tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post2000661839522550147..comments2024-03-28T23:07:35.632-07:00Comments on Cliff Mass Weather Blog: Olympic Snowpack is 39,100 Percent of Normal!Cliff Mass Weather Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13948649423540350788noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-37976303921682187412011-06-29T15:26:01.509-07:002011-06-29T15:26:01.509-07:00Landslides at Mt Rainier this weekend. http://mou...Landslides at Mt Rainier this weekend. http://mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/2011/06/large-rock-avalanches-on-nisqually.htmlJenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08219825964164666489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-2984881797505884762011-06-27T10:01:01.651-07:002011-06-27T10:01:01.651-07:00John McBride,
I'll help answer your questions,...John McBride,<br />I'll help answer your questions, to which Prof. Mass can add if he sees fit.<br /><br />1. Your thinking is on the right track. Glaciers move slow enough that we humans often perceive them as static, when in fact there are in constant flux. They are a visual representation of a balance between several different variables in the climate. (as a side note, they all have varying degrees of <i>lag</i> in that representation).<br />As they are always changing, then yes, you are thinking along the correct lines. Gradual, rather than extreme, change in summer and winter weather can work together to significantly change the size of glaciers. Feedback loops (like the albedo affect you mentioned) can reinforce change in the cooling/advancing direction. There are also counteractive forces though, that tend to limit glaciers from advancing, say, all the way down into the Puget Sound. You need global change rather than local climate change to affect an ice age.<br /><br />2. The geologic floods you reference are most likely the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missoula_Floods" rel="nofollow"> Glacial Lake Missoula outburst floods </a>. These repeating floods were caused by an ice dam rather than seasonal weather. I encourage you to read about these floods, as they are one of the more sensational stories in earth's history.Jonn-Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03526663018827394129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-48717893258508017582011-06-27T09:53:57.669-07:002011-06-27T09:53:57.669-07:00MimiTabby,
Just google my name and email and you...MimiTabby,<br /> Just google my name and email and you will get it my email...cliffCliff Mass Weather Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13948649423540350788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-70660105008205524512011-06-27T08:15:02.451-07:002011-06-27T08:15:02.451-07:00on my way to Darrington friday we saw some amazing...on my way to Darrington friday we saw some amazing clouds. One that really struck me was a lenticular that appeared above a big fluffy one. (thunder cloud?) by the time i got my camera out and took a picture, the upthrusting white clouds had gone through the lenticular. if you would like to see a photo, send me your email addressMimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062266088887216663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-50131594968816418422011-06-26T10:05:59.435-07:002011-06-26T10:05:59.435-07:00You provide such good info on weather - I find mys...You provide such good info on weather - I find myself often recommending your blog.<br />But would you please consider adding an "about" section? It would add credibility. People have suggest you may not know what you are writing about - "what id he's just a student... etc".<br /><br />Thanks for writing!<br />I read every post even though I'm at the edge of your forecasts.Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12452842332549541201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-33176766769190228112011-06-25T16:41:09.446-07:002011-06-25T16:41:09.446-07:00Absolutely typical for wind power: lots when you d...Absolutely typical for wind power: lots when you don't need it, bupkis when you do. <br /><br />Pull that plug now.Brian Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17895289104798325252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-73590202670188196292011-06-25T13:49:35.043-07:002011-06-25T13:49:35.043-07:00Cliff, I'm not suggesting that this IS happeni...Cliff, I'm not suggesting that this IS happening, nor that it will, but I am posing a serious question formed entirely from lack of information.<br /><br />The question is, in many words, I always labored under the belief that ice ages owed to "cold" in the sense of cold springs and summers, and colder autumns and winters.<br /><br />But is it possible, maybe even just in part, that a small shift in climate, such as we're witnessing right now in our region, but for a decade and longer, could result in the accumulation of snow sufficient to build glaciers, and then ice fields, and advancing ice?<br /><br />Does it really take an extreme shift in weather to make an ice age, or can an ice age over areas of our hemisphere be the result of "cooler" late springs with late snowfall, some of which at elevation survives owing to greater cloud cover and somewhat cooler temperatures.<br /><br />Eventually of course, if snow does survive, then more sunlight is reflected which could act to increase additional accumulation, but that's a separate issue from my basic pondering.<br /><br />And the floods we're witnessing, while historically large relative to modern humanity, are nothing compared to those in the Northwest in geologic time. Could those events have some basis in similar, "late snow accumulations" melted by subsequent "hot(ter)" summer sun?<br /><br />Being the novice I pose that I'm the student not afraid to ask a question even at the risk of it being a foolish question.John McBridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09503331313775640577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-33420752274823195522011-06-25T08:23:21.044-07:002011-06-25T08:23:21.044-07:00SMR and Kiwibru...thanks so much for your correcti...SMR and Kiwibru...thanks so much for your corrections...I shouldn't do these blog when I am sleep deprived...let me know if I missed anything else!..cliffCliff Mass Weather Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13948649423540350788noreply@blogger.com