Earth Day in the Arctic.

First of all...Happy Earth Day! Seeing as how today is Earth Day I thought today would be a good time to share with you my interview with Trent University's Miles Ecclestone (That's him in the pic above). So what makes this interview so special? Well, Miles just happens to be calling from the Arctic. We'll hear from Miles from the base of the White Glacier 80 degrees north latitude on the remote Axel Heiberg Island. Very cool!

For over 50 years researchers originally from McGill and later Trent University have been visiting Canada's Arctic and studying the White Glacier. Over the years, researchers like Peter Adams and the team's current leaders (Graham Cogley and Miles Ecclestone) have measured the ice and tracked this glacier's seasonal changes. The pic above shows glacier's terminus. (Chris Omelon from University of Western Ontario can also be seen...I believe Miles is taking the picture).

This pic features two Trent students drilling into the snow and ice to place stakes that will help determine future snowfall accumulation. Unfortunately for these and future students...there is a lot less of the glacier to study. According to Miles, the last 5 or 6 years have been the warmest on record in the Arctic and the glacier is retreating. Over the last 50 years this glacier has retreated approximately 1km. If that doesn't sound all that bad to you, keep in mind that the rate of this melt is also increasing. This is why Trent University's research is so vital to understanding Canada's north. We'll feature my talk with Miles tonight on Newswatch Weather. Oh...and if you're interested on finding out more about the ice on Axel Heiberg Island, pick up a copy of Peter Adam's book titled "Trent, McGill and the North" available at Chapters.

UPDATE:

The video is now online! (Just click play).

Thank you NASA!!!

With a lack of weather across our region today I thought I'd take this opportunity to share an amazing picture with you. I am loving NASA right now. With volcanic ash now pushing possibly as far west as Newfoundland (thanks to an area of high pressure in the mid-levels of the atmosphere), across the country everyone is talking about Eyjafjallajokull...although most are still struggling with this Icelandic volcano's name. As the world's eyes are on this volcano, NASA is giving everyone a bird's eye view.

The picture above, taken Saturday, is courtesy of NASA's EO-1 satellite. It is an infrared image looking directly down the vent of this volcano as it spews ash high into the atmosphere. The image I've posted is small so I've circled the vent where, according to NASA's website, enough power is being generated to meet the needs of 60,000 homes! Oh...and that is apparently only a small portion of the total power generated by this volcano's output. Although the situation may not be desirable for stranded travellers, images like this are are incredible to see. Hopefully this pic helps to shake off the monday blues...as if this great weather wasn't enough to do that already. Thank you NASA!