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Red In Fall Leaves – Chemical Warfare?
October 10, 2005 Hamilton, New York - Colgate University biology professor, Frank Frey, and graduate student, Maggie Eldridge, report new research about trees that produce red leaves, such as maples and oaks, that might be trying to destroy all other tree seeds in the area.
"Foliage changes color in autumn when chlorophyll in leaf cells (green color) breaks down and exposes the pigments that remain, such as carotenoid pigments which appear yellow or orange. But the story is different for maples and a handful of other trees whose leaves turn scarlet. The anthocyanin pigments in maple foliage are actually manufactured by the trees - rather than simply revealed - at a time of year when the organisms can't afford to use up a lot of metabolic energy for such a complex process."
Part 1: Beam Lifted Body Near Ft. Stewart, Georgia
October 7, 2005 Savannah and Hinesville, Georgia - Glowing beams which can lift and lower people have also been described in the modern age of the human abduction syndrome that was first reported in the 1960s. Army Lt. Col. Philip J. Corso (Ret.) wrote in his best-selling book, The Day After Roswell, that the U. S. government knew by the 1950s that extraterrestrials were mutilating animals, abducting humans and interfering with military weapons and communication systems.
Part 2: Beam Lifted Body Near Ft. Stewart, Georgia
Return to Part 1
April 1974, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Georgia – Body Lifted In Light Beam
DS: “I think it was April 1974.”
Howe: “So several months later.”
DS: “Yes. This was in Hinesville, Georgia after I had been reassigned to Fort Stewart. My wife and I would usually go out to a drive-in on the weekend and take our baby. I don’t even remember what the movie was, but I noticed a bright light in the sky about three or four times the size of Venus. It was a very clear night and this bright light seemed to be moving slowly downward and eventually went behind the movie screen. Then my wife said, ‘Are you looking at that light, too?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘I’ve been watching it and it doesn’t seem right.’
“Then it started going through colors from white to red to orange to yellow – like going through multiple shades of each color, stepping through the color spectrum. Then it turned white again and made a clockwise square. It looked like it was drawing a square in the sky. And it made this square three or four times.
“Then it just stopped like it was hovering above the trees. And then this blue light about the color of a police car’s blue emergency light came from underneath in a beam. The beam descended toward the ground slowly like a well-defined column of light.”
Howe: “Sort of like the way an old-fashioned telescope would extend?”
DS: “Yes, like it would telescope out as a solid beam all the way down, but you could see it moving.”
Howe: “In other words, it looked like light, but it had a solid, cylindrical shape to it that maintained structure and seemed to move out as if it were some kind of solid body that was moving?”
DS: “Right. And it looked like a spotlight in fog. You could see that beam – it had definition. The blue edge of the ‘cylinder’ didn’t diffuse out. It looked solid.”
Howe: “And did that strike you at the time, not knowing anything else about it, as being like anything you had ever seen light do before?”
DS: “No! No! That was pretty marvelous. I told my wife, ‘That is neat – shooting down a beam like that!’ The beam went down toward the ground and the bottom of the beam disappeared below the tree line. Then within a couple of seconds, the top of the beam that came out of the craft or whatever – it started descending toward the ground also. I thought that was really strange because you can’t take a flashlight and shine a beam and detach the beam from the flashlight.”
Howe: “So it was almost as if a cone of light literally detached itself from the bright light?”
DS: “Yes. That cylindrical beam actually detached itself from the craft out there and went down toward the ground behind the trees.
“Then within a few seconds, a very bright, pure white light beam shot up from the ground to the bottom center of the craft. It had the same shape and dimensions as the blue beam and it moved the same way, only in reverse and much faster. Once the top of the white beam made contact with the bottom of the craft, it began to telescope toward the craft becoming shorter and shorter.
“While my wife and I were watching the white beam go up to the craft, we saw something inside the beam that reminded me of a person with arms and legs spread-eagled, tumbling and turning slowly inside that light. Have you ever seen a laser show?”
Howe: “Yes.”
DS: “And when the laser beam hits something, it sparkles?”
Howe: “Right.”
DS: “Well, this thing that was tumbling inside that white beam was also sparkling like when a laser sparkles off something. And as this person or thing was tumbling and rotating inside the light beam, the beam which had a distinct bottom to it continued upward until it disappeared inside the craft. Then the object just stayed there hovering, motionless and silent.
“My wife and I left the theater to get a closer look. That day I had been working on an Escape and Survival Course for my soldiers and had maps and compasses in the trunk of my car. We drove to seventeen different locations where I shot direction azimuths to the object and entered the information on my map. All the lines converged at a point on the ground. So, I knew we weren’t looking at a star. It had to be something that was near the earth.”
