Regarding geo-engineering: We're already doing that. We're geo-engineering a new climate using a few very simple molecules in a distributed setup. It should be apparent to anyone advocating this same mechanism as a countermeasure just how unimaginably difficult it is, how much resources it consumes, how long it takes and how many hidden feedback systems there can be. And before we try to model a solution with a novel kind of geo-engineering maybe, I dunno, we could try to get a grip on this one and develop models with a margin of error that is less than 5 decades. "Just reduce CO2" was kinda too difficult, or too expensive, or not profitable, or Obama is a socialist, or it'll delay the new iPhone. Face it folks, this is old-school Darwinism. And you're part of a gene pool that's just not fit.

Isn't this an expansion of the stable high-pressure zone over Greenland that was discussed last year? The one that first reared its head in 2007. The same that is arguably responsible for the U.S. drought? The one that's been dubbed the "climatological north pole"? If so it looks like it's here to stay and emerge for an extended period of time each year.

FYI: if that huge fracture occurred at night with a clear sky it should have been picked up by optical satellites. Thing to look up: Fractoluminescence. You can try it with a hammer and a sugar cube or ice cube in the dark.

Thanks for the info, all. I was under the impression that the data came from multiple sources or was supported by a validation in one way or another. It's weird that of all the high tech gear up there only a fraction trickles into public data. This reminds me of the mid-atlantic ridge, the hidden thesis of plate tectonics, which turned out to have been discovered and mapped by military submarines well before academia first observed it.

Arctic Sea Ice Monitor just took a 0.5 mln dive.

re fake skeptics: put them on a list. In the not so far future we'll have to decide who gets rations and who doesn't. The people on the list can wait at the end of the queue.

They _will_ be creative and innovative, very much so. Oil exploration consists of a collection of different techniques. Some techniques have been tried but proven too expensive/elaborate/slow and have been archived and collecting dust for occasions just like this. It's better to look at it as a junkie scheming for ways to get hold of some junk for the next fix, nothing is sacred.

On a related note: anyone know what to tell a 6 year old who just saw on the news that the location of Santa's factory is now an ocean? I'd like to know whether parents have reached consensus on a plot twist in this lie.

"... the Chinese are eyeing a new shipping route through the Arctic" The problem is that everybody's eyeing an open Arctic shipping opportunity. And that's when it becomes a whole new game: economy will (start to) rely on an open Arctic and when there's a fluke year of a more closed one there'll be economic backlash due to higher transport costs. Also: any info of how the high over the Canadian Archipelago will affect to ongoing drought in the U.S.?

... before people start accusing me of alarmism or hype ... Your target audience for this blog (correct me if I'm wrong) are researchers - professional or amateur. I think the more appropriate caveat/disclaimer here is "cherry picking" instead of alarmism. And no, you're not. I enjoy these posts and the comments that follow. If the trend over the U.K. continues for the future maybe they will become an exporter of rainwater. According to most scenarios that will become a rather scarce and lucrative resource. No, I'm not kidding.

Since I started following this blog i have been feeling an urge to stock up on rice and pasta. This latest thread makes me wonder how I'm going to move that stuff to a new location without letting it get wet.

This probably show my inexperience with the subject but here's my suggestion. We already had a thread about micro-organisms forming small colonies on the ice. Take pictures: which organisms are there (can they be identified from microscopy images ?) or try to put a number on their density/activity (like a sperm count). Mark the gps coordinates for follow-ups.

Somewhere in S.E Asia there's a freak butterfly just minding it's own business. [ducks]