RE: Sobering thought19 Mar 2020 09:26
Weathergeek I think some of your ideas need amending.
Can I deal with nuclear fallout first. This is not causing snow / ice to melt. The melting is a consequence of atmospheric temperature, whether seasonal variations, consequences of climate change or other factors. The concern in some circles with regard to fallout from eg Chernobyl is not that it causes melting ... it is the dangers associated with the release of that fallout once the ice melts. This quote:
"Radioactive particles are very light so when they are taken up into the atmosphere they can be transported a very long way," Clason told AFP.
"When it falls as rain, like after Chernobyl, it washes away and it's sort of a one-off event. But as snow, it stays in the ice for decades and as it melts in response to the climate it's then washed downstream."
What scientists don't know – and what the research team plans to find out next – is how these FRNs might contaminate the environment and the food chain once released again. Reindeer and their herders, for example, could be among the first affected."