Howe: “How far do you think it was from you at the movie theater to have seen this object tumbling upward in the light?”
DS: “Half a mile or less. …I was close enough that I could distinguish appendages on the thing that was inside the beam. I saw at least four. I’m not absolutely certain it was a person, but it reminded me of an asterisk. I could clearly see separate appendages and I could clearly see that this tumbling thing was positioned in the center of the beam.”
Howe: “And how long was the beam compared to your fingers at arm’s length distance?”
DS: “Well, the craft was above the trees, so I would say that the beam was probably somewhere around 200 feet long.”
Howe: “And in that area where the light was hovering, what kind of land is it?”
DS: “It’s a mixture of swamp, bog and pasture-type land with heavy trees in the middle where the light beam would have been. Half a mile from there, the trees would have thinned out pretty much.”Howe: Were there any people living where that beam of light seemed to be?”
DS: “On the PICTO map that I used to plot azimuths to the object, there was a farm indicated about half a mile away. I remember specifically thinking about people and wondering if that was a person in the beam.”
Howe: “Were you able, using your 17 different azimuth locations, to drive to exactly the spot where you thought this occurred?”
DS: “I couldn’t drive right to it because of the trees I told you about.”
Howe: “Did your wife say anything that night about seeing anything in the beam?”
DS: “Yes, she saw something peculiar in the beam. I had a very intense interest in the object and I wanted to keep looking at it and observing it and trying to get closer to it. However, the closer we got to the object, the more frightened my wife became. She told me that her intuition was telling her not to get any closer to the object and that it was very bad. And she wanted to go home.
“I talked her into going to one last location for a final azimuth reading at the Fort Stewart Ammunition Storage Area. Almost as soon as we arrived, a Military Police Unit pulled up, put a spotlight on us and ordered us out of our car with our hands up! When I got out, one of the MPs recognized me and asked what I was doing. I said, ‘Me and my wife and my little baby are here and we’re looking at the light up there. We’ve been watching it do strange stuff.’
“At this point, one of the MPs became afraid or concerned. He said he didn’t want to be around there because he had had an experience before with a light that interfered with his 2-way radio and made his car quit. And he said, ‘I know who you are now and I’m getting out of here.’
“And just before they left, I saw a smaller light that I thought was a NORAD interceptor go check out that craft. And as we watched, it came fast like a fighter jet and as it got closer, I said, ‘Oh, man, it’s headed right for it. Maybe it’s going to shoot at him!’ It got real close to the light and slowed down and merged with the big light. And I said, ‘Oops, look at that!’ And the MP said, ‘Yeah, we’re definitely getting out of here!’ And the four MPs got in their car and left.”
Howe: “So four MPs, you and your wife with the baby – six adults watched the smaller white light that might be a NORAD interceptor merge with the large light?”
DS: “Right.”
Howe: “And the four MPs – all they wanted to do was leave the scene?”
DS: “Right.”
Howe: “This is a military base and these are four MPs and you are in Special Operations Group – would not the normal, logical thing have been to want to identify what it was that had happened and to report to the highest authority possible?”
DS: “Well, that’s what I wanted to do. In fact, I did report it. I went to talk with someone at the Fort Stewart Headquarters Staff. I was relating the story to them and they were kind of like, ‘Yeah, well, sure, thanks, see you later.’ I also remember them saying, ‘It was probably swamp gas. It was probably a balloon.’ And I told them, ‘Look, I’m a pilot. I have over a thousand hours in combat flying. I’ve seen just about everything there is to see in the air. I can tell you that it wasn’t a balloon, it wasn’t swamp gas. I can tell you everything that it was not, but I can’t tell you what it was.’ It was clear they wanted me out of the office, so my wife and I left.
“The next thing was that I went to the NORAD site at Hunter Army Air Field.”
Howe: “What was your intent in going there?”
DS: “Two things. I wanted to report it, but I was also curious what was going on because of the way people were reacting.”
Howe: “Like it was nothing.”
DS: “Yeah!”
Howe: “This is a NORAD facility that has an underground installation and you knew its business was to track objects with special radar equipment?”
DS: “Yeah. NORAD is supposed to be a radar network that provides advance warning in the event that our air space is intruded upon by any unknown or hostile force. NORAD has very powerful radar, and if something is in the air, they see it. If they detect some unknown object, they will scramble interceptors to take a closer look and engage with weapons, if necessary.”
Howe: “And did anyone, including your wife, know that you were going to that NORAD office?”
DS: “No.”
Howe: “You just decided to do this on the spur of the moment?”
DS: “Yes.”
