Tag: Seals

New Study Finds Arctic Warming, Declining Sea Ice May Be A ‘Benefit’ To Polar Bears And Ringed Seals

The polar bear plight has quietly disappeared from the catastrophic global warming narrative.

From NoTrickZone

By Kenneth Richard 

The polar bear plight has quietly disappeared from the catastrophic global warming narrative.

According to new research, the body condition of polar bears and ringed seals (their prey) has been stable to improving from 2008-2022 despite Arctic warming and sea ice decline during this period.

This is the opposite of what was predicted to happen, as it has been assumed intact sea ice is essential to polar bear health and survival.

“…polar bear body condition and recruitment during 2018-2022 were largely within or above observed annual means during 2008-2017.”

“A lack of trend in environmental and ecological variables or polar bear body condition…during 2008-2022 is suggestive that the Chukchi Sea polar bear population was likely stable during this time.”

“Studies in both the Chukchi Sea and adjacent southern Beaufort Sea have shown improved ringed seal body condition and pup production following and during years with lower spring or summer sea ice cover, earlier sea ice breakup, or thinner ice.”

“…an increase in the duration of open water during the summer and the associated increase in ocean productivity with warming may benefit polar bear prey species.”

Image Source: Rode et al., 2024

Earth Day sea ice habitat during critical spring season for Arctic seals, polar bears, and walrus

This is the most important time of year for Arctic marine mammals that spend time above the ice: birthing, breeding, and feeding. And there is plenty of the right kind of ice available for those activities this year, as there was two years ago at the same time.

From polarbearscience

This is the most important time of year for Arctic marine mammals that spend time above the ice: birthing, breeding, and feeding. And there is plenty of the right kind of ice available for those activities this year, as there was two years ago at the same time.

Arctic overall

NSIDC MASIE chart for 21 April 2023

Sea ice thickness

Amazing band of 3-5m thick ice in Foxe Basin (north of Hudson Bay), and along the entire east coast of Greenland and the Russian Far East. This doesn’t show up on other charts as significant because its very thick first year ice rather than the thick multi-year ice seen in the Arctic Basin north of Greenland and Ellesmere Island.

In the Chukchi Sea, this thick ice charts as ‘thick first year’ ice (dark green). Areas of purple in the Bering Sea are thinner ice that are critical feeding habitat at this time of year for Pacific walrus, especially pregnant females that will give birth next month. Walrus need areas of easily-broken thin ice or open water so that they can enter the water to feed, as do bearded seals.

Barents Sea

Courtesy Norwegian Ice Service. Note the abundance of ice along the coast of Greenland and between the Svalbard archipelago (at centre) and Franz Josef Land to the east.

Sea ice around the Svalbard archipelago in the middle of the Barents Sea ice has been above the long-term average for weeks now, as the graph below shows. This is great news for polar bears and seals because this is when they need sea ice the most.

Canada

Polar bears on Hudson Bay

Female bears with satellite collars (blue and orange) or males or juveniles with ear tags (purple) can be seen well on the ice of Hudson Bay, along with females that gave birth earlier in the year with their 4 month old cubs. Chart below courtesy Andrew Derocher. Blue icons are Western Hudson Bay females and the orange are Southern Hudson Bay females.

Note that the dark green in the chart below is thick first year ice, over 1m thick.

The wind/whale correlation

“Damn the whales, full speed ahead” seems to be the offshore wind policy of Biden’s NOAA. They now propose to approve yet another site survey, just 10 miles off Atlantic City.

From CFACT

By Craig Rucker 

Take a look at the graph by Jersey Shore protector and activist Mike Dean tweeted.

The graph shows a dramatic rise in whale deaths, closely correlated with the rise in vessels conducting survey operations off the coast of New York and New Jersey, as construction of massive wind farms ramps up.

CFACT will be the first to tell you, as we have so many times, that correlation does not prove causation. We’ll leave that kind of spurious conclusion-jumping to the Left.

What correlation does do is demand investigation and flag us to proceed with caution.

As whales wash up, Feds push “Green” energy on inadequate knowledge

The heartbreaking sight of massive whales washing up dead on our coasts has concerned people everywhere asking, “why?”

Yet, our government watchdog agencies have turned a blind eye.

David Wojick posted some very concerning facts to CFACT.org:

“Damn the whales, full speed ahead” seems to be the offshore wind policy of Biden’s NOAA. They now propose to approve yet another site survey, just 10 miles off Atlantic City.

The site is a big one because the offshore wind project is huge. Phase 1 is a whopping 1,500 MW, which means over 100 monster turbine towers. The survey area is around 1,500,000 acres or an incredible 2,300 square miles…

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) predicts the number of adverse impacts by species, but here are the staggering numbers by category:

  • 42 Whales
  • 2,534 Dolphins
  • 142 Porpoises
  • 1,472 Seals

Total = 4,190 adversely impacted marine mammals.

The Biden Administration has directed government agencies to go all-in on climate.  Now they are ignoring their duty to protect wildlife and unspoiled spaces.  Their Faustian bargain won’t even bring us reliable energy.  It certainly won’t meaningfully alter the temperature of the Earth.

What do we learn from the survey vessel/whale death correlation?

Stop offshore wind development until we investigate and learn.

Not another turbine until we get the answers.

Author

  • Craig RuckerCraig Rucker
  • Craig Rucker is a co-founder of CFACT and currently serves as its president.