Wunderground.com - 4/28/13

NEW ENGLAND – Atlantic sea-surface temperatures off the U.S. Northeast coast during the second half of 2012 were the highest recorded in 150 years, according to a report released on April 25 by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. A deviation in average temperature by more than a degree is uncommon; this increase, from the average of 54.3 degrees F. over past 30 years to 57.2 degrees F. in the second half of last year is the highest jump measured. It is also an amount of warming not seen in any other ocean. Warming ocean temperatures off the Northeast have meant changing distributions of some fish populations; black sea bass and summer flounder are among the species shifting northeastward. One NOAA scientist said while it’s not yet clear what these findings will mean for the Northeast Shelf ecosystem and its marine life, that ecosystem is changing

Accuweather.com - 4/23/13

The Earth's climate warmed more during the 30-year period between 1971-2000 than any other three-decade period in the last 1,400 years, according to a new international study

The regional study, which was published in the journal Nature Geoscience by 80 international scientists, looked at historical records and data taken from tree rings, pollen, cave formations, ice cores and ocean/lake sediments from the seven continents.

The study also showed that the MedievalWarm Period that took place between 950 and 1250 AD may not have been global as other research has also indicated.

Excerpt below from the The Earth Institute Columbia University.....

Wunderground.com- 4/23/13, Dr. Jeff Masters

Figure 1. Thursday, April 18, 2013: Aerial photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows the dam in Marseilles, Ill., after seven barges broke free from a tow and came to rest against the dam. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 3rd Class John Schleicher.)

Accuweather.com, 4/19/13

New ice core research from the University of Washington indicates that the accelerated rate of glacier thinning along the edge of Antarctica cannot be attributed with confidence to human-caused global warming.

Previous work by Eric Steig, a University of Washington professor of Earth and space sciences showed that rapid thinning of Antarctic glaciers was accompanied by rapid warming and changes in atmospheric circulation near the coast. His research with Qinghua Ding, a UW research associate, showed that the majority of Antarctic warming came during the 1990s in response to El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean. (from the University of Washington News)

For more on this story please see Accuweather.com

The Huffington Post-4/15/13, Reuters

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The summer ice melt in parts of Antarctica is at its highest level in 1,000 years, Australian and British researchers reported on Monday, adding new evidence of the impact of global warming on sensitive Antarctic glaciers and ice shelves.

Researchers from the Australian National University and the British Antarctic Survey found data taken from an ice core also shows the summer ice melt has been 10 times more intense over the past 50 years compared with 600 years ago.

For more information please see The Huffington Post.