Howe: “You drive up and what happened?”DS: “I drove up into the parking lot and got out of the car. I’d never been there before. There were three buildings and I didn’t know where to go. Then this Air Force Colonel came out of one of the buildings, walked right over to me and introduced himself. He had come out in such a hurry that he left his hat inside. He was smiling and extended his hand for a handshake. He said, ‘What can we do for you?’ That really took me back because he was a Colonel and I was a junior officer. He was acting like he wanted to be buddy buddy. And I told him about the thing I saw in the sky near Ft. Stewart, the area it was in and the direction it moved off to.”
Howe: “Did you describe the beams and the object in it and everything?”
DS: “Yes. And the Colonel said, ‘That’s pretty interesting. Let’s go see what we’ve got.’ So he takes me inside that Top Secret facility and he doesn’t know me from Adam. I’ve never met him before and I wasn’t cleared for any of that stuff. No one asked me for my ID which was highly unusual. He just walked in with me past the special security officer to a large work area with a lot of people sitting at work stations. Then the Colonel said, ‘Hey, gang, this is Chief Smith here – he’s interested in something that he saw the other night.’
“We went from that room into a back room that was blacked out. There were large Plexiglas type screens with glowing symbols on them. Another group of people were working in this room. The Colonel again introduced me, ‘This is Chief Smith and he wants to know about the thing the other night. So, run the tape.’ They ran a tape for me. When it finished, the Colonel said, ‘See there was nothing there.’ Course, I wouldn’t have known what I was looking at anyway because that wasn’t my job and I didn’t know anything about it.
“Then he escorted me back outside and said, ‘Appreciate your coming down and glad we could be of service.’ Small talk.
“The Colonel went back inside the building and I was very puzzled about what had just transpired. Then a guy I knew from the bowling league came out. He was some kind of Sergeant. He had a lot of stripes. He said, ‘Hey, I need to tell you something but we can’t talk now. Leave and come back to this parking lot after you see fifteen cars leave. Come back. It’s important!’
“So I did what he told me to and when I came back, he came out to my car looking all around as if he thought he might be watched. He said, ‘Look, I can’t really talk out here. You need to get going before someone comes back and sees us talking. It’s not good for you to be here. I just wanted you to know because I know you’re from the league and you look like a nice guy. What you saw the other night was real. You really saw that and I wanted you to know so you wouldn’t think you’re going nuts or something. I can’t tell you anything more about it. And don’t come back here anymore.’ It wasn’t like he didn’t have the information. I realized he wasn’t allowed to tell me. I thanked him and left.”
Howe: “And no other follow up from anybody? No one else came to debrief you? No one else came to warn you?”
DS: “No. In fact I called an Air Force office in a last effort to communicate. I told them I wanted to report an unidentified flying object. The guy on the phone said, ‘I really don’t have time for this.’ I asked, ‘Don’t you guys care about this? I thought you were required to take reports.’
“Then he said, ‘OK, give me the information.’ So I told him and it was like I was really bothering him and he was doing me a big favor to listen. I don’t know what they did with it. I never had anyone else talk to me.”
Howe: “Do you personally have any doubt that we’re dealing with a non-human intelligence?”
DS: “No.”
More Information:
For further information, please see my books: An Alien Harvest; the 2-volume Glimpses of Other Realities; and my documentaries A Strange Harvest and Strange Harvests 1993 now available in DVD format in the Earthfiles Shop.
Also, see Earthfiles Archive for beam technology and other high strangeness reports such as those listed below:
- 02/02/2010 —Part 3: Highest Strangeness – Body Containers
- 01/30/2010 —Letters to Editor About High Strangeness Phenomena
- 01/28/2010 —Part 1: Highest Strangeness UFO Cases in Scotland
- 01/28/2010 —Part 2: Highest Strangeness UFO Cases in Scotland
- 07/12/2009 —Mysterious Aerial Lights Mimicking Stars in Texas and Oregon
- 06/09/2009 —Update Podcast: Aerial Lights That Mimic Stars, Helicopters and Airplanes
- 05/26/2009 —Part 9: High Strangeness Files about EBENs
- 03/27/2009 —Part 4: Unusual Animal Deaths – March 21st Walsenburg Cow
- 11/21/2008 —Colorado State Patrol Officer Encountered UFO and “Human” Stranger
- 11/17/2008 —Part 4: Morphing UFO Over Levittown, PA – Scientific Research
- 10/30/2008 —More Encounters with Glowing Humanoids, Green Orbs, Strange Aerial Lights and “Thunderbirds”
- 10/10/2008 —Part 1: Two Pennsylvania Hunters Encountered Strange Lights and Lime Green, Glowing Humanoid on Oct. 4
- 10/03/2008 —Mother and Son Watched Cow Rise In Golden-Orange Beam to Disc
- 09/29/2008 —Half Cat and Other Animal Mutilations Around the World and East of Palm Springs, California
- 08/26/2008 —Update: Earthfiles Viewer Comments About UFOs and 14th Century Black Death
- 08/22/2008 —UFOs and 14th Century Black Death
- 07/13/2008 —Part 6: Insights from An Experiencer with Greys and Blond Humanoids
- 07/12/2008 —Updated – Part 2: Roswell Rock Matches August 2, 1996, U. K. Crop Pattern
- 07/11/2008 —Updated – Part 1: Roswell Rock Matches August 2, 1996, U. K. Crop Pattern
- 07/09/2008 —Part 5: Insights from An Experiencer with Greys and Blond Humanoids
- 06/27/2008 —More Military Sightings of UFOs in U. K.
