"S'now problem..Really!

Is it over? Is winter really over? It’s been such a weird winter, no one can tell for sure!

 More snow fell in March than at any previous time of this winter-season. Most of it slush, followed by inches of snow followed by rain. High School physical ed students would usually spent a week or so struggling to keep their cross-country skis from crossing as they  spent a half-hour learning their new skill on our nearby athletic field that should be snow-covered, but for most of our winter, looked  more like an area to practice golf shots.

 - - - - - -

Wintertime in 1936

Gone are the days like the “ Blizzard of 1936” while snow storms created  havoc..Snowdrifts were drifted as high as the telephone-wires. Roads, schools, everything halted and waited for that huge county snowplow to slowly force the snow to the side.  

- - - - - -

As much as 70 percent of Alpine snow could disappear by the end of the century as global warming increasingly cuts in on the annual ski season. That’s the conclusion of Swiss researchers in a paper analyzing how much snow could be saved if countries seriously tackle ‘climate change’.

Something's missing!

On the Norwegian island of Svalbard, temperatures were over six degrees warmer than the long-term average and the average temperatures slowly increase. NASA  and NOAA - indicated that 2016 was the warmest year on record.

Even the texture and appearance of ‘snow’ is changing. Stories of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” may  be story-book history. Snow color has been changing in some area.

- - - - - -

Changes in snow cover are caused by pollution from industrial places like China. Dark particles are settling on the snow.This residue  is often a dark soot. Charlie Zender, associate professor of Earth system science at UCI and co-author of  a climatic study states:

Chinese scenery

 “Dark soot can heat  up snow quickly. It’s like placing tiny toaster ovens into the snow pack”. This indirect soot  may have contributed to global warming of the past century, including creating the trend toward early springs.Soot from tailpipes, smoke stacks and forest fires enters the atmosphere and falls to the ground. Soot-infused snow is darker than natural snow and dark surfaces absorb sunlight and cause warming. We  all are aware of the appearance of melted and disappearing road-dirty snow every spring. Snow is changing.

 - - - - - -

Things definitely are changing. In the Nordic area,winter skiers have snow to enjoy until April, but heavy snow-cover is usually found  in the high country and those areas are currently seeing less snow.The northern half of Scandinavia, with the exception of coastal Norway, is a safe bet for snow from December to April. In the populated southern areas, the winters are very different from each other, with either knee-deep snow, slush or bare ground. In the northern resorts, the winter sports season keeps on well into May. Nordic skiers still enjoying the white stuff  at Europe’s resorts this month should enjoy it while it lasts.

In some  areas, skiers have been reporting some strange snow-conditions. White snow is changing color!

- - - - - -

California  and Colorado skiers have become annoyed by brown snow. This has been the result of desert winds

Dustcovered brown snow

that have been blowing sand up from the southwest. All due to our use of ground cover that brings back  memories of the historic Western sand storms  as winds churned up soil from the plowed fields ruining the once-fertile land downwind.

 - - - - - - -

While Coloradans and Californians detest the appearance of brown snow caused by desert winds from the southwest, it’s pink snow we should all be worried about.

- - - - - -

 A  recent climate  report  explains that while pink snow is nothing new, it’s beginning to be a problem. Its rapid growth is a tell-tale sign of climate change and, again, causing melting glaciers across the world.

Pinksnow

Pink Algsae

     But what  is pink snow?
Pink-colored flakes found in the arctic snows are appearing as early spring flowers,  but this pink snow is much like a weed and is actually an algae. In a newly released study, researchers found this brightly colored algae from sixteen separate glaciers from Norway, Greenland, Iceland, and Sweden, is actually causing the ice to melt faster. More dark cover, more retained heat.In turn, this is making the algae expand quicker,  creating a vicious cycle born out of global warming. “The algae need liquid water in order to bloom. Therefore the melting of snow and ice surfaces controls the abundance of the algae". The more melting, the more algae.

- - - - - -

 "With temperatures rising globally, the snow algae phenomenon will likely increase, leading to more heat retained and not reflected away by snow” as stated by climate officials. The algae’s darker color causes the light to be absorbed and this accelerates melting. 

Iceshelf affected by warming

Over 90 percent of the entire Greenland Ice Sheet was affected by surface melting and this will  likely re-occur with increasing frequency in the near future . If  we continue our refusal to accept the facts, we humans are creating the perfect environment for these tiny red( or black) predators to grow and reduce the arctic’s ability to reflect light and keep our planet cool.  European skiers will have to go higher into the mountains  to continue finding snow-covered slopes on which to enjoy and we might have to wear daily ski-masks as they already do in China. Time for action? 

Time to sell our skis?