John Seminara                                                                                               5/23/14

Earth Science                                                                                            Current Event #2

            Works Cited:

Vergano, Dan. "Weird Winter: Is the Pacific to Blame?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 22 May 2014. Web. 23 May 2014. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140522-climate-global-warming-winter-science/?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_r1p_us_se_w>.

Weird Winter: Is the Pacific to Blame?

            The Article that I read, entitled, Weird Winter: Is the Pacific to Blame, written by Dan Vergano, essentially discussed the rather peculiar weather that occurred in the Western Hemisphere this past winter. The main focus of the article was to suggest the idea that the strange winter was caused by a “curiously warm winter in the western Pacific.” One of the most interesting notes made by this author would be the data that suggests Alaska endured a rather warm winter while other places such as Detroit and England froze. In addition, the author noted that the American Midwest had one of the coldest winters on record, as a result of the repetitive polar vortex, as described by meteorologists. A polar vortex is a very cold low-pressure system that caps the arctic and is normally positioned by the polar jet stream flowing down over the U.S. This winter, one cause that led to a continuous pattern of polar vortex’s that developed over the U.S would be the speedy north-south winds that allowed artic air to flow deep into the U.S. According to one scientist who works for the science department in the White House, the warming of the artic and melting of sea ice there caused the change in the jet stream, which ultimately led to the more rotten winter. On the contrary, a different scientist proposed that the warming of the western Pacific Ocean was to blame for the harsher winter conditions. According to the analysis, abnormally warm Pacific Ocean waters stretched roughly from Fiji to Indonesia. Subsequently, they were able to form tremendous storms with energy that reached high into the jet stream and rerouted the jet stream. The loopy jet stream sent warm air into Alaska and colder air down to freeze the rest of the continent. Nevertheless, it is clear to most scientists that a winter similar to our last is not foreseeable anytime in the near future. However, it is said that during an El Nino warmer winds are pushed into the western Pacific through trade winds. In addition, the incredible amount of rain across North America and in the Pacific was also a consequence of the warmer pacific and also contributed to the altered jet stream across the U.S. Ultimately, this article discussed some of the unique aspects of this winter and some of the contributing factors to the harsher conditions across the U.S, demonstrated by some of the examples including a warmer Pacific Ocean, altered jet stream, and lastly, some robust climate changes. Yet, most of the information that was summarized from this article clearly pertains to everyday life. First off, the articles explanation of why the winter was so harsh leads into some current environmental issues such as man-made climate change. Because the arctic climate increased which caused sea ice to melt, there is subsequent speculation that man-made climate changes amplified some of the effects, potentially even enough to help alter the jet stream in North America. This obviously transitions the harsh weather to global warming, however some scientists remain skeptical that there is any correlation at all. Still, it demonstrates that people can impact the weather by changing some everyday routines such as walking or riding a bike rather than driving. Many small changes undertaken by the general population could possibly lead to a decrease in man-made climate changes and make winters a little bit more bearable on the people who suffered from the harsh 2014 winter. Although it is more likely that an abnormally warm Pacific caused the climate change, people can still be more careful about their decision making to reduce the amount of climate change that humans contribute to the environment.

            Although the article exhibited very imperative information as well as how that information relates to society, the article did still lack some important content and analysis. I think that it is clear the author used many different reliable sources and gave informative backgrounds as to where the information he used is coming from. With this being said, his development of some of the ideas and statements are rather lackluster, for he could have looked further into the past and dug out other studies done on relating changes in water temperatures or climate changes to new weather developments. It is blatant that one of the more important aspects of the article that the author is lacking is past examples of climate change and changes in water temperature impacting weather. In addition, it would have been more interesting than necessary to look briefly into the weather occurrences in Europe and Asia this past winter, which would possibly uncover climate changes in different regions on a more global scale. Lastly, another notable point that this article is lacking would be that the climate change impacted crop production in the U.S during this past winter due to very cold temperatures. Nonetheless, the article still did an excellent job at relaying an enormous amount of significant information while demonstrating its impact on society.