Click to enlarge — University of Manitoba
❝ The Science Team of the Canadian Research Icebreaker CCGS Amundsen has cancelled the first leg of the 2017 Expedition due to complications associated with the southward motion of hazardous Arctic sea ice, caused by climate change.
This regrettably postpones the much-anticipated Hudson Bay System Study (BaySys) involving 40 scientists from five universities across Canada. Timing was key for this $17 million, four-year, University of Manitoba-led project.
The need to deal with extreme ice conditions in the south meant the ship would arrive too late on site to meet research objectives…
❝ Dr. David Barber, Expedition Chief Scientist, noted that, “Climate-related changes in Arctic sea ice not only reduce its extent and thickness but also increase its mobility meaning that ice conditions are likely to become more variable and severe conditions such as these will occur more often.”
The Sea Ice Research Team collected a comprehensive dataset on the physics of the ice, ocean and atmosphere in the area and these data will contribute to the understanding of these events and assist Canada in preparing for climate change driven increases in marine ice hazards…
❝ The research of our scientists clearly indicate that climate change is not something that is going to happen in the future – it is already here. Research results from scientists onboard the Amundsen and innovative Networks like ArcticNet show the impacts of climate change in Canada’s Arctic and Arctic Ocean affect not only northern ecosystems and communities, but also the environments and people living in the south of Canada – as so dramatically seen off the coast of Newfoundland.
This will not be a one-off – nor will the events be limited to an Arctic context. More likely, yes. But, natural systems, global in scope, interact and affect each other. As they will affect us.
Eideard 
“Scientists stunned by Antarctic rainfall and a melt area bigger than Texas” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/06/15/scientists-just-documented-a-massive-melt-event-on-the-surface-of-antarctica/?tid=a_inl
See also “Scientists nearly double sea level rise projections for 2100, because of Antarctica” (as much as 4 feet of sea level rise from Antarctica alone) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/03/30/antarctic-loss-could-double-expected-sea-level-rise-by-2100-scientists-say/ Also “Researchers at Columbia University’s Earth Institute have found that melting is occurring at a much faster pace than had previously been thought, and it’s only likely to increase. The findings, which were published in the journal Nature, stated that there was an extensive amount of meltwater drainage that was flowing in parts of Antarctica where they didn’t expect it (and) the discovery indicates that the problem is not in the future, but very much in the present. And with temperatures continuing to rise, it’s likely to only get worse. http://www.babwnews.com/2017/04/scientists-stunned-by-huge-discovery-in-antarctica/
“The Uninhabitable Earth : Famine, economic collapse, a sun that cooks us: What climate change could wreak — sooner than you think.” http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/climate-change-earth-too-hot-for-humans.html
“Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) Published online before print July 10, 2017. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/07/05/1704949114 “Study: World experiencing ‘mass extinction event'”
(Deutsche Welle 7/11/17) http://www.dw.com/en/study-world-experiencing-mass-extinction-event/a-39634402
A new study by MIT climate scientists, economists, and agriculture experts finds that certain hotspots in the country will experience severe reductions in crop yields by 2050, due to climate change’s impact on irrigation. The most adversely affected region, according to the researchers, will be the Southwest. Already a water-stressed part of the country, this region is projected to experience reduced precipitation by midcentury. Less rainfall to the area will mean reduced runoff into water basins that feed irrigated fields. http://news.mit.edu/2017/climate-change-deplete-us-water-basins-reduce-irrigated-crop-yields-0711 See also “Gauging the impact of climate change on U.S. agriculture” http://news.mit.edu/2016/gauging-climate-change-impact-on-agriculture-0707
“Earth Likely to Warm More Than 2 Degrees This Century” (University of Washington News and Information Office August 02, 2017) http://www.labmanager.com/news/2017/08/earth-likely-to-warm-more-than-2-degrees-this-century “Warming of the planet by 2 degrees Celsius is often seen as a “tipping point” that people should try to avoid by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. But the Earth is very likely to exceed that change, according to new University of Washington research. A study using statistical tools shows only a 5 percent chance that Earth will warm 2 degrees or less by the end of this century. It shows a mere 1 percent chance that warming could be at or below 1.5 degrees, the target set by the 2016 Paris Agreement.
“Our analysis shows that the goal of 2 degrees is very much a best-case scenario,” said lead author Adrian Raftery, a UW professor of statistics and sociology. “It is achievable, but only with major, sustained effort on all fronts over the next 80 years.
The new, statistically-based projections, published July 31 in Nature Climate Change, show a 90 percent chance that temperatures will increase this century by 2.0 to 4.9 C.
“Our analysis is compatible with previous estimates, but it finds that the most optimistic projections are unlikely to happen,” Raftery said. “We’re closer to the margin than we think.”
See links, also related article “New Study Shows West Antarctic Ice Sheet Loss over the Last 11,000 Years”