NASA's Earth Observatory has a surface air temperature map for July. The area of the Petermann Glacier appears to have been about 4 C. above average for the month: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=78869 See also this page for an animated long term temperature anomaly map: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/decadaltemp.php

Consider Greenland for your next up-and-coming-paradise-above-the-Arctic-Circle vacation! A land of the Magical Midnight Sun and Million Star Accommodations! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOnnHoFp5SE&feature=related

Cross-posting from Dr. Jeff Master's blog on this topic: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2160

Hi Andy Lee, You ask: "The recent video of the surging Watson River was fairly impressive, but how did its flow rate differ from the average for the time of year?" From what I've read, this event was a unique anomaly. The flow exceeded any previous flooding event by a factor of 2. The huge flow of water was most likely due to glacial dam giving way and draining a significant body of trapped, hidden water. This happens with some frequency in Iceland, but has been rare in Greenland. A similar phenomenon has been studied in the western U.S. Glacial Lake Missoula http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_Lake_Missoula has been well-researched over the past few decades. Here's one of my favorite videos about these gargantuan flood events: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1MNpYb5YCA *** "Was this representative of all rivers draining from the icesheet?" No. This was a unique situation. Of course in a warming world, we can expect more such unique events never before observed. *** "rayduray on Climate Crocks mentioned that the Watson River flow rate was 3.5 million litres per second - that's 3,500 x 86400 = 300 million tonnes per day, or nearly 1 km3 of water every 3 days! For just one river! Is this correct?" You math seems good. But keep in mind that this event was an outlier. -Ray