- 06/26/2008 —Part 4: Insights from An Experiencer with Greys and Blond Humanoids
- 06/15/2008 —Part 3: Insights from An Experiencer with Greys and Blond Humanoids
- 06/13/2008 —Part 2: Insights from An Experiencer with Greys and Blond Humanoids
- 06/06/2008 —Updated: Mysterious Crash Near Needles, California
- 05/22/2008 —Pregnant Cow Mutilation in Stockholm, Saskatchewan, Canada
- 05/20/2008 —High Strangeness in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
- 04/29/2008 —Part 1: Insights from An Experiencer with Greys and Blond Humanoids
- 04/06/2008 —Final Part 10: Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 04/02/2008 —Part 9 – Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/30/2008 —Part 8 – Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/28/2008 —Deer Mutilation in Longs, South Carolina, Two Helicopters and Large, White Sphere
- 03/20/2008 —Part 7 – Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/15/2008 —Part 6 – Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/08/2008 —Part 5: Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/04/2008 —Part 4: Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/03/2008 —Updated Part 1: Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/02/2008 —Part 2: Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 03/02/2008 —Part 3: Real X-File, Source Unknown
- 02/22/2008 —Updated: Three Eyewitnesses in Selden, Texas, Saw Two, Large Rectangles of “White Flames” in Sky
- 02/22/2008 —Abductee Jim Sparks Comments On Alien Symbol Technology
- 02/14/2008 —Update: Mysterious Symbols Projected in Night Sky by Aerial Disc Near Stephenville, Texas, Local Airport
- 02/08/2008 —Law Officers Describe Unidentified Shape-Shifting Aerial Craft in Stephenville, Texas, Region
- 01/28/2008 —Updated 01-28-08: Viewer Letters About Aerial Craft and Military Flyovers Above Dublin, Stephenville and Selden, Texas
- 01/18/2008 —Updated: Huge Aerial Craft Over Dublin, Texas, “Longer Than 3 Football Fields”
- 11/08/2007 — More Unusual Animal Deaths
- 10/31/2007 —Part 5: Elk Hunter Meets Non-Human
- 10/29/2007 — Part 4: Elk Hunter Meets Non-Human
- 10/25/2007 —Part 3: Elk Hunter Meets Non-Human
- 10/17/2007 —Updated: Half Cat Mutilations Persist in San Antonio, Texas
- 10/14/2007 —Part 2: Elk Hunter Meets Non-Human
- 10/08/2007 —Part 1: Elk Hunter Meets Non-Human
- 09/28/2007 — Earthfiles Mail About Cat Mutilations
- 09/26/2007 —Neatly Sliced Front Third of 14 Cats Found in Granbury, Texas
- 08/17/2007 —Two Bulls and Several Cows Dead and Mutilated in Manitoba, Canada
- 08/01/2007 —Part 3, Non-Human Blonds, Greys and Big-Nosed, Cat-Eyed Lizards
- 07/31/2007 —Part 2, Non-Human Blonds, Greys and Big-Nosed, Cat-Eyed Lizards
- 07/26/2007 —Part 1, Non-Human Blonds, Lizards and Big-Nosed, Cat-Eyed Greys
- 07/13/2007 —Iowa Minister Reports Large “Crab/Scorpion” Creature Attacked Cow
- 05/29/2007 —Final Part 7: Eyewitness Links Animal Mutilations to Non-Humans
- 05/13/2007 —Part 6: Eyewitness Links Animal Mutilations to Non-Humans
- 01/02/2007 —Grey Aerial Disk Reported by Chicago O’Hare United Airlines Pilots and Mechanics
- 11/24/2006 —Scientific Data Supports Theory That Mutilated Montana Cow Dropped from Sky and Bounced
- 10/19/2006 —Another Cattle Mutilation in Pondera County, Montana
- 10/02/2006 —Unusual Deaths of Six Female Goats in White Salmon, Washington
- 09/29/2006 —Manipulation of Time and Matter by Non-Humans: The Experiences of Jim Sparks
- 07/28/2006 —1940s USAF Flight Surgeon’s Account of E. T. Autopsy
- 07/17/2006 —Area 29 – A Reverse Engineering Center of E. T. Technology?
