FrenchCurve - 06 March 2012 07:38 AM

Dr. Curry tries to be reserved. She says that the general idea behind the work is from Ewing and Donn circa 1958. This article outlines the idea http://strongasanoxandnearlyassmart.blogspot.com/2011/07/scientists-predict-another-ice-age-is.html

I finally had a chance to read the above link.  It’s the latest science from 1958

Scientists Predict: Another Ice Age Is On The Way - in 1958!

How could new ice hulks creep in upon us while weather experts are announcing that even the North Polar ice caps are thinning? And what about the fact that weather records show the weather has been growing warmer over the years - so warm in fact that certain glaciers are melting fast enough to raise the level of the world’s oceans? Can such signs really foreshadow the coming of a new Ice Age?

The answer is very definitely yes
{...}
The glaciers that once blanketed a great part of the earth did not, as is popularly believed, gradually spread out from the poles, nor were they caused by a sudden plunge in the earth’s temperature during the Pleistocene Age.

If someone could list real scientific studies that support this claim. - please do share.

Continuous Snowfall

Glaciers, Dr. Ewing explains, are created purely and simply when more snow falls than melts. Sub-zero temperatures are only one factor.
{...}
Drs. Ewing and Donn reason that the great Ice Ages were produced by practically continuous snowfall coming from some rich source of moisture which has now been shut off.
{...}
In other words, the Arctic Ocean in the Ice Age was itself free of ice, and offered thousands and thousands of square miles of water surface to winds blowing towards Northern Canada, Europe and Siberia.

It seems to me a half century of research has gutted these suppositions, so why someone would resurrect them to deny current AGW seems typical denialist crazy-making.

I guess FC is gone, but I wonder if anyone can explain how in the above article is relevant to today’s situation, and why.

Here’s another even more interesting article from a half century ago.  In contrast to Ewing and Donn’s suppositions, Gilbert Plass has had his conjectures continually reinforced as new information has been accumulating.

Carbon Dioxide and Climate
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-dioxide-and-climate

An article from our July 1959 issue examined climate change: “A current theory postulates that carbon dioxide regulates the temperature of the earth. This raises an interesting question: How do Man’s activities influence the climate of the future?”
By Gilbert N. Plass

FrenchCurve - 06 March 2012 07:38 AM

Dr. Curry tries to be reserved. She says that the general idea behind the work is from Ewing and Donn circa 1958.

So I’ve read Judith’s article
http://judithcurry.com/2012/03/05/impact-of-declining-arctic-sea-ice-on-winter-snowfall/

Here’s an example of the misdirection folks use, from the above article:

The analysis revealed two major factors that could be contributing to the unusually large snowfall in recent winters — changes in atmospheric circulation and changes in atmospheric water vapor content — which are both linked to diminishing Arctic sea ice. Strong warming in the Arctic through the late summer and autumn appears to be enhancing the melting of sea ice.

Not a mention of increased ocean surface temperatures and how they evaporate water into the atmosphere.

Beyond that, at the heart of this is real science and the current challenge of coming to grips with the cascading effects of global warming. Such as the freshening of the Arctic Ocean and how that’s impacting ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns.  Leading to further cascading effects.

“We think the recent snowy winters could be caused by the retreating Arctic ice altering atmospheric circulation patterns by weakening westerly winds, increasing the amplitude of the jet stream and increasing the amount of moisture in the atmosphere,” explained Jiping Liu, a senior research scientist in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech. “These pattern changes enhance blocking patterns that favor more frequent movement of cold air masses to middle and lower latitudes, leading to increased heavy snowfall in Europe and the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States.”

I believe Skeptical Science does a better job of explaining the situation:
Declining Arctic sea-ice and record U.S. and European snowfalls: are they linked?
Posted on 14 March 2012 by John Mason
http://www.skepticalscience.com/declining-arctic-sea-ice-record-snowfalls-are-they-linked.html