Melville Island, Among Coldest Places In The Arctic, Hit 22C (71.6F) In 2007

[hatrack]

Parts of the Arctic have experienced an unprecedented heatwave this summer, with one research station in the Canadian High Arctic recording temperatures above 20C, about 15C higher than the long-term average. The high temperatures were accompanied by a dramatic melting of Arctic sea ice in September to the lowest levels ever recorded, a further indication of how sensitive this region of the world is to global warming. Scientists from Queen's University in Ontario watched with amazement as their thermometers touched 22C during their July field expedition at the High Arctic camp on Melville Island, usually one of the coldest places in North America.

"This was exceptional for a place where the normal average temperatures are about 5C. This year we frequently recorded daytime temperatures of between 10C and 15C and on some days it went as high as 22C," said Scott Lamoureux, a professor of geography at Queen's. "Even temperatures of 15C are higher than we'd expect and yet we recorded them for between 10 and 12 days during July. We won't know the August and September recordings until next year when we go back there but it appears the region has continued to be warm through the summer."

The high temperatures on the island caused catastrophic mudslides as the permafrost on hillsides melted, Professor Lamoureux said. "The landscape was being torn to pieces, literally before our eyes."

Other parts of the Arctic also experienced higher-than-normal temperatures, which indicate that the wider polar region may have experienced its hottest summer on record, according to Walt Meir of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado.

EDIT

http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article3021309.ece

[Systematic Chaos]

1. So you could have slept there, in shorts and a t-shirt,

on top of your sleeping bag rather than in it, and woke up feeling great and with a farmer's tan to boot. When do they start building the high rise condos there? When the mud slides stop? :(

[NMDemDist2]

2. well, you would need a mosquito net I'm thinking.... nt

[GliderGuider]

3. Hmmm. Melting permafrost...

Seems like I read something else about melting permafrost. Can't quite recall what it was, though.

[hatrack]

4. That's odd. I sure hope it wasn't melting Faster Than Expected!

:evilgrin:

[phantom power]

5. Do we still get to call it permafrost? It's no longer perma.

[hatrack]

6. Maybe "permaslush"? "Soggabog"? "Bermuda Muskeg"?

Interesting question . . .

[phantom power]

7. Is there an Inuit word for "methane-spewing goo?"

[Systematic Chaos]

8. How about

stuqqinmucqquptothearmpitsuqqanditsuqqs?

Sounds about right. :D

[lumberjack_jeff]

9. No kidding. They'll have fewer words for "snow" in the future, and several new words for "mud". n/t