Timothy Birdnow

Here is an example of monumentally dishonest writing and a reason to think global warming alarmists are simply dishonest creeps. This article actually tries to make the case that Captain Cook's 1778 record "proves" that we have man made global warming.

1778? That was the peak of the Little Ice Age, a very cold period in history.

The article talks about a private cruise ship with passengers simmering in jacuzzis and eating gourmet food and then speaks of the ice encountered by Cook.

First, modern cruise ships are HEATED and of course they have jacuzzis with hot water. To use this as proof that the Arctic is boiling over is beyond ridiculous; Cook didn't have the benefits of electric heat, gas fired boilers, nuclear power, etc. At best he may have had some fires for cooking. And, without refrigeration, Cook couldn't carry gourmet food.

And the Northwest Passage has been open in summer many times before; see here/ and here.

And while this was originally published in the Seattle Times, it was reposted at Physorg, a site claiming to be promoting science. This illustrates how Global Warming is a superstition, one that reason simply cannot be allowed to deal with.

I found this in Judith Curry:

This story is monstrously dishonest. Cook made his voyage during teh Little Ice Age and so naturally there was summer ice. The Northwest Passage has been open numerous times. In fact, the HMS Investigator traversed the Northewest Passage as early as 1850, the end of the LIA. And there was mention of the Passage being open in the 1930's. during the summer.

"In 1932, a Soviet expedition led by Professor Otto Yulievich Schmidt was the first to sail all the way from Arkhangelsk to the Bering Strait in the same summer without wintering en route. After a couple more trial runs, in 1933 and 1934, the Northern Sea Route was officially defined and open and commercial exploitation began in 1935. The next year, part of the Baltic Fleet made the passage to the Pacific where armed conflict with Japan was looming [link]

The ‘Arctic Circle’ was an organisation based in Ottawa. Their annual ‘Arctic circular’ provides fascinating insights into the period. These short excerpts do not do justice to the publication which details many interesting facts about all facets of arctic life in the 1940’s.

This item from 1949 refers to page 3 of this document; [link]

"During the last three decades there has been a marked change in the climate of the Arctic which is being felt throughout the northern hemisphere where, especially, the mean temperature of the winters has increased considerably. In the North American sector this change is perhaps best understood and also most marked in Greenland, where long meteorological records exist from a number of points on the west coast, Thus at Jakobshavn, in latitude 690 13 North, the mean winter temperature for the years 1913-1922 was about 5 degrees F above the mean of 50 years and that of 1923-1932 almost 10.0 degrees F. above. In 1935-1936 the mean for the winter at Godhavn was 13.40 higher than the normal at the end of last century, that of Godthaab 7.60 and at Julianehaab 9.8oF. Increasing temperatures are not limited to the air; sea temperatures also have increased and while the amplitude is not so great, the result is even more profound and far reaching.”

This from page 4:

"The warming of the arctic seas has caused a diminishing of the arctic drift ice, which again has improved shipping conditions. In the 1907-1917 period Norwegian coal mines in Spitsbergen were able to load and export coal an average of 94 days each season, while 20 years later this period has been extended to 192 days. In 1878-80 Nordenskjold in the Vega was the first to navigate the North East Passage, but to do this he had to winter twice. In 1936 a convoy of fourteen Russian ships mode the trip in one season without encountering serious ice difficulties and during the last war this northern Sea route was used extensively by Soviet shipping. During 1942-45 even war ships, which are especially vulnerable to ice, were able to reach Thule without difficulty.

The seas around Greenland have also been remarkably open in later years. The east coast, which frequently remained completely blocked by pack-ice, in 1931-33 was almost free from ice. "

And this:

"In 1941-42 the low-powered, 80 ton R.C.M.P. schooner St. Roch made the North West Passage for the first time from the Pacific to the Atlantic and again in 1944 in the opposite direction in only 87 days.”

Historical footnote: Larsen, an experienced arctic seaman who commanded the vessel noted:
"The three seasons of the short Arctic Summers from 1940-42 had been extremely bad for navigation, the worst consecutive three I had experienced as far as ice and weather conditions were concerned, and in my remaining years in the Arctic I never saw their like.”

This allows us to observe that whilst Arctic conditions were often highly favourable for something like three decades, there were intermittent periods during the early years of World War 2 when the ice returned, but then abated again.

From page 5 of the ‘Arctic Circular’ comes this observation;

"The warming of the arctic seas has profoundly affected marine life. The Irminger Current, that branch of the Gulf Stream which washes the south western part of Greenland’s west coast, can now be traced as far north as Melville Bay. The increase in sea temperature of Greenland waters, varying from 5 to 8 degrees F., has brought the Atlantic Cod and the halibut, besides numerous other Atlantic fishes to Greenland, so that today the fishing banks off the west coast are among the richest in the world. At the same time many arctic marine animals, including the beluga or white whale, the arctic cod and the capelin, to mention only a few, have retreated north.”

It also notes the harsh conditions in 1946 and 1947 and the exceptionally ice free conditions in 1948 on Page 17;

"Throughout the north mean temperatures were well above normal for the months of June and July except in the area of coastal and south-eastern Labrador (North East Canada). The highest temperatures recorded were in many cases 10 to 20 degrees (F) higher than the mean maximum computed over a considerable period of years. Arctic Bay (Canada) with a normal mean maximum of 510 F in July, reported a maximum temperature of 680 F and a mean temperature of 46°F as compared with the normal mean of 43°F. Nottingham Island with a mean maximum temperature of 490 F for July and a mean of’ 42°F reported a mean of 49 degrees F and a maximum of 680 F.” (Mention is also made of very icy conditions in 1941)

And this;

"In this connection it is interesting to note that the amount of water released by the melting of glaciers has already caused a measurable increase in the level of the Oceans.”

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 01:49 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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