decreasing deep-water temperature, along with the build-up of continental ice sheets. Much of this deep-water cooling occurred in three major steps about 36, 15 and 3 million years ago—the most recent of which continues today.
During the present ice age, glaciers have advanced and retreated over 20 times, often blanketing North America with ice. Our climate today is actually a warm interval between these many periods of glaciation. The most recent period of glaciation, which many people think of as the "Ice Age," was at its height approximately 20,000 years ago.
Although the exact causes for ice ages, and the glacial cycles within them, have not been proven, they are most likely the result of a complicated dynamic interaction between such things as solar output, distance of the Earth from the sun, position and height of the continents, ocean circulation, and the composition of the atmosphere.
As glaciers spread and retreat, they shape the geology of continents.
CLIMATIC COOLING FROM 60 MILLION YEARS AGO TO PRESENT DAY
Between 52 and 57 million years ago, the Earth was relatively warm. Tropical conditions actually extended all the way into the mid-latitudes (around northern Spain or the central United States for example), polar regions experienced temperate climates, and the difference in temperature between the equator and pole was much smaller than it is today. Indeed it was so warm that trees grew in both the Arctic and Antarctic, and alligators lived in Ellesmere Island at 78 degrees North.
But this warm period, called the Eocene, was followed by a long cooling trend. Between 52 and 36 million years ago, ice caps developed in East Antarctica, reaching down to sea level in some places. Close to Antarctica, the temperature of the water near the surface dropped to between 5 and 8 degrees Celsius. Between 36 and 20 million years ago the Earth experienced the first of three major cooling steps. At this time a continental-scale temperate ice sheet emerged in East Antarctica. Meanwhile, in North America, the mean annual air temperature dropped by approximately 12 degrees Celsius.
We are still in the midst of the third major cooling period that began around 3 million years ago.
Between 20 and 16 million years ago, there was a brief respite from the big chill, but this was followed by a second major cooling period so intense that by 7 million years ago southeastern Greenland was completely covered with glaciers, and by 5-6 million years ago, the glaciers were creeping into Scandinavia and the northern Pacific region. The Earth was once more released from the grip of the big chill between 5 and 3 million years ago, when the sea was much warmer around North America and the Antarctic than it is today. Warm-weather plants grew in Northern Europe where today they cannot survive, and trees grew in Iceland, Greenland, and Canada as far north as 82 degrees North.
We are still in the midst of the third major cooling period that began around 3 million years ago, and its effect can be seen around the world, perhaps even in the development of our own species. Around 2 and a half million years ago, tundra-like conditions took over north-central Europe. Soon thereafter, the once-humid environment of Central China was replaced by harsh continental steppe. And in sub-Saharan Africa, arid and open grasslands expanded, replacing more wooded, wetter environments. Many paleontologists believe that this environmental change is linked to the evolution of humankind
(The Garden became a woods. W.)
POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE PAST 60 MILLION YEARS OF COOLING
Climate change on ultra-long time scales (tens of millions of years) are more than likely connected to plate tectonics. Plate motions lead to cycles of ocean basin growth and destruction, known as Wilson cycles, involving continental rifting, seafloor-spreading, subduction, and collision. Several explanations of the latest cooling trend that involve a climate-tectonic connection are summarized below.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND SIZE OF CONTINENTS
Through the course of a Wilson cycle continents collide and split apart, mountains are uplifted and eroded, and ocean basins open and close. The re-distribution and changing size and elevation of continental land masses may have caused climate change on long time scales. Computer climate models have shown that the climate is very sensitive to changing geography. It is unlikely, however, that these large variations in the Earth's geography were the primary cause of the latest long-term cooling trend as they fail to decrease temperatures on a global scale.
Likewise, changing topography cannot, by itself, explain this cooling trend. Computer model experiments performed to test the climate's sensitivity to mountains and high plateaus show that plateau uplift in Tibet and western North America has a small effect on global temperature but cannot explain the magnitude of the cooling trend. Plateau uplift does, however, have a significant impact on climate, including the diversion of North Hemisphere westerly winds and intensification of monsoonal circulation.
GEOMETRY OF OCEAN BASINS
Another theory explaining these changes in climate involves the opening and closing of gateways for the flow of ocean currents. This theory suggests that the redistribution of heat on the planet by changing ocean circulation can isolate polar regions, cause the growth of ice sheets and sea ice, and increase temperature differences between the equator and the poles.
