Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Missing News: Wind contributing to Arctic sea ice loss, study finds

UPDATE 5/4/2010 See outcome below-it remains blowing in the wind
ABC MISSING HEADLINE: "Wind contributing to Arctic sea ice loss, study finds" as reported by the Guardian 22 March 2010.
ABC DID NOT REPORT: As of 7: 00 am March 23 we are unable to locate anything on ABC's website regarding a new study published in Geophysical Research LettersOgi, M., K. Yamazaki, and J. M. Wallace. Influence of winter and summer surface wind anomalies on summer Arctic sea ice extent Geophys. Res. Lett., doi:10.1029/2009GL042356, in press.
As reported by the Guardian:

Much of the record breaking loss of ice in the Arctic ocean in recent years is down to the region's swirling winds and is not a direct result of global warming, a new study reveals.
Ice blown out of the region by Arctic winds can explain around one-third of the steep downward trend in sea ice extent in the region since 1979, the scientists say.
About half of the variation in maximum ice loss each September is down to changes in wind patterns, the study says.Masayo Ogi, a scientist with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology in Yokohama, and her colleagues, looked at records of how winds have behaved across the Arctic since satellite measurements of ice extent there began in 1979.
They found that changes in wind patterns, such as summertime winds that blow clockwise around the Beaufort Sea, seemed to coincide with years where sea ice loss was highest.
THE SUGGESTION: Can ABC please provide coverage of this important journal article.
OUTCOMEI refer to  your emails of 23 March and 20 and 16 February 2010.
As previously advised, Section 5.2.2(d) of the ABC Editorial Policies states that editorial judgements are based on news values.   What is, or is not, considered newsworthy is a decision made at the discretion of ABC News editorial managers, based on their considerable editorial experience.  ABC News editorial managers will continue to assess stories on climate science on their merits.
The ABC Editorial Policies are available online at the attached link; http://abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.ht
Please be assured that your comments and news suggestions have been noted and conveyed to our program areas.
COMMENT: Given the considerable editorial experience of ABC News editorial managers and considerable community interest in all things climate, I would expect this one to get some coverage, or will ABC's loyal followers miss out on another story that suggests that the effects of anthropogenic global warming aren't as dire as some extremists would have us believe.

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