Abstract
I enjoyed the article “The thinning of Arctic sea ice” by Ron Kwok and Norbert Untersteiner (PHYSICS TODAY, April 2011, page 36). I suggest that the possible cause of the 1 W/m2 surplus heating is from airline traffic in the vicinity. I say this for the following reasons:‣ In the energy balance, Kwok and Untersteiner write, “the solar and atmospheric radiation terms dominate.”‣ The authors also write, “Radiative energy fluxes from the atmosphere and the annual advection . . . are two orders of magnitude larger than 1 W/m2.”‣ People from the US Midwest observed that the sky became much less hazy during the flight moratorium after 9/11.‣ Jet contrails contain water vapor and, more importantly, carbon particles that act as cloud condensation nuclei that enhance the high cloud layer.‣ “High, thin cirriform clouds (composed mostly of ice) tend to promote a net warming effect.”11. C. D. Ahrens, Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate, and the Environment 8th ed., Thomson Brooks/Cole, Belmont, CA (2007), p. 452.9780495011620 ‣ The time frame of the warming coincides with the development of jet air travel.It seems quite possible that a little extra high cloudiness produced by jet flights in the area of the Arctic causes the little extra heating needed for the melting.REFERENCESSection:ChooseTop of pageREFERENCES <<1. C. D. Ahrens, Meteorology Today: An Introduction to Weather, Climate, and the Environment 8th ed., Thomson Brooks/Cole, Belmont, CA (2007), p. 452.9780495011620 , Google Scholar© 2011 American Institute of Physics.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call