Ocean modeling experiments suggest that the ocean could not have carried enough heat to the poles to maintain the early warm climates. But atmospheric climate modeling experiments show that even if the ocean did transport enough heat up to the coast of Antarctica to maintain sea surface temperatures at 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, the interior conditions would still be much colder—and this is contrary to the geologic record. It is possible, however, that changes in heat transport caused by variations in ocean gateways may have played a significant role in cooling trends over the last 60 million years, and, in particular, may help explain some of the relatively sudden cooling events.
ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE
Changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are a strong candidate to explain the overall pattern of climatic change. Carbon dioxide influences the mean global temperature through the greenhouse effect. The globally averaged surface temperature for the Earth is approximately 15 degrees Celsius, and this is due largely to the greenhouse effect. Solar radiation entering earth's atmosphere is predominantly short wave, while heat radiated from the Earth's surface is long wave. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere absorb this long wave radiation. Because the Earth does not allow this long wave radiation to leave, the solar energy is trapped and the net effect is to warm the Earth. If not for the presence of an atmosphere, the surface temperature on earth would be well below the freezing point of water.
Through a million year period, the average amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is affected by four fluxes: flux of carbon due to (1) metamorphic degassing, (2) weathering of organic carbon, (3) weathering of silicates, (4) burial of organic carbon. Degassing reactions associated with volcanic activity and the combining of organic carbon with oxygen release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Conversely, the burial of organic matter removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The inevitable shifting of tectonic plates is also a driver of climate change.
Plate collisions disrupt these carbon fluxes in a variety of ways, some tending to elevate and some tending to lower the atmospheric carbon dioxide level. It has been suggested that the Eocene, the early warm trend 55 million years ago, was caused by elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and that a subsequent decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide led to the cooling trend over the past 52 million years. One mechanism proposed as a cause of this decrease in carbon dioxide is that mountain uplift lead to enhanced weathering of silicate rocks, and thus removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
In addition, the collision of India and Asia led to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. While topography may not be enough to explain the cooling trends, another mechanism may account for changing climate. The uplift may have caused both an increase in the global rate of chemical erosion, as well as erode fresh minerals that are rapidly transported to lower elevations, which are warmer and moister and allow chemical weathering to happen more efficiently. Through these mechanisms, then, it has been hypothesized that the tectonically driven uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas is the prime cause of the post-Eocene cooling trend.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/impact/gulf_stream.shtml
The Gulf Stream
The world's oceans move constantly. Ocean currents flow in complex patterns and are affected by the wind, the water's salinity and temperature, the shape of the ocean floor, and the earth's rotation.
The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents in the world. It is driven by surface wind patterns and differences in water density. Surface water in the north Atlantic is cooled by winds from the Arctic. It becomes more salty and more dense and sinks to the ocean floor. The cold water then moves towards the equator where it will warm slowly. To replace the cold equator-bound water, the Gulf Stream moves warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north into the Atlantic.
The Gulf Stream brings warmth to the UK and north-west Europe and is the reason we have mild winters. Without this steady stream of warmth the British Isles winters are estimated to be more than 5C cooler, bringing the average December temperature in London to about 2C.
At the end of the last Ice Age, when the ice sheet covering North America melted, the sudden increase in fresh water reduced the salinity of the north Atlantic surface water and therefore less 'dense water' sank and moved towards the equator. This reduced, or even shut-down completely, the warm Gulf Stream. Temperatures in north-west Europe fell by 5C in just a few decades.
Recent observations have shown that since 1950 there has been a decrease of 20% in the flow of cold water in the Faeroe Bank channel between Greenland and Scotland. This is one source of cold dense water that drives the density-based component of the Gulf Stream. There may be an increase in flow from other cold water sources, but, if not, it could be the start of the slow down of the Gulf Stream.
The IPCC believe it is very likely that the Gulf Stream will slow down during the 21st Century but very unlikely it will undergo a ‘large abrupt transition’. The average reduction predicted by the various models used is 25%. This slowing will have a cooling effect but the temperature will still increase in the region overall.
It suggests that the British Isles, especially western regions, will see a significantly smaller temperature increase than other areas of land mass.
