S.H.E.B.A. – Global Warming

ambience: glacier, waves, ice

Scientists tell us that the polar regions are particularly susceptible to global warming. For the past year, the National Science Foundation and other agencies have conducted a study which looks at the impact of a warming Earth on the Arctic. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.

“Models for how the Earth’s system will respond to increasing greenhouse gas in the atmosphere show the largest response of surface temperature in the Arctic region.”

Dick Moritz is the director of the SHEBA Project Office at the University of Washington. SHEBA stands for the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean. To study the effects of global warming, the project combines satellite data with measurements taken on a research vessel floating in the pack ice of Arctic Ocean.

“Let’s consider a scenario in which a change is introduced in the climate system by man or by some natural process, such that the whole global climate begins to warm up. What we think will happen, based on our current knowledge, is that the pack ice area of the Arctic will decrease because of enhanced melting. As the pack ice retreats and thins, a greater amount of sunlight will be absorbed because open ocean, which is much darker than pack ice, has been exposed. That heating will lead to even further melting and further reductions in the pack ice. If this were to happen, then during the autumn and winter months, the surface of the Arctic Ocean would be very much warmer than it is now. This warming would affect the general circulation of the atmosphere, which ultimately affects the whole globe. So what we’re trying to do is to pin down what this response of the Arctic system really is to this kind of change.”

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the National Science Foundation.

S.H.E.B.A. - Global Warming

The Earth’s polar regions are particularly susceptible to global warming.
Air Date:10/20/1998
Scientist:
Transcript:


ambience: glacier, waves, ice

Scientists tell us that the polar regions are particularly susceptible to global warming. For the past year, the National Science Foundation and other agencies have conducted a study which looks at the impact of a warming Earth on the Arctic. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.

"Models for how the Earth's system will respond to increasing greenhouse gas in the atmosphere show the largest response of surface temperature in the Arctic region."

Dick Moritz is the director of the SHEBA Project Office at the University of Washington. SHEBA stands for the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean. To study the effects of global warming, the project combines satellite data with measurements taken on a research vessel floating in the pack ice of Arctic Ocean.

"Let's consider a scenario in which a change is introduced in the climate system by man or by some natural process, such that the whole global climate begins to warm up. What we think will happen, based on our current knowledge, is that the pack ice area of the Arctic will decrease because of enhanced melting. As the pack ice retreats and thins, a greater amount of sunlight will be absorbed because open ocean, which is much darker than pack ice, has been exposed. That heating will lead to even further melting and further reductions in the pack ice. If this were to happen, then during the autumn and winter months, the surface of the Arctic Ocean would be very much warmer than it is now. This warming would affect the general circulation of the atmosphere, which ultimately affects the whole globe. So what we're trying to do is to pin down what this response of the Arctic system really is to this kind of change."

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the National Science Foundation.