- 07/01/2006 —Cattle Mutilation and Glowing Discs in Saskatchewan, Canada
- 06/30/2006 —Celestial Secrets: The Hidden History of the Fatima Cover-Up
- 06/29/2006 —Another Horse Suspended in the Air
- 06/28/2006 —Half Cats in Destin, Florida, and Beheaded Animals in Rochester, N. Y.
- 06/22/2006 —Horse Suspended in Mid-Air Near Milan, Italy, Apartment
- 06/13/2006 —Mysterious Triangle-Shaped Welts and Bruises
- 04/28/2006 —Modern Warfare Applied to Extra-Terrestrial Invasion
- 04/03/2006 —Genetic Harvest in Cimarron, New Mexico?
- 02/27/2006 —Part 4: Military Voices Reply About Government Interaction with UFOs
- 02/17/2006 —Updated: White Sands Navy Radar Operator Saw Discs Circle V-2 Rocket Launches
- 01/27/2006 —Part 2: Navy Physicist and USAF Geophysicist Discuss UFOs and ETs
- 01/13/2006 —31st Cattle Mutilation on Red Bluff, California Ranch
- 10/22/2005 —A Lifting Beam Technology in Colorado Human Abduction
- 10/07/2005 —Part 1: Beam Technology Lifted Body Near Ft. Stewart, Georgia
- 10/07/2005 —Part 2: Beam Technology Lifted Body Near Ft. Stewart, Georgia
- 08/13/2005 —Mystery of Bloodless, Decapitated Kangaroos in Melbourne, Australia
- 08/11/2005 —Part 4: Two Men See Cow Mutilated in Light Beam
- 07/07/2005 —Part 2: Eyewitness Description of Cattle Mutilation
- 06/23/2005 —Updated: More Than 3,000 Unusual Animal Deaths Reported in Argentina and Chile Since 2002
- 12/04/2004 —Part 1: “Peculiar Phenomena,” V-2 Rockets – and UFOB Retaliation?
- 02/26/2003 —Part 3 – Corguinho, Brazil: Return from the Non-Human Craft on September 18, 2002
- 02/25/2003 —Part 2 – Corguinho, Brazil: Inside the Non-Human Craft from September 15 – 18, 2002
Websites:
Majestic 12 Documents: http://www.majesticdocuments.com
MUFON: http://www.mufon.com/
American Presidents: http://www.presidentialufo.com
Physicist David Bohm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bohm
Bruce Maccabee, Ph.D.: http://brumac.8k.com/publications.html
Coalition for Freedom of Information: http://www.freedomofinfo.org/
UFO Evidence: http://www.ufoevidence.org/welcome.asp
UFO Casebook: http://www.ufocasebook.com/
NUFORC: http://www.nuforc.org/
Warmer Sea Surfaces and Increased Wind Power Are Making Hurricanes Stronger
“The data shows between 1990 and 2005 that the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in all six basins (of the world) increased, roughly doubling in number over that time.”
– Tom Knutson, NOAA Research Meteorologist
October 7, 2005 Princeton, New Jersey – This week a research scientist at NOAA’s Climate Diagnostics Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder, talked to me about the latest Atlantic Ocean surface temperatures he has analyzed. Dr. Klaus Wolter told me that in August 2005, before Hurricane Katrina hit land on August 29, the Gulf of Mexico sea surface temperatures were the warmest on record going back a hundred years.Click for report.
Part 4: Retrievals of the Third Kind – A Case Study of Alleged UFOs and Occupants in Military Custody
“Stars” That Move In Patterns
October 3, 2005 Chattanooga, Tennessee - John Dotson was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on October 16, 1953. By the time he was fourteen years old around Labor Day in 1967, he and his parents had moved to Jackson, Michigan. During 1966 to 1967, hundreds of people had reported unidentified flying objects in the Michigan skies. House Minority Leader, Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich, was so concerned about all the UFO sightings that on March 25, 1966, he broadcast the following statement on national radio:
2005 Horse Mutilation in France
October 3, 2005 Fessey, Haute-Saone, France - This past weekend I received a translation of a French television news report about a July 8, 2005, unusual mutilation of a horse in Fessey, Haute-Saone, France. The following is the August 7, 2005, France3-TV text with images, as provided:
Part 3: Retrievals of the Third Kind – A Case Study of Alleged UFOs and Occupants in Military Custody
“Some of the general information known to my informant concerns Wright-Patterson’s storage of an intact UFO and parts of damaged UFOs and the preservation of dead alien bodies under glass in special refrigerated conditions. The Major also reportedly said, ‘We have the proof that UFOs are extraterrestrial.'”