The ice age could begin with the alteration of the Gulf Stream. Great Britain recently experienced a touch of the climate event.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/26/gale-force-winds-heavy-rain-hit-uk-tail-end-hurricane-maria/
Hurricane Maria is on its way across the North Atlantic and could hit the UK at the weekend, forecasters have warned.
The Met Office said the potential weather effects will be "far from those experienced in the Caribbean", but added that weather systems like Maria can bring very strong winds and heavy rain.
Autumn weather will dominate this week with foggy nights alongside wet and windy spells, while forecasters advise keeping an eye on updates about the potential impacts of Maria over the coming days.
http://www.actforlibraries.org/jet-stream-gulf-stream-polar-shifts-and-climate-changes/
Jet Stream Gulf Stream Polar Shifts and Climate changes
Earth Science
The Jet Stream, Gulf Stream, Polar Shifts and Global Climate Change
Are the two connected? Yes I firmly believe they are.
What is happening to the jet stream is similar in ways to what is happening to the Gulf Stream. Both are being affected by the changing conditions on the planet and both are causing changes to our climate. Throw into the mix the weakening polar field that is the beginning of a polar flip and our planet really is in a state of turmoil.
What is the Jet Stream?
In simplistic terms they are fast flowing air currents in the upper atmosphere. The main ones on Earth are westerly winds, which flow from west to east. The main jet streams on earth are the Polar Jets, which are located around 7-12km above sea level, above these are the slightly weaker Subtropical Jets which sit around 10-16km above sea level. Both poles have their own set of Polar and Subtropical Jets, the Northern hemisphere jet flows over the middle to northern latitudes, thus covering North America, Europe and Asia. While the southern hemisphere polar jet tends to mostly circle the Antarctic. The Jet Streams are caused by a combination of factors, the planets rotation on its axis and atmospheric heating from solar radiation.
What is the Gulf Stream?
Again in simplistic terms, the Gulf Stream is a fast flowing, warm Atlantic Ocean current that begins at the tip of Florida, it follows the eastern coastlines of the U.S and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the east coast of North America to Newfoundland, and the west coast of Europe.
It would appear then that in some ways the two forces are linked; now throw in the polar activity and see what we get.
What is the Polar Shift
It appears that our Magnetic field is weakening, and the result could be a mass polar flip, North becomes south and vice versa, if this is indeed on the cards and a flip of the magnetic poles already underway this would undoubtedly have some connection to the extreme and weird weather we are experiencing.
The current issue is down to the ‘Blocked Jet Stream’ which has caused our weather pattern to literally become locked in place, hence the sudden and continued change in climate for most of the Northern Hemisphere.
The Blockage appears to have started mid-July, since which time the good warm weather in the UK has ceased, Russia and Japan are locked in a heat wave and Pakistan has been ravaged by floods.
Look at each case on its own and the capacity of noticeable changes to our climate is apparent, put all three together and they could be the combined reason for the ‘freak weather’ we are currently experiencing. The saying, ‘A butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil and a Tornado strikes Kansas’ comes to mind. What we are seeing s the ever changing cycle of life that the planet has undergone many times, the only difference now is we are here and aware of what is happening to the world around us.
It would be foolish to believe that each seemingly separate issue is in fact separate, if it effects are planet wide then it is connected. If the Gulf Stream weakens due to melting polar ice then surely this will affect the Jet Streams, and if the magnetic poles are weakening this will also affect the behaviour of the Jet Streams. The final factor of our sun being at a point of low solar activity could be another, more external cause to our current dilemma. The exact causes for the unusual weather system and the blockage of the Jet Stream is unknown, we can but hypothesis as to the reasons. But I firmly believe that the above mentioned issues are all connected, when one part of our fragile eco-system beings to fail then other area’s will eventually being to suffer.
The weather in England will be cooling also. The ice encroaches on Northern Europe during this cycle. EU membership falls as ice increases. The AC run EU forms a alliance with Israel and then moves it's HQ to Jerusalem to keep it safe from weather change. Banking interests move to the economically secure Iran due to weather fears. Security provided by the American trained and supplied troops makes it seem like a good idea, too. Everything is done by electronic monies by that time so keeping records in a safe society is essential. Bit coin is the new gold standard. American currency has become irrelevant,
North Korea sees the ice trap as an opening, launching their twelve long range missiles at the USA, but first launching a short range one at the Sea of Japan. The device is designed to explode a half mile above the US fleet stationed there, cooking the sailors, marines and seals in their mighty ships.
