This Winter Weather- Blog #2: James F.

James Fang 

01/16/14

This winter has been a freakishly cold one for the U.S. For the month of December, 67% of the country was covered with an average of 3.6 inches of snow. Compared to the same time last year, we have seen a 258% increase from only 26% of the country covered in 1.6 inches of snow. It may be due to the famed El Niño or La Niña currents. But another popular speculative theory is global warming.

It is ironic that global warming would involve the cooling of climate. Here is the process: Earth’s climate is mainly regulated by its ocean currents or the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). This is caused by the varying degrees in water temperature and salinization. Cold, salty water is more dense and tends to sink, thus causing the movement that makes a current. However, the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps from global warming inputs vast amounts of freshwater. 

This would alter the density of the oceans and could drastically change the behavior of ocean currents, resulting in sharp changes in climate. More specifically, continuing on this pattern, the northern hemisphere, including most of the world’s population, would experience a cooling of climate (bordering on freezing), and the southern hemisphere would experience a warming of climate. This could be the beginning of one of Earth’s major climate shifts.

Masters, Jeffery. Ph.D. — Director of Meteorology, Weather Underground, Inc."The Science of Abrupt Climate Change: Should We Be Worried?" The Science of Abrupt Climate Change. Weather Underground, n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. <http://www.wunderground.com/resources/climate/abruptclimate.asp?MR=1>

Daniel, Matt. "U.S. Snow and Ice in 2013 Compared to 2012." EarthSky. N.p., 09 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://earthsky.org/earth/u-s-snow-and-ice-2013-compared-to-2012>