– Source: Son of USAF Major, Wright-Patterson AFB
Return to Part 1
To be more computer-friendly, the reprint has been divided into parts. Here begins Part 3 of Status Report I, written July 29, 1978. The series of status reports, I through VII, were written by Leonard H. Stringfield from 1978 to 1994. Previous Status Report II begins at Earthfiles. Leonard Stringfield died on December 18, 1994. For all the previous status reports, see Earthfiles Archives.
Leonard H. Stringfield:
“ABSTRACT 8
With the help of Lou Farish of MUFON, I got the phone number of Cecil Tenney, age 78, in Delta, Colorado, and called him March 7, 1978. I wanted to hear for myself his testimony relative to his alleged observation in 1953 near Dutton, Montana, of a low-level UFO in distress, or a malfunctioning condition. I also wanted to know what he experienced during U. S. Air Force interrogation and what he saw at the Great Falls AFB, which he believed were the recovered dead alien bodies (from the crash).Click for report.
2005 Arctic Summer Ice Melt – Largest On Record
“If we look at the changes in the Arctic we’ve been talking about, we’ve just been flabbergasted at the rapidity of the changes.”
– Mark Serreze, Ph.D., National Snow and Ice Data Center
September 29, 2005 Boulder, Colorado – One increasingly important subject for everyone on Earth is global warming and the consequence of more intense storms in some regions, growing drought in others and the rapid melting of ice from mountain glaciers and the Antarctic which cause sea level rise.
Now this week comes news from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, that the Arctic ice which floats at the North Pole melted to its smallest size – ever! – in records going back for at least a century.
Since the big north polar cap ice floats, its melting does not contribute to sea level rise. But why it’s melting so much is directly linked to global warming and an annual trend toward warmer temperatures in the Arctic. Permafrost is melting, roads are buckling, houses are sinking and polar bears are faced with extinction, since those mighty animals work from the ice to feed off fish and seals. This summer of 2005, so much Arctic ice melted that ships could travel through both the North East and North West passages. Based on the hard data of water and air temperatures that continue to rise each summer, current computer models for the Arctic indicate that there will be no ice at all during Arctic summers in another sixty years, around 2070. Some scientists even wonder if the Arctic ice melt is happening so rapidly that the hands on the computer clock have to be moved back, maybe to only three or four decades from now.
This week I talked with Mark Serreze, Ph.D., about the persistent and increasing Arctic summer ice melt, especially the trend established in the past four years. Dr. Serreze has been a research scientist for fifteen years at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Interview:
Mark Serreze, Ph.D., Research Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center, CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado: “In the past four years, that downward trend has radically accelerated: 2002, 2003, 2004 as well as 2005 we saw extreme losses of Arctic sea ice cover. It turns out that 2005 sets a new record in this satellite era. We can compare this to the record we had previously in 2002. This was about 5.6 million square kilometers of the Arctic ocean covered by ice at that time. Compared to 2005, which is about 5.3 million square kilometers. That difference is about the size of the state of Colorado, which is a fairly large change.
But even more spectacular, if we look at 2005 as compared to the long-term average what we would expect from an average conditions we find that the amount of ice that we lost in 2005 is roughly equal to the size of Alaska; or twice the size of Texas.
THEN 2005 HAD THE LARGEST MELT OF ARCTIC ICE ON RECORD?
Yes, from what we can tell. One of the things we also know is that the length of the melting in the Arctic has increased and it appears that the duration of the melt in 2005 has also been extremely remarkable. That explains the losses of ice we’ve been seeing. There are many things that can influence the sea ice we know the winds blow the sea ice from place to place. The ice is not a static slab that just sits there. The winds blow it around. The oceans have an influence. But if we look at the big picture is what we find is that the Arctic is simply warming up and that helps us to understand why we are seeing these big reductions in sea ice.
More Dark Water Increases Heating and Ice Melt
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE MELTING OF THE ICE, WHICH IS WHITE, THAT EXACERBATES THE WARMING?
Sea ice is A very reflective white which means it reflects most of the sun’s energy right back to space. What has been happening is a reduction in the area of Arctic Ocean covered by sea ice, so that exposes areas of open ocean dark colored open ocean instead of white ice. Now in those dark ocean areas, those can absorb a great deal of the sun’s energy. We start to have a situation where we absorb more sun energy in the ocean. The oceans start to heat up. If the oceans heat up, that means it’s harder to grow ice the following fall and winter. So the ice we get the next spring and summer tends to be thinner and not as much of it. That means more can disappear that next summer, leaving more open, dark water, meaning more absorption of heat, more ice melts and so on. A vicious cycle, if you will, but something we call a positive feedback.
