Category Archives: palaeoclimatology

Snow on snow: vanishing glacial ice

Winter’s white blanket of snow is becoming rarer. We must learn to appreciate it. There could be no better description of how our planet begins its descent into an ice age than Christina Rossetti’s haunting 1872 Christmas carol: “Snow on … Continue reading

Posted in Antarctic, carbon emissions and targets, changes to climate, climate sensitivity, glaciology, marine sciences, modelling, palaeoclimatology, science, sea level | Comments Off on Snow on snow: vanishing glacial ice

A scientist warns of ‘unthinkable’ disaster

In the face of unfolding calamity, politicians continue to play games with coal power. Every so often I reach a personal tipping point. It happens when I encounter one too many of those blithe ministerial statements on another motorway extension, … Continue reading

Posted in Arctic, Australian politics, carbon, carbon emissions and targets, changes to climate, climate politics, climate sensitivity, climate system, coal-fired, contrarians, extreme events, extreme events, future climate, mining, palaeoclimatology, science, temperature | Comments Off on A scientist warns of ‘unthinkable’ disaster

Ice melt studies say we underestimate sea level rise

If a couple of new ice studies are only partly right, we face massive disruption from sea level rise within decades. Are melting polar ice sheets as stable as we think, or have we missed something? Could we be facing … Continue reading

Posted in Antarctic, Arctic, atmospheric science, carbon, carbon emissions and targets, changes to climate, climate sensitivity, CSIRO, disruption, economic threat from climate, extreme events, future climate, glaciology, governance, ice, inertia, marine sciences, modelling, oceanography, palaeoclimatology, sea level, temperature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Ice melt studies say we underestimate sea level rise