A2 RED DEER ADVOCATE Monday, Nov. 5, 2012
Spring snow pack in Arctic disappearing AT A MUCH FASTER RATE THAN ANTICIPATED EVEN BY CLIMATE CHANGE MODELS BY THE CANADIAN PRESS The spring snow pack in the Arctic is disappearing at a much faster rate than anticipated even by climate change models, says a new study by Environment Canada researchers. That has implications for wildlife, vegetation and ground temperatures, say the scientists, who looked at four decades of snow data for the Canadian Arctic and beyond. Combined with recent news that the Arctic sea ice retreated to an all-time low this summer, it suggests climate change may be happening much faster than expected, said Dr. Chris Derksen, a research scientist for Environment Canada and one of the study’s authors. “What we discovered was that there is a significant reduction in the amount of snow cover, particularly in May and June... and the rate of that decline is actually slightly faster than the loss of summer sea ice,” Derksen said in an interview. They studied 40 years of data from across the Arctic from April to June, and found the decline in spring snow cover was actually slightly faster than the decline in sea ice that made headlines around the world. “It’s important for a number of reasons,” Derksen said. Not only does snow provide a pulse of fresh water when it melts, but it has a cooling effect that is felt throughout the Earth, he said. “White snow is very bright. It reflects a high proportion of the incident solar energy back out to space and when you melt that snow and you expose the darker ground underneath it, then you begin to absorb a much higher fraction of that incident energy. And when you absorb that energy at the land surface, that contributes to further heating and warming.” Previous studies found that snow isn’t arriving any earlier in the fall. The article published in the latest Geophysical Research Letters, the journal of the American Geophysical Union, said the changes in the past five years were “profound.” The five lowest June snow cover values all occurred in the past five years, it said. In Eurasia, new records for the lowest spring snow cover extent have been set every year since 2008, and in North America, record lows have been set in three of the past five years. The authors calculated the rate of decline of June snow cover extent between 1979 and 2011 is more than 17 per cent each decade. “When considered alongside the documented changes to the cryosphere, including warming permafrost, reduction in summer sea ice extent, increased mass loss from glaciers, and thinning and break-up of the remaining Canadian ice shelves, there is increasing evidence of an accelerating cryospheric response to global warming,” Derksen and co-author Ross Brown wrote. The cryosphere refers to places on Earth so cold that water is solid — either ice or snow. Derksen cautioned that five to 10 years in terms of climate is a very short period of time, but the change in that time has been substantial. “The climate models project that we’ll be seeing these changes, but they project them further out into the future,” he said. “Certainly the past shows some very strong changes that when you compare them to the sea ice and you see the major changes in the summer sea ice as well, that does suggest this Arctic-wide change driven by warming surface temperatures.”
LOTTERIES
SATURDDAY Lotto 6/49: 9, 22, 34, 35, 46,47.
Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS
Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives in Agra, India on Sunday.
Harper kicks off six-day, trade-focused visit to India is scheduled to participate in a business forum in the Indian capital of New Delhi. Trade between Canada and India sits at a modest $5.2 billion annually, but the two countries would like to see it rise to $15 billion by 2015. “This is a great opportunity for the government to raise its profile in India,” said Stewart Beck, Canada’s high commissioner to India. “I’d say our trading relationship and the economic relationship in general is really beginning to blossom...I just think our relevance to India is becoming more important, and that’s basically what we’ve been trying to achieve as officials in this market — how do we raise Canada’s importance to the Indians?” But major agreements are not likely to be announced during Harper’s trip. A foreign investment and a trade deal are both still in negotiations, and the two nations have yet to agree on the strings attached to Canada selling India uranium under a 2-year-old nuclear deal. Part of the problem, Beck said, is that India is coping with its own internal issues. The country faces a controversy over how it has handled the taxation of British-owned Vodafone, and a scandal over the handing out of coal mining permits. The government of Manmohan Singh is also in a minority situation, and has not been able to move forward as quickly with economic reforms.
BY JENNIFER DITCHBURN THE CANADIAN PRESS AGRA, India — Hours before Stephen Harper’s plane set down in India, he was already signalling his embrace of one of the world’s most formidable economies — with a bite of a samosa. On the way to Agra, where he eventually arrived on Sunday evening, Harper tucked into a platter of the savoury Indian pastry with three of his Indo-Canadian MPs. “I’m a spicy food eater,” Harper conceded to reporters and photographers who had been invited to his private cabin on the government plane. “I like everything, I love Indian food, I don’t eat it that often, but I love Indian food.” Harper’s unusually long six-day trip to India will be heavily focused on encouraging trade and investment, but will also touch on the personal ties between the two countries— namely, the onemillion strong Indian diaspora in Canada. Several reporters from Indo-Canadian media outlets have come along for Harper’s trip. Harper is set to visit Chandigarh in the Punjab region, from which so many Canadians hail. The first stop today will be at one of India’s most iconic locations — the Taj Majal. The site is actually an elaborate marble tomb built by a 17th century emperor as a tribute to his beloved wife. Later in the afternoon, Harper
Bonus 26. Western 6/49: 2, 5, 8, 18, 22, 47.
Bonus 46. Extra: 1366529 Pick 3: 214.
SUNDAY Extra: 2315334. Pick 3: 850.
Canada has also had his share of controversy in the area of foreign investment, with its recent temporary blocking of Malaysian company Petronas’ bid for gas producer Progress Energy Resources, and its drawn out review of Chinese company CNOOC’s takeover of energy firm Nexen Inc. Beck says regardless of those recent issues, Indian firms continue to look upon Canada favourably for investment in the energy sector. “Indian companies are looking for opportunities in the oilsands, we know of Indian companies that are in Canada pursuing opportunities on the east coast as well, and looking at different types of proposals,” said Beck. “Companies are there and active.” Harper will also visit the technology and services hub of Bangalore during his visit, a buzzing city that symbolizes the kind of growth and entrepreneurship that Canada would like to tap into. Beck said there are four main areas for potential trade growth: food security, educational services, oil and gas, and infrastructure support. India’s economy is projected to grow by approximately 5.8 per cent in 2012-13, much lower than in previous years, but still healthy compared to that of some western nations. On the nuclear front, Canada has insisted on administrative conditions that would allow it to track exactly where the uranium sold to India ends up. India has balked at that.
PIKE WHEATON IS
WEATHER LOCAL TODAY
TONIGHT
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
HIGH 6
LOW -6
HIGH 4
HIGH 7
HIGH -1
Sunny.
Clear.
Sunny.
Cloudy.
Cloudy.
DIESEL REGIONAL OUTLOOK
TONIGHT’S HIGHS/LOWS
2012 SILVERADO 3500 LTZ CREW CAB Stk #20915. heated/cooled leather, sunroof, nav., rear vision camera, Z71 pkg., 6” assist steps
Nordegg: A mix of sun and cloud. High 6, low -6. Edmonton : Clearing. High 7, low -2. Banff: Clearing. High 7, low -4.
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Jasper: A mix of sun and cloud. High 5, low -5.
WINDCHILL/SUNLIGHT Sunset tonight: 4:58 p.m. Sunrise Tuesday: 7:41 a.m. UV: 1 Low Extreme: 11 or higher Very high: 8 to 10 High: 6 to 7 Moderate: 3 to 5 Low: Less than 2
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