This is one of the processes we think is starting to kick in the Arctic that helps us explain some of these big reductions in the Arctic sea ice.
IF THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOUR YEARS IN A ROW AND THE LIKELIHOOD IS NEXT YEAR AND THE YEARS AFTER THAT THE ARCTIC ICE WILL MELT EACH SUMMER, DOES THAT MEAN THE COMPUTER MODEL PROJECTION THAT THE ARCTIC WILL BE ENTIRELY ICE FREE DURING THE SUMMER WILL BE MUCH EARLIER THAN 2070?
It’s possibly could happen earlier. Yeah. It’s hard to say. One of the things we know are that the computer models are the very best representations of how the climate system works. But they certainly are imperfect. And one of the real problems is that in the Arctic there are complex processes that are difficult to incorporate properly into the numerical models. The feedback involving the sea ice and the oceans warming this is one of the very things that these sorts of models have in dealing with them. So, there are uncertainties here. Could it happen earlier? Could the ice be gone earlier than some of the models project? Certainly. Might it be later than some of these models project? That could be as well. But I think the general picture is that there is a pretty decent agreement now between what the models are saying and what the observations are saying.
Consequences of Summer Arctic Ice Melt
WHAT IS THE DOWNSIDE OF LOSING THE ARCTIC ICE IN THE SUMMER?
It depends on how you want to look at it. In terms of local effects, certainly there are going to be a lot of influences. One would be coastal erosion. Already you are seeing villages in coastal Siberia and Alaska that are having to be evacuated or moved because of coastal erosion. What’s happening here is that as you lose that sea ice cover, you expose the open ocean and much larger waves can form. The winds can blow over the open water, cause large waves and coastal erosion results. The effect is exacerbated, at least locally, by the fact that in some areas, permafrost is starting to melt. Permafrost is perennially frozen ground. You can think of it as the glue that holds the soil together. The permafrost is starting to warm and melt and that goes hand in hand with coastal erosion. That’s one thing, a local problem.
Also, certainly in terms of people who live there and the animals who live there. Some people are saying now that in the next century polar bears might become extinct, for example, because the polar bears require that sea ice to live on. Their livelihoods are based on that ice world.
Those are things that happen in the Arctic itself. A bigger question is: how might changes in the Arctic translate to changes in the mid-latitudes, to places in the United States, England and Russia? How might the Arctic changes effect the climate there? These are one of the things we have to be careful about in terms of surprises.
Could there be a surprise that we’re not ready for? Some large scale reorganization of the atmospheric circulation, for example, that all of a sudden that places the southwestern United States in a long-term drought. In fact, there have been long-term climate model simulations that show just that. That’s one example of the sorts of things that might happen.
Will that happen will we see drought in the southwestern U. S. associated with a changing Arctic? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s one example of the sorts of things we have to be aware of and be ready for.
Melting More Rapid Than Expected?
SOME SCIENTISTS I HAVE INTERVIEWED THIS YEAR HAVE STRESSED THAT IT IS THE RAPIDITY WITH WHICH THE WARMING IS TAKING PLACE THAT SURPRISES THEM. IF THE RAPIDITY INCREASES FROM GLACIER MELTS IN PERU AND HIMALAYAS TO THE ARCTIC ICE, THAT IT MEANS THE CLOCK IN THE COMPUTER MODELS HAS TO BE SPEEDED UP?
That could be true. That could be true. If we look at the changes in the Arctic we’ve been talking about, we’ve just been flabbergasted at the rapidity of the changes. Yeah, maybe we have to set those clocks forward. But the thing you always have to remember is that the Arctic always has been highly variable and always will be highly variable.
WHAT DO YOU PERSONALLY WORRY ABOUT THE MOST FOR THE U. S. FUTURE?
What do I personally worry about most for the U. S. future? I would say ignorance and complacency. We seem to think of the effects of greenhouse warming as something that we don’t have to worry about that maybe our grandchildren will have to worry about it, or maybe their grandchildren. But if you ask me, I think it is something that is starting now. It’s not something that is going to happen far into the future. It’s a problem that’s starting to be felt now and I think it’s the complacency that bothers me. We just let the problem fester until it’s too late to deal with it.
Could Large Arctic Summer Ice Melt Contribute to Hurricane Intensity in Atlantic?
IN THE COMPUTER MODELS, IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN THE INTENSITY OF THE HURRICANES THAT WE ARE SEEING IN WHAT MIGHT BE A NATURAL EARTH CYCLE? THE INTENSITY OF KATRINA EVEN SURPRISED THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Right.
