© photo by Per Lothe ( Norway )
# 1 Me @ Briksdalsbreen 15, July 2004
# 2 Me @ Briksdalsbreen 02, June 2010
Climate change affects Norway
Some effects of climate change are already visible. What effects will future climate changes may have on the Norwegian and Arctic nature? And what of society we will be vulnerable?
The observed effects in nature:
• Pollen season and growing seasons starting earlier than before - up to 2 weeks earlier than 30 years ago.
• The growing season has become longer - up to more than 4 weeks longer than 30 years ago.
• Pull Birds come back earlier - some geese coming up to 1 month earlier now than in 1970.
• Heat Dear species has increased in prevalence in parts of southern Norway.
• Survival of seabirds as guillemots and less has fallen because warmer water has led to a smaller quantity of small fish that live on the seabirds.
• New fish species are observed more frequently in Norwegian waters and increasingly further north.
• Cod and herring have found new spawning areas as a result of changing temperature conditions.
Svalbard glaciers are melting
Unique research results show that the glaciers on Svalbard is melting faster than previously. The development is in line with the high summer temperatures are measured in Longyearbyen. Even less snow in winter helps the glaciers are smaller.
New research from the Norwegian Polar Institute shows that the melting of the glaciers that are examined on the western Svalbard, have clearly increased over the past five years.
Expected effects in nature:
New species will migrate towards areas with temperatures and conditions they are used to. Many species that are specially adapted to polar and alpine regions will suffer when they can not find the cooler areas to walk to.
Species will draw north and up the mountain. The new species will compete with species that already exist there today.
Alien species that previously have not lived in Norway due to the cold climate, it will establish itself here in the future. This includes pests and insects.
The alien species that come with the ballast water being discharged in Norwegian waters, and had not survived because of the temperature, will be able to establish themselves.
Immigration of new species will threaten a number of freshwater systems in Norway. These systems are distinctive because they are nutrient poor and species-poor.
The many changes in trekked, egg time, maturation and growing season increases the risk that there will be a "mismatch" between species. For example, we risk that the plants bloom too early, so that there are insects to spread pollen at the same time.
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's near- surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century
SvarSlettSailing around the North Pole
SvarSlettNorwegian adventurer and polar explorer Børge Ousland and his friend Thorleif Thorleifson have begun a voyage which they hope will take them through both the North East and the North West Passage.
They left Oslo this week on board their 30-foot trimaran to begin a trip which will first take them north along the coast of Norway, before they set course east, along the northern coast of Siberia, through the North East Passage.
The next stage takes them through the North West Passage along te coast of Canada west of Greenland, before they head across the North Sea back to Norway sometime in October.
If they succeed, they will be the first to sail through the two passages in the same season.
It is made possible by the shrinking Arctic sea ice.
- This is the most visible evidence of the climate changes, says Ousland.
Climate change
SvarSlettGlaciers are reacting on climate change
The monitoring of glaciers gives important information to climate research. From the ice shields of Greenland and Antarctica researchers obtain several kilometers long ice cores that contain data about the climate of the past, naerly 900 thousand years back in time.
Can we be sure that our emissions of greenhouse gases have changed the climate?
temperature and the amount of the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide during the last 400,000 years. It shows that the natural changes in climate occur at more or less regular intervals of approx. 100,000 years, with short and warm interglacials and long glacials or ice ages. These variations are connected to changes in the Earth's orbit, amplified through variations in greenhouse gas concentrations.
through burning of coal and petroleum products mankind has increased the amount of carbon dioxide as much as the natural difference between ice ages and interglacials, which is the equivalent to 8 °C. Hence the additional carbon dioxide must lead to additional global warming. A warmer atmosphere will in average contain more water vapour and lead to increased precipitation.
What will the changes in climate be like?
that global temperature has increased fast since 1980. Data from 2005 and 2006 shows that these years have been the warmest on the northern hemisphere in the instrumental record of global surface temperature, and that eleven of the last twelve years (1995-2006) rank among the 12 warmest years.
Scientists agree on the fact that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased, and that this will lead to climate change. But there are uncertainties, since the man-made greenhouse effect occurs together with the natural effects, and these affect each other. Concerning the numerical simulation of climate, there are as well still uncertainties. We do not fully understand the driving forces of the climate, e.g. the coupling between sea and atmosphere and feedback mechanisms, such as those influenced by changes in the Earth's surface, e.g. from ice/snow cover to water.
Most of the climate researchers share the opinion today, that within the year 2050 the Earth's climate will reach a state where temperature conditions will be different from everything mankind has experienced so far in history. What life will be like on our planet then, we don't know. Regulations or adjustments might become far more difficult for us than they will be in the next few decades. But possible counter-measures against climatic changes must build on knowledge, not on fear.
Sources to man made CO2-emissions
Energy production 24 %
Industry 19 %
Forestry 17 %
Farming 14 %
Traffic 13 %
Construction 8 %
Waste disposal 3 %
Air traffic 2 %
If all the peoples of the world were to live like us, it would require the energy and resources of more than three planets ...
The climatic challenges we face will need action at several levels. The issues have to be solved through national and international leadership. What each one of us do is important - we can all with a little effort make a big difference. Here are some hints on what to do. Good luck!
At home:
# turn off the lights when you leave a room
# turn off all stand-by functions
# turn down the temperature
# install a time switch
# use energy saving light bulbs
At the office:
# use scrap paper for notes
# print on both sides
# send e-mails in stead of faxes
# turn off PC's and copy machines at the end of the day
# use telephone meetings and video conferences
Transport:
# use a bike or walk on shorter distances
# drive less car or drive together with others
# lower your speed and keep the speed limit
# avoid air planes - take the bus or the train
# invest in a hybrid car
Did you know that the Jostedalsbreen is not a remnant of the last ice age?
SvarSlettAbout 8000 years ago, in a period of warmer climate called Atlanticum, the glacier had probably totally disappeared. About 5000 years ago, the climate became cooler again, and a new glacier could build up.
Did you know that there are 1593 glaciers in Norway?
There are 680 in the southern part of Norway, together covering an area of 1620 km2. In the northern part of Norway there are 913 glaciers covering 1130 km2. In addition, Spitsbergen has 2128 glaciers, and they co an area of totally 36591 km2.
Did you know that the Jostedalsbreen is the largest glacier on the European continent?
It has a lenght of approx. 80 km (50 miles) and covers an area of 487 km2 (188 square miles). At several places the ice layer is over 500 m (546 yards) thick. The total ice mass stores as much fresh water as you can fill into 300.000.000.000 bathtubes, enough to supply Norway with water over 100 years.