Sunrise arrives two days early in Greenland as global warming melts the horizon
By Jonathan Harwood
January 14, 2011 Scientists have discovered more evidence of global warming after the sun rose two days early in Greenland, apparently because melting glaciers have lowered the horizon. The polar night usually ends on January 13, but this year residents of Ilulissat, the third largest settlement in Greenland, were surprised to see dawn arrive just before 1pm on January 11 after six weeks of perpetual darkness. Astronomers have ruled out the possibility of the early dawn being a result of a shift of the earth’s axis and Thomas Posch, of the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Vienna, says a change in the horizon is “by far the most obvious explanation”. According to to the National Climatic Data Centre in North Carolina, 2010 was the warmest year on record and a separate report from the World Meteorology Organisation found that temperatures in Greenland were 3C above average last year. … [UPDATE: See this arguably more balanced story from LiveScience: Strange Claim: The Sun Rose 2 Days Early in Greenland. h/t commenter Anonymous]
Pathetic reporting. The original LiveScience article said warming could not involved as the ice sheets were in the wrong direction and not blocking sunlight. They could disappear completely and not impact the sunrise. The scientific consensus was that it was due to stronger light refraction.
Do you not read the original articles before claiming what they say?
http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2011/01/panic-time-people-really-this-time.html
Fair enough, although to be clear, I assumed this to be a peculiar local manifestation of global warming, as suggested by one scientist in the LiveScience story: "Dixon did not completely dismiss melting ice as a cause, suggesting that perhaps the absence this year of a floating ice shelf in the inlet to the south may have allowed the sun to rise earlier."
But your point is well taken, and I've added a link to the LiveScience story.