Some parts of Greenland have gained more than a metre of ice over the past 365 days, and more than 90% of the ice sheet has seen a net gain (accumulation minus melt) in surface ice.
Experts and journalists who say Greenland is “melting down” are lying through their teeth.
Map of the accumulated surface mass balance (in mm water equivalent) from September 1st (2013) to now.
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They show a small loss of ice for 2011-2012 time frame,but now near normal 2013-2014 time frame.It appears that for a year it did lose some ice,but for only a short time.
Hardly surprising that there will be some individual years of melting beyond the pale,but in the long term it is very different.
How long term? Shall we go forward say, 200 years?
Where it is good and well to just say, “long term” if we are forecast future data then should we not also review historical data?
Let’s say we run a prediction on 13000 y in the future. Would not the eccliptic cycle plunge us into another ice age?
from Steve’s link:
Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Mass Budget: DMI
“….Satellite observations over the last decade show that the ice sheet is not in balance. The calving loss is greater than the gain from surface mass balance, and Greenland is losing mass at about 200 Gt/yr.
1. Glacial flow is not melting. Saying that it is wildly dishonest.
2. The overall mass balance numbers are wildly inaccurate
3. Calving is a response to surface buildup. If the amount of surface buildup declines, then the amount of calving will in course reduce, and return to equilibrium.
Steve, it was your link that said “Greenland is losing mass at about 200 Gt/yr,” and glacial flow can be assisted by the melting we see near sea level (we don’t expect the high latitude high altitude center to melt much.) If the waters at the face of the glaciers are warmer or slightly higher, that also helps movement.
Even when they lie and say it’s melting I like to tell them this: It was named long before the evil industrial age spewed gigatons of carbon dioxide into the air… and the name is still Greenland. (ps. the plants say thanks for the CO2)
Viking barley in Greenland
Barley growing conditions:
MORE:
…Growth and development of the six-rowed spring barley commonly grown in Minnesota will be considered here.
Germination: The minimum temperature for germination of barley is 34 degrees to 36 degrees F (1 degrees – 2 degrees C). After the seed takes up moisture, the primary root (radicle) emerges….
Once the seedling has emerged, the coleoptile ceases elongating and the first true leaf appears ( figure 4 ). Then leaves appear about every 3 to 5 days depending on the variety and conditions. Figure 5 shows a seedling at the two-leaf stage. Another way of quantifying leaf appearance is in terms of accumulated heat units calculated by summing the number of degrees above 40 degrees F for each day*. About 100 heat units accumulate between the appearance of successive leaves in a medium maturing barley…
About four weeks following crop emergence, some of the previously formed tillers begin to die without forming a head ( figure 9 ). The extent to which this premature tiller death occurs varies depending on the environmental conditions and the variety. Under poor or stressed growing conditions, plants respond by forming fewer tillers or by displaying more premature tiller death….
Pollination usually takes place in barley just before or during head emergence from the boot. Pollination begins in the central portion of the head and proceeds toward the tip and base. This event occurs 6 to 7 weeks after crop emergence. Since pollen formation is sensitive to stress, water deficits and high temperatures at this time will decrease the number of kernels that form and may reduce yields. …
…Once head emergence and pollination have occurred, kernels begin to develop ( figure 11 ). The length of the barley kernel is established first, followed by its width. This helps explain why thin barley developed under stress conditions is usually as long as normal grain, but is narrower…..
The first period of kernel development, designated the “watery ripe” and “milk” stages, lasts about 10 days. Although the kernels do not gain much weight during this phase, it is extremely important because it determines the number of cells that will subsequently be used for storing starch. Kernels crushed in this stage initially yield a watery substance which later becomes milky. Kernels that are storing starch and growing rapidly are characterized by a white semi-solid consistency termed “soft dough.” This period usually lasts about 10 days following the milk stage. Finally, as the kernel approaches maturity and begins losing water rapidly, its consistency becomes more solid, termed “hard dough.” This is when the kernel also loses its green color.
