Climatic changes due to naval warfare
Dr. Arnd Bernaerts
The PDF material covers 325 pages and was published in 2005

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Note

·    This site represents the first draft on the thesis 'Climate Change & Naval War' in 2004, while the attached PDF-files have been revised in summer 2006.

·    This site may still be useful for those who wish to have quick access to references and other chapters by links.

·    The PDF text and layout differ considerably from this site.
Only the PDF files have figures and graphs.

·    Visit also: www.warchangesclimate.com

Introduction

The introduction provides a detailed overview (pages 2)

Scope and Aim of Site

Cooling of Europe 1939 (2)

Europe gets arctic climate (2_1) 

WWII started during a period of fine weather. Previous months of 1939 had been entirely normal. Two decades of global warming had made late 1930`s the warmest time since the 16  ^th century. Only four months later Northern Europe became arctic, Winter of 1939-40 (2_11). But that did not happen ‘out of the blue.’ Since September 1939 North Sea had blocked Atlantic cyclones from moving east on common ways via Central Europe, Lost West Drift  (2_12). The reason is obvious. Enormous naval activities in the area had stirred and churned large seawater areas. This, coupled with sea war events   (2_13), utilization of Sea mines  (2_14), Depth charge (2_15), etc, inevitably led to cooling of North Sea (2_16), and Baltic Sea (2_17).

Atlantic butterfly (2_2)

While the North Sea and Baltic Sea are definitely the primary source of anthropogenic ‘winter weather modification’ in Europe, war at sea, which had already started in the Atlantic might have contributed to, or modified weather conditions in late 1939, Cyclones and shells (2_21), Wars in ocean vastness are climatic factors to be reckoned with. Climate changed when naval warfare went global after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Oceans at war  (4_11).

Europe wet - USA dry (2_3)

In addition to the impact which war in the North and Baltic Sea had in converting Northern Europe into an arctic winter, a few further events during the late months of 1939 contributed to give Europe the ice age winter of 1939/40. A key point in this respect is the question as to why whole Northern Hemisphere had fallen victim to polar air in January 1940. Anthropogenic factors appear to have played a key role. Following chapters analyze this phenomenon: Military activities in Western Europe caused it to rain ‘cats and dogs’, Rain-Making (2_31), the United States received record low rainfall from October to December  (2_32), to which the War in China in 1939 could have contributed its mite  (2_33).

War by Minus 40 (2_4)

War between Soviet Union and Finland in December 1939 could have deprived regions in Russia and Asia of their ‘usual’ precipitation. Weather under the Arctic Circle went through extremes, which is painstakingly recorded during Russian-Finnish war  (2_41) to illustrate that the events up in the far north made it difficult to consider them as ‘natural variations’.

Southern Europe events (2_5)

What was definitely natural, with a brief regional weather impact, was a major earthquake in Anatolia on December 27, 1939, Turkey quake (2_51). The quake occurred without leaving any significant trace on the arctic winter in North Europe. That came from blocking the common path the cyclones used to move since September 1939 (2_12). The Atlantic depressions had to take another route, either to the north, e.g. turning up in Finland, (2_41), others went to the Mediterranean Sea, Violent weather (2_52).

Climate during 1939 - 42 (3)

Winter 1940-41 (3_1)

All three war winters of 1939-42 were arctic cold from Stockholm to London, with record-breaking temperatures in Oslo January and February 1941. Second war winter produced arctic conditions around the Strait of Skagerrak  (3_11),  only few months after the German Reich attacked and invaded Norway in 1940. That demonstrates the impact of war at sea on regional winter weather conditions.

Winter of1941-42 (3_2)

As the previous war winters could be related to WWII, the third war winter is another massive demonstration that naval warfare between Russian Baltic Fleet and Kriegsmarine, started by Germany under codename ‘Barbarossa’, Baltic battle field  (3_21) in 1941, not only resulted in extreme Baltic Sea Icing  (3_24),but also drove Sweden to extreme cold levels, which would have been called extreme even during the Little Ice Age, Stockholm’s record (3_23),although all Western Europe from the Baltic countries to London was no better off,  Cold axis (3_22).

Arctic winter package (3_3)

Global naval war and climate change (4)

Global sea war effect (4_1)

Four decades of global cooling still needs to be explained as the warming that started at the end of WWI, which is part of this research, [see next section WWI warms arctic (5_1), came to an abrupt end with the winter of 1939/40. After the war at sea in Europe went global since December 1941, war at sea from 1942 to 1945, which took place in almost all parts of the North Pacific and Atlantic, Oceans at war (4_11), Huge water masses, surface and deep-water layers were churned and turned, Sea system affected (4_12), All these events most likely affected the course of climate over four decades and possibly even longer.

Winter of peace 1946-47 (4_2)

18 months after WWII had ended, a late cold winter occurred and is still remembered [Late winter of 1946-47 (4_21)], which like the icy winter of 1928/29 raises the question: where did they come from? 

Severe Warming 1918 (5)

WWI warms Arctic (5_1)

Climatic change at Spitsbergen in 1918 Spitsbergen heats up (5_12) started all around the British Isles that saw tremendous naval activities off all its coasts, War at Sea (5_13), and Sea mines (5_14), that brought cold and snow rich winters to the Isles, Europe weather WWI (5_11), by the same chain of causes as in WW II,  North Sea Cooling (2_16). War at sea activities may have initiated or even caused the Severe Warming at Spitsbergen in 1918 and subsequent Greening and warming (5_15) of Greenland and Europe for next two decades, until start of WW II ended the milder climate within four months in 1939. 

Climate changes twice (6)

Two wars - two trends (6_1)

References (7)

Trafford on demand publishing service, Canada/UK
ISBN 1-4120-4946-6

 The workout comprises about 320 print pages and is structured 
as shown in the Navigation to "Climate chang & Naval  war"

War winter 1939/40 in Europe (2)
Introduction

Meteorological issues

Northern Europe plunged into artic conditions, (2_11).
Pages 1

The lost West Wind Drift (2_12). Pages 8

Cooling the North Sea Stirred and shaken, (2_16).
Pages 12

Baltic Sea cooling (2_17).
Pages 8

Naval warfare issues

War at sea facts and events (2_13). Pages 5

Sea mines (2_14).
Pages 9

Bombing and depth charging the sea (2_15).
 Pages 7

Contributing matters

Rain-Making (2_31).
Pages 8

USA dried out (2_32).
 Pages 4

The war in China (2_33).
Pages 3

Cyclones and shells (2_21)
Pages 7

Russia-Finnish war (2_41)
Pages 16

Turkey earthquake (2_51)
 Pages 6

Violent weather (2_52).
Pages 3

 Climate during

winter 1940 –1942 in Europe (3)

Introduction

Global naval warfare

1942 – 1945 (4)

Introduction

Naval warfare during WWI responsible for climate change in 1918 (5)

Introduction

Global climatic changes during the last 120 years (6)
Introduction

Theses (1)