Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumWhy One Great NASA Satellite Photo Of Alaska Is Freaking People Out - Seattle PI
Rare Clear View of Alaska
On most days, relentless rivers of clouds wash over Alaska, obscuring most of the state's 6,640 miles (10,690 kilometers) of coastline and 586,000 square miles (1,518,000 square kilometers) of land. The south coast of Alaska even has the dubious distinction of being the cloudiest region of the United States, with some locations averaging more than 340 cloudy days per year.
That was certainly not the case on June 17, 2013, the date that the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired this rare, nearly cloud-free view of the state. The absence of clouds exposed a striking tapestry of water, ice, land, forests, and even wildfires.
Snow-covered mountains such as the Alaska Range and Chugach Mountains were visible in southern Alaska, while the arc of mountains that make up the Brooks Range dominated the northern part of the state. The Yukon River -- the longest in Alaska and the third longest in the United States -- wound its way through the green boreal forests that inhabit the interior of the state. Plumes of sediment and glacial dust poured into the Gulf of Alaska from the Copper River. And Iliamna Lake, the largest in Alaska, was ice free.
Photo: NASA, Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC Caption: Adam Voiland
At first glance, its just a great photo of nearly the entire state of Alaska on an exceptionally clear day. What could be the problem?
Well, turns out that photo shows an anomaly that some are fretting signifies yet another big shift in global climate a shift toward the hot.
NASA writes (without saying global warming):
The same ridge of high pressure that cleared Alaska's skies also brought stifling temperatures to many areas accustomed to chilly June days. Talkeetna, a town about 100 miles north of Anchorage, saw temperatures reach 96°F on June 17. Other towns in southern Alaska set all-time record highs, including Cordova, Valez, and Seward. The high temperatures also helped fuel wildfires and hastened the breakup of sea ice in the Chukchi Sea.
EDIT
A writer for Slate rings the alarm bell the loudest:
"The melt in Greenland and the high temperatures in Alaska may be more signslike we needed moreof the reality of climate change. Even scarier is the fact that the climate models used before didnt predict this sort of thing. The climate is very complex, and its hard to model it accurately. This is well-known and is why its so hard to make long-term predictions.
But before the deniers crow that climatologists dont know what theyre doing, note this well: The predictions made using these models almost always seem to underestimate the effects of climate change. Thats true in this case, too. So its not that the models are wrong and therefore climate change doesnt exist. Its that the models arent perfect, and its looking like things are worse than we thought."
EDIT
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/article/Why-NASA-s-latest-photo-of-Alaska-is-freaking-4612565.php
phantom power
(25,966 posts)My usual answer to that is: you're right, it could be much worse.
corkhead
(6,119 posts)from their gated communities to new "bubble communities" and I am sure it is safe to say that these new bubble-burbs won't be big enough for us unwashed freeloaders
pscot
(21,024 posts)And are easy to find.
No Vested Interest
(5,167 posts)to see glaciers and snow-capped peaks.
A truly beautiful state, despite its sometimes eccentric populace.
eppur_se_muova
(36,289 posts)1monster
(11,012 posts)state.
"Just wait 'till it melts."
marions ghost
(19,841 posts)---
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)Where's all the ice? On the other hand as Alaska becomes less of a heat sink which draws down heavy pollutants. Some animals and even people are considered to be a toxic hazard. Now with the jet stream changing it will bring more pollution to another northern location. Hot air rises so when it passes over a cold environment what ever is in that hot air comes down.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)Stunningly BAD News.
Coccydynia
(198 posts)I think Alaskan real estate is about to boom! No taxes, oil windfalls, and now beautiful weather.
Boo ya!
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)Coccydynia
(198 posts)truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)I remember asking, shortly after I arrived the first time, why you couldn't see them in the summer....doh.
Coccydynia
(198 posts)I haven't had the pleasure of visiting the great state of Alaska, but I hope I one day do.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)"it doesn't really get dark in summer." Oh.
Coccydynia
(198 posts)truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)too dark to read by certainly, but light enough to obscure the stars.
Winter is a different story--maybe 4 hours of daylight? I remember visiting a friend who lived about 50? miles from the Arctic Circle. I was there for several weeks in late October, early November. The friend was a dog musher, had a one-room cabin with a wood stove for heat and piped in water but otherwise no indoor plumbing (ahem). Late one night I had to visit the outhouse so I pulled on my Sorels, sweats, hat, parka and went out there. Said facility featured a beautiful cut-glass window set in the door. I sat there for a while, mesmerized by the most spectacular display I had ever seen--unbelievable! Curtains and bands of red, green, even blue...wow!...until I noticed another feature of the outhouse, which was a thermometer.
40 below.
Crap.
edited for clarity
Renew Deal
(81,871 posts)Seattle is pretty nice.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)It's nice out. It's daytime until like 11 pm and were havin barbecues all night on the fourth.
Coccydynia
(198 posts)Conium
(119 posts)EXIF info from the "full size" image from NASA shows the image software to be Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh), DateTime - 2013:06:19 10:05:03.
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2534.html
NickB79
(19,258 posts)Photoshop is used for more than pasting your head on a stripper's body or showing UFO's attacking the White House. It is also used in legitimate photo editing when you need to create one panoramic picture from several shots taken in rapid succession as the satellite moves through it's orbit.
So, like I said, your point was?
hatrack
(59,592 posts)RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)What's so wrong with Photoshop?
demwing
(16,916 posts)pscot
(21,024 posts)nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)bravenak
(34,648 posts)I think we will have good harvests for the farmers markets though.