When kernel moisture has decreased to about 30 to 40 percent, it has reached physiological maturity and will not accumulate additional dry matter…..
http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/small-grains/growth-and-development/spring-barley/
So if I have added up all these stages correctly you need a minimum of about 11-12 weeks of frost free days for barley.
As a cross check: Barley Production in Alberta
Steve has commented on Greenland temperature data tampering HERE
There is an analysis of the temperature record For 2012 in Nuuk (Godthåb), Greenland
Frost free was last week of May (snow May 27th*) until the 2nd week of September (snow Sept 13). That is barely enough time to grow barley. For 2006 frost free from May 24 until October 11 although there was Snow september 29, thru october 1st.
September 2006: Barley Now Growing In Greenland For 1st Time Since 15th Century
(Remember we also have modern cultivars bred for extreme climates.)
WUWT: Temperature reconstruction of Greenland shows ups and downs in climate happened over 5600 years
(**Wunderground who I caught changing 3-6 inches of snow to rain for my area.)
Gail, that depends a lot on the type of barley being grown. There are some shorter season ones that come in at about 9 weeks. There’s even a newer variety bred in Alaska that is less than 60 days (grows well in WV, too).
As I said we have modern cultivars bred for extreme climates.
I was just trying to ball park the climate for the time of the Vikings using barley and comparing it to now. (At this point I really do not trust ‘Scientists’ especially on the subject of climate.)
For a self sustaining colony you are going to want AT LEAST 10 to 12 weeks of frost free time – guaranteed. Do not forget you get lagging growth with poor unfertilized soil, lack of heating degree days just after germination, lack of reliable water during the growing season, andr too much rain (soggy fields) at the beginning or end of the growing season.
9 weeks of frost free days on average is just not going to give you a self sustaining colony of up to 5,000 people from 980 A.D. until around 1379 A.D. (Attack by Inuit recorded – The Inuit migrated across Northern Canada and the Arctic Ocean following prey and entered Greenland around 1200 AD. They were met with hostility by the Vikings.)
The take away point is the Vikings DID have reasonable weather for almost 300 years and Greenland today is only just now, as the earth is EXITING a Solar Grand Maximum, able to again grow barley.
This is just another pointer to the fact that the Modern Warm Period is cooler than the Medieval Warm Period and CAGW is a total crock of bovine feces.
Yep.
Barley is the grain of choice for northern growing. There are quite a few very old ones (Scandinavian and Russian, mostly) that have pretty much been lost to modern cultivation. They were also known for being short season. There is one thing, that doesn’t get taken into account on the growing season, if you just stick to frost free days, for extreme northern locations…day length. That variety from Alaska, I mentioned actually, will mature a bit quicker in Alaska than it does for me, in a warmer growing area. Those extra hours of daylight over the summer do make up a bit for the overall shorter season.
And the Vikings, were primarily farmers.
There are records that exist that show the colony not only existed at a subsistence level but thrived and even produced a surplus, in some years.
Also, there have been farms found recently that are farther out from the known settlements than ever thought of, before. That means they were under ice, until recently. There’s some speculation that those recently found farmsteads are not the most remote ones, so that means, back when Greenland was colonized, there was even less ice than the current minimum.
Archaelogy probably has revealed more accurate and a larger amount of information about past climate than any climate scientist or computer model ever did.
“Archaelogy probably has revealed more accurate and a larger amount of information about past climate than any climate scientist or computer model ever did.”
Amen, That is why I was trying to figure out what the growing of barley was telling us about Greenland. (I was hoping if I tossed out bait someone with more knowledge on the subject would enter the discussion.)
And yes I had heard of melting uncovering newly found farmsteads. Just could not find the links quickly.
A bit of general Viking/gGeenland history: http://www.holloworbs.com/Greenland_vikings.htm