COULD HURRICANE INTENSITY BE LINKED TO THE FACT THAT THE ICE MELT IN THE ARCTIC IN THE SUMMER WAS CHANGING SOME KIND OF GLOBAL INTENSITY OF MOISTURE AND WIND?
the arguments for and against a link between global warming and the increasing intensity and numbers of hurricanes is very controversial at this point very controversial and it’s getting very polarized. From a global warming perspective, from a greenhouse perspective, certainly there are some good arguments there. We think about these hurricanes. What do hurricanes feed on? They feed on warm oceans. The idea is, of course, that if we warm up the planet with greenhouse gases, the oceans warm. That means the oceans have better fuel they can better fuel (hurricanes) with heat and so we could expect stronger, more intense hurricanes.
But we also know that the frequency and intensity of hurricanes does show strong, natural variability. There are strong natural cycles to that and we appear to be in the part of the cycle where it’s particularly warm say, out in the Gulf of Mexico. This gives us much stronger hurricanes.
So, the question is: we understand there is a natural cycle to this, but might we be hitting it with greenhouse gases in such a way that now there is an additional whammy here.
RIGHT.
That’s one of the million dollar questions. You’ll find a lot of very solid scientists saying: ‘No, there is no link between the greenhouse warming and the intensity of hurricanes.’
There are also a number of very good scientists arguing that there IS a link very controversial, a lot of very good people working on it, and hopefully we’ll have some answer to that fairly soon.
COMMON SENSE WOULD SAY THAT IF THE OCEANS ARE WARMING, ARCTIC ICE IS MELTING RAPIDLY, THAT THERE HAS TO BE SOME LINK BETWEEN THE WARMING OF THE OCEANS , HURRICANE INTENSITY, AND THE MELTING OF THE ARCTIC ICE.
That’s right, but a link in terms of both being forced by the same thing both being forced in some way by a greenhouse warming. But you can’t really make the argument that the changes we are seeing in the Arctic have some direct cause and effect link with the hurricanes.
There is no evidence for that that I’m ware of. The evidence is much better that both are responding to the same basic forcing, that is a greenhouse warming.
Solar Cycles Contributing to Global Warming?
I’M ALSO CURIOUS WHAT YOUR PERSPECTIVE IS ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTION AND INFLUENCE OF CYCLES IN THE SUN TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN GLOBAL WARMING?
There is certainly something to it, something to the solar variability. On the one hand, you’ve got a number of scientists who want to brush that under the rug. On the other hand, you have a number of scientists who are saying, ‘No, there are very strong solar influences on our planet.’
I think the best evidence is that there is a link between solar variability and climate. The question is: how strong? It appears that part of the warming we’ve seen in the 20th Century over the globe part of that is due to solar influence. But it seems to be increasingly swamped by the (industrial) greenhouse effect, or at least that’s the argument. But solar variability is not the sort of thing you want to brush under the rug. We need to think about the climate system as a whole. What’s the ultimate driver of the climate system? The sun! The sun is the ultimate driver. So it makes sense that if you’re going to be thinking about climate change, climate variability, the sun is one of the places you want to be looking at as the ultimate driver of the system.
So, there are solar influences on climate. Just how they work, is not quite clear.”
100,000 Year Cycle of Ice Ages on Earth – An Astronomical Link?
The last time the Arctic was as warm, or warmer, that it is now was 130,000 years ago. That was a period between Ice Ages called the Eemian Interglacial. That warmth lasted for about 20,000 years. Then there was a sudden cooling at 110,000 years ago. That cooling went on for about 40,000 years, twice as long as the Eemian warm period. Most of northern Europe and Canada became covered by thick ice sheets because snow and ice never melted.
Then about 60,000 years ago there was another sudden warming that lasted about 30,000 years. That brings us to about 30,000 years ago when the Earth went into another deep freeze in which ice sheets spread across the northern latitudes and is called the Last Glacial Maximum.
Finally about 12,000 years ago, the planet entered another warming phase, which has been going on since and has been intensified the past 100 years by the Industrial Age which has put so much carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere.
What’s fascinating in this global climate research are the somewhat regular cycles of heating and warming before the Industrial Age. that shows over the past 750,000 years of Earth’s history, Ice Ages have occurred at approximately each 100,000 years. And scientists are learning that the 100,000 year cycle might be caused by variations in the shape of the Earth’s elliptical orbit an astronomical cause.
The unstable nature of the Earth’s climate history suggests that it might change suddenly in the future and what some scientists fear is that human greenhouse gases could cause an unstable change we might regret. As Columbia University geophysicist, Wally Broecker, told me: “Climate is an angry beast, and we are poking it with sticks.”
Websites:
NSIDC: http://nsidc.org/news/press/20050928_trendscontinue.html
Polar Bears: http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/