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Written by: Dr. Tony Phillips

Published: 16 January 2013

NASA scientists say 2012 was the ninth warmest of any year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global temperatures.

With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the 132-year record all have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking as the hottest years on record.

NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures on an ongoing basis, released an updated analysis Tuesday that compares temperatures around the globe in 2012 to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century.

The comparison shows how Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures than several decades ago.

The average temperature in 2012 was about 58.3 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 Celsius), which is 1.0 F (0.6 C) warmer than the mid-20th century baseline.

The average global temperature has risen about 1.4 degrees F (0.8 C) since 1880, according to the new analysis.

Scientists emphasize that weather patterns always will cause fluctuations in average temperature from year to year, but the continued increase in greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere assures a long-term rise in global temperatures.

Each successive year will not necessarily be warmer than the year before, but on the current course of greenhouse gas increases, scientists expect each successive decade to be warmer than the previous decade.

“One more year of numbers isn’t in itself significant,” GISS climatologist Gavin Schmidt said. “What matters is this decade is warmer than the last decade, and that decade was warmer than the decade before. The planet is warming. The reason it’s warming is because we are pumping increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat and largely controls Earth’s climate. It occurs naturally and also is emitted by the burning of fossil fuels for energy.

Driven by increasing manmade emissions, the level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has been rising consistently for decades.

The carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere was about 285 parts per million in 1880, the first year in the GISS temperature record.

By 1960, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory, was about 315 parts per million. Today, that measurement exceeds 390 parts per million.

While the globe experienced relatively warm temperatures in 2012, the continental U.S. endured its warmest year on record by far, according to NOAA, the official keeper of U.S. weather records.

“The U.S. temperatures in the summer of 2012 are an example of a new trend of outlying seasonal extremes that are warmer than the hottest seasonal temperatures of the mid-20th century,” GISS director James E. Hansen said.

“The climate dice are now loaded,” Hansen said. “Some seasons still will be cooler than the long-term average, but the perceptive person should notice that the frequency of unusually warm extremes is increasing. It is the extremes that have the most impact on people and other life on the planet.”

The temperature analysis produced at GISS is compiled from weather data from more than 1,000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea-surface temperature, and Antarctic research station measurements.

A publicly available computer program is used to calculate the difference between surface temperature in a given month and the average temperature for the same place during 1951 to 1980.

This three-decade period functions as a baseline for the analysis. The last year that experienced cooler temperatures than the 1951 to 1980 average was 1976.

The GISS temperature record is one of several global temperature analyses, along with those produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

These three primary records use slightly different methods, but overall, their trends show close agreement.

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 16 January 2013

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A popular annual event to benefit worthy social programs is returning in February.

The seventh annual “Wine and Chocolate … and More” will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at Mt. Konocti Winery & Event Center, 2550 Big Valley Road, Kelseyville.

“Wine and Chocolate” spotlights Lake County’s award-winning, ultra-premium wines and, at the same time, benefits Lake Family Resource Center.

It includes pairings of local wines not only with incredible chocolates, but also with savory bites from local restaurants and caterers. Local Sommelier Stephanie Green provides the pairing expertise.

The event also includes an auction, workshops on wine and food pairing, and olive oil sensory.

Chacewater Olive Mill’s own Emilio De La Cruz will share his secrets in producing the finest extra virgin olive oil and Stephanie Green will share the secrets of wonderful wine.

This year’s event will include beer tasting, a fire pit and a car show, weather permitting. You will also be able to purchase bottles of the wines you discover at the on-site wine store.

Come join the fun and support Lake Family Resource Center in their efforts to strengthen families in our Lake County communities.

Recent San Francisco Chronicle award winning wineries are participating – it’s a great opportunity to taste these amazing wines in one place.

Kelsey Creek Brewery also will pour its outstanding beer and several local restaurants will tickle your taste buds with their savory offerings.

Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 the day of the event and at the door.

They are currently available at the following locations, with more ticket outlets to come:

• Lake Family Resource Center, Kelseyville offices, 5350 Main St., telephone 707-279-0563 (in person or over the phone);
• Lake County Chamber of Commerce, 875 Lakeport Blvd., telephone 707-263-5092;
• Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, 14106 Olympic Drive, Suite B, telephone 707-994-3600;    
• Saw Shop Gallery & Bistro, 3825 Main St., Kelseyville, telephone 707-278-0129.

