U.S. releases unclassified spy images of Arctic ice

[lanlady]

Source: Reuters

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States released more than a thousand intelligence images of Arctic ice to help scientists study the impact of climate change, within hours of a recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences.

In an unusually fast move by a U.S. government agency, the Interior Department made the images public on Wednesday. The academy's report urging this action was released at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Some 700 images show swatches of sea ice from six sites around the Arctic Ocean, with an additional 500 images of 22 sites in the United States. The images can be seen online at gfl.usgs.gov/.

Changes in the Arctic affect global climate, since the Arctic region acts as an "air conditioner" for the planet.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE56F6N220090717

[Chemisse]

1. That this was classified is amazing

How can Bush et al hide information about an upcoming worldwide calamity and suffer no consequences?

[Kolesar]

2. Sham Wow it, baby

SMALL PUDDLES, BIG IMPACT

For example, during the summer months, pools of melted water form on top of Arctic ice floes, and these puddles can stretch across 30 meters. The water in the puddles is dark and absorbs heat, as opposed to the white ice all around them, which reflects heat.

Knowing about these melt pools is valuable to producing models of what might happen in the Arctic in the future, but with images that have a resolution of 30 meters or so, these pools might well be missed. While individual puddles are small, collectively they cover about 30 percent of the Arctic.

...

The images were derived from classified images made as part of the Medea program, which lets scientists request spy pictures from environmentally sensitive locations around the globe.
...
Code Pink was good for something!

[SpiralHawk]

3. "Smirk - Sneer." - xCommander AWOL & xVP Dickie 'Five Deferments' Cheney (R)

"No biggie. The CENSORSHIP of reality was just a wee part of our overall, occult Republicon Homelander strategery for Shock & Awe global FAIL. Smirk."

- xCommander AWOL & xVP Dickie 'Five Deferments' Cheney (R)

[Stuckinthebush]

4. Why do conservatives insist global warming is a hoax?

I don't understand it. Would someone explain to me their irrational need to deny global warming?

Of course, these are the same people who deny that Obama was born in the US when the evidence is shoved in their face.

[TacticalPeek]

5. O i l.

Or more correctly, fossil fuel money.

[izquierdista]

6. It's change they fear

Conservatives are well known for not being able to adapt to change. Climate change to them is a big asteroid in the sky, and they have the brains of a plant-eating dinosaur.

[City Lights]

7. A couple of the ones I know don't deny the warming, just that it's worsened by man.

They believe it's all part of the Earth's normal cycling. Nothing to see here...

Edited to add that these are Fox Nooze lovers who see Fox as the only unbiased nooze source out there. If something wasn't reported on Fox, that something never happened. :eyes:

[FarCenter]

8. National Snow and Ice Dat a Center

Maps and graphs of ice extent in the Arctic.

It looks like this year will approach the minimum coverage last seen in 2007. Both Northeast and Northwest Passages are likely to open.

http://www.nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/