North Korea means this act to force the hand of it's mighty ally, China. The leader feels it will inspire his communist ally to join in the exchange of bombs. Surely, once they see the imperialists are so weak, they will send their full might to destroy them.
China has other things on its mind as since the attack is launched without warning even to them they are taken as much by surprise as anyone. They have no intention of emptying their arsenal on a weakened USA. the former enemy has so few nukes left thanks to the freeze, they could hardly so significant damage to the People's Republic. The strongman heading the country now sees a far greater threat in a destabilizing Russia, one which did not launch nukes into the Middle East because they understood that their loss in the Israel battle was not cause to destroy the massive oil reserves held by Israel's neighbors, something they threatened to do when the battle started, were o the verge of when the hailstorms, more results of the cursed American weather tampering, won the day for them. The Chinese do not relish the idea of a wounded dog at their western frontier, especially if they use up a lot of nuclear weaponry on an unneeded war.
But the North Koreans have placed most of their nuclear research and and development facilities and their testing areas near of on the border of Southern China. Neighboring Jilin and Liaoning provinces. If the US retaliates against those bases, it will surely send radioactive fallout into China. The leader of North Korea has truly forced China's hand, But too late.
North Korea would likely have been made to understand that had it made it through it's war.
Ship to shore missiles blast the North Korean nuke from the sky miles from the fleet. Radioactive debris falls into
The map located below shows that the nuclear facilities are located mainly near along the Yalu Jiang and the capital of P'Yongyang.
http://www.nti.org/gmap/nuclear_north_korea.html?/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Yalu-River
Yalu River, Chinese (Pinyin) Yalu Jiang or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ya-lü Chiang, Korean Amnok-kang, river of northeastern Asia that forms the northwestern boundary between North Korea and the Northeast region (Manchuria) of China. The Chinese provinces of Jilin and Liaoning are bordered by the river. Its length is estimated to be about 500 miles (800 km), and it drains an area of some 12,260 square miles (31,750 square km). From a mountainous source in the Changbai Mountains, the river flows southwestward to drain into Korea Bay (an embayment of the Yellow Sea). The river is an important source of hydroelectric power, is used for transportation (especially of lumber from the rich forests on its banks), and provides fish for the riverine populations.
In addition to serving as a political boundary, the Yalu River constitutes a dividing line between Chinese and Korean cultures. It is generally known abroad by its Chinese name, Yalu, instead of by its Korean name, Amnok. According to ancient writing, the Chinese name, which is derived from the characters ya (“duck”) and lu (“greenish blue”), is a comparison of the blueness of the river’s waters to the greenish blue of a particular species of domestic duck that inhabits it. The Yalu did not become a political boundary until the Korean-Chinese border was established toward the end of the Korean Koryŏ dynasty in the 14th century. The river played an important political role in the Korean War (1950–53).
The Yalu rises in Tian Lake (known in Korean as Ch’ŏn Lake), a body of water of indeterminate depth on top of Mount Baitou (Mount Paektu), on the Chinese–North Korean border, at an elevation of about 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) above sea level. Winding southward as far as Hyesan, N.Kor., and then meandering northwestward for some 80 miles (130 km), the river reaches Linjiang, Jilin province, from which it flows southwestward for 200 miles (320 km) before emptying into Korea Bay.
Crater lake is at the summit of Mount Paektu, northern Yanggang province, North Korea.
Tian (Ch’ǒn) Lake, source of the Yalu River, at the summit of Mount Baitou (Paektu), on the …
Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos
Except for small areas of basaltic lava along the easternmost part of the river’s course, the Yalu flows over Precambrian rock (more than 540 million years old) before its distributaries begin to spread out to form its delta. Throughout much of its course it flows through deep, gorgelike valleys, with mountains ranging in height from 1,900 to 3,800 feet (600 to 1,200 metres) above sea level rising on either bank. The principal tributaries are the Herchun, Changjin, and Tokro rivers from North Korea and the Hun River from China.