Tickets also are available at most Lake County wineries’ tasting rooms or online at www.lakefrc.org .

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 15 January 2013

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Next week the US Environmental Protection Agency will begin constructing two test covers at sites in Clear Lake in an effort to stop or reduce mercury from a nearby Superfund site from getting into the lake.

The work will take place near the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine site in Clearlake Oaks.

The EPA said the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine initially was mined for sulphur from 1856 to 1871, mined intermittently for mercury ore from 1873 to 1905, with open pit mining taking place there from 1915 to 1957. The mine was listed as a Superfund site in 1990.

The agency said approximately 150 acres of tailings, waste rock and a flooded open pit mine – called the Herman Impoundment – are located on the mine property. The mine tailings extend into the Oaks Arm of Clear Lake along 1,300 feet of shoreline.

EPA Site Manager Gary Riley said the agency plans to install two test covers, or caps, composed of sand and gravel, and each measuring 100 by 120 feet, over two sites with high mercury concentrations offshore of the mine site.

“Groundwater is migrating from the mine itself and it discharges into Clear Lake in the area of these sediments,” he said.

The EPA has found mercury both in the sediments on the bottom of the lake as well as in the lake's food web, which led to an advisory to limit fish consumption due to mercury levels found in fish.

The field mobilization on the project began in earnest just after the start of the year, with the barges and watercraft needed brought in last week, Riley said.

Lake County Public Works Director Scott De Leon said the county wasn't involved in designing the project, which it was notified of on Dec. 31.

In preparation for the equipment going into the lake, all of the barges – De Leon estimated there were about a dozen of them – went through an inspection for the possibility of invasive mussels on Jan. 8.

“They had no problem with complying with our program or submitting any of their equipment to inspection,” De Leon said of the EPA.

The equipment to be used included floating turbidity curtains that will be placed at both sites where the caps are to be placed, De Leon said. Both curtains are about 100 to 120 feet long.

“It's basically a floating boom,” De Leon said, explaining that there is a curtain that hangs down below the float to the bottom of the lake. He estimated the work will be taking place in about 18 feet of water.

He said Lynette Shimek, a state game warden with a quagga mussel sniffing dog, conducted the inspections.

Riley said full scale construction of the test covers is to begin next Monday.

He said the two test covers will be placed in areas with different conditions. One will be in an area of some of the highest mercury concentration, with the other area having a moderate mercury level. He said one cap will be in shallow water, and one in a deeper area of the lake.

EPA wants to see if the covers will perform as they expect. Riley said capping and covering are ways to deal with contaminated sediments in harbors, lakes and rivers.

The test caps include 8 inches of sand placed on the bottom of the lake, which then will be covered with 8 inches of gravel, which Riley called an armoring layer.

He pointed out that the Oaks Arm of the lake is long, and gets a lot of wind and waves, so they will be monitoring the caps for their integrity.

Construction is set to continue for six weeks, Riley said.

The EPA said work is set to take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Over the next two years the EPA will monitor the sites and decide what steps to take next. The information to be gathered from monitoring the site will help the EPA decide on the most effective method for handling the site. If the covers are effective, Riley said they could end up placing a larger cover over the entire area.

There are a variety of ways to monitor the caps, Riley said.

Right after inspection there are surveys to make sure the installations were carried out properly, he explained.

They will then collect sediment from the tops of the caps as well as from under the covers using a custom made device, Riley said.

After having previously cleaned up contaminated materials on the Elem Colony itself, Riley said the EPA is “relatively far along” in coming up with a solution to finish cleaning up the mine property, including the Herman pit.

He said he expects the EPA will be able to put forward a preferred alternative, which is how they describe the cleanup plan, within the next year or two. He said that is a process that would require public notices and meetings.

At about the same time they will be getting the final information on how the test covers worked, Riley said.

As for when the project might ultimately be completed, EPA spokesman Rusty Harris-Bishop said it's hard to estimate a time frame for the entire project, with a number of issues to be considered and a lot depending on the selected remedy for the site.

“Certainly it's a half a decade off before everything is completed,” Harris-Bishop said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.