The upper part of the Yalu as far as Linjiang has rapid currents, many waterfalls, and sunken rocks. The middle part, which extends as far as Ch’osan (N.Kor.), contains considerable deposits of alluvium that make the riverbed so shallow in places that it prevents even timber rafts from passing downstream during the dry season. The lower part of the river’s course has a very slow current in which deposits of alluvium are even greater and form a vast delta containing many islands. The silting of the river has increased so much since the mid-20th century that, whereas ships of 1,000 tons could easily sail upstream to the port of Sinŭiju, N.Kor., in 1910, 500-ton ships can hardly manage to do so now.
The climate along the river’s course is typically continental and characterized by cold winters and warm summers. The river is frozen and thus closed to navigation during the four winter months (November through February). Because it is situated in mountain ranges and is not far from oceans, the river’s basin receives fairly heavy precipitation, much of which occurs as rainfall during June, July, August, and September. The abundant rainfall waters rich forests of conifers as well as deciduous trees. The forests provide a sanctuary for wildlife, including wild boars, wolves, tigers, jaguars, bears, foxes, and such birds as ptarmigans and pheasants. The river abounds in carp and eels.
It is notable that fish in two of the tributaries of the Yalu—the Herchun and Changjin—are like those in the upper stream of the Amur River in China and not like those in the Yalu. It is supposed that these tributaries once were connected with the Sungari (Songhua) River, a tributary to the Amur, only to be separated from it and connected with the Yalu when an eruption of Mount Baitou produced a flow of basaltic lava during the Quaternary Period (within the past 2.6 million years).
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Ever since a tribe called the Yojin was driven into Manchuria in the 16th century, the Korean side of the river has been inhabited only by Koreans. The northwestern (Chinese) bank is inhabited by Manchu and Han Chinese. The arable land along the river amounts to no more than 220,000 acres (89,000 hectares). Rice is the main crop grown along the river’s lower course; corn (maize), millet, soybeans, barley, and sweet potatoes are raised farther upstream, in the mountainous middle and upper reaches of the river.
The river measures about 460 feet (140 metres) in width and 3 feet (1 metre) in depth at Hyesan and is 640 to 800 feet (200 to 250 metres) wide and 4.5 feet (1.4 metres) deep at Chunggang. It reaches 1,280 feet (390 metres) in width at Sindojang, the location of an immense reservoir of the Sup’ung (Shuifeng) Dam hydroelectric station. In its estuary the river is 3 miles (5 km) wide and 8 feet (2.5 metres) deep.
The river is primarily important as a source for hydroelectricity. The largest dam on the river is located at Sup’ung, N.Kor., 35 miles (56 km) upstream from Sinŭiju. The height of the dam is 320 feet (100 metres) and its length is 2,880 feet (880 metres); the surface area of the reservoir is 133 square miles (345 square km). Its potential generating capacity amounts to about 7 million kilowatts, and it supplies electricity for a large area of the northern part of North Korea as well as adjacent areas of Jilin and Liaoning. Its importance to China, especially at the time of the establishment of the People’s Republic, was one of the main reasons that China entered the Korean War in 1950, when United Nations troops were advancing northward toward the Yalu.
Yalu River - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
An international waterway and a major source of hydroelectric power, the Yalu River forms the boundary between North Korea and the Northeast Region (Manchuria) of China. The river is 491 miles (790 kilometers) long. It begins atop Baitou Mountain at a height of 9,000 feet (2,750 meters) above sea level, winds southward to Hyesan, North Korea, changes course to the northwest for 80 miles (130 kilometers), and then turns to flow southwestward for 200 miles (320 kilometers) to empty into Korea Bay off the Yellow Sea. Its main tributaries are the Herchun and Changjin rivers.
If nuclear weapons were used to shut down the North Korean capacity to wage nuclear war, the Yalu river would be running with deadly poison for a very long time afterwards.
Meanwhile, the US President 's order is needed for nuclear weapons to be used in combat.
The warm weather may flood the USA coasts making it seem vulnerable. Rolling Stone magazine had an article last week about the very real danger to Washington DC if a 4th degree hurricane could reach that far north due to warming. The Potomac could become a powerful flood of mud and flotsam. Any of those could bring a similar scene, weapons on the way toward the US, Russia wounded but not dead, the Chinese the only large scale power untouched.
And all the Big Three still armed with weapons that can poison the Earth for centuries to come.
