"On average, global air temperatures were somewhat below the 1998-2006 average, although
with large regional differences...
"The global oceanic heat content has been rather stable since 2003/2004...
The above quotes and charts are from a monthly newsletter with global meteorological information updated to February 2013:
http://www.climate4you.com/Text/Climate4you_February_2013.pdf
Compiled by
Ole Humlum, Professor of Physical Geography, Physical Geography, Institute of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
Correction: Not on the Younger Dryas period, it was at the beginning of the Holocene ... even more fascinating.
Wandering around I came across this paper on the Younger Dryas...
http://www.scribd.com/doc/130912838/Very-High-Temperature-Melt-Products-PNAS-2012-Bunch
According to Dr Norman Page there will be a 'significant temperature drop at about 2016-17'
Hmmm .... a tipping point?
He has a guest post at Watts.
On the other hand, it may not have happened... there is this lack of evidence.
http://www.livescience.com/27565-did-comet-kill-clovis-culture.html
'EG you may be correct but why did the forcing in Greenland change so much and in such a very brief period? Ten degrees in 10 years is incredible.'
The only explanation is that a very large rock fell out of the heavens.
The explanation given here for the younger Dryas is the large fresh water melt upsetting the weakened thermohaline circulation and causing the big drop in temp.
But an even bigger later melt didn't cause this drop because the TH circulation had strengthened.
Amazing the temp on the graph doesn't seem to show any reduction at all from the second big melt.
I still can't understand when a warmer planet's higher snowfall accumulation drops below the increased melt from that same higher temp?
When does that cut off point occur? Must be maths and physics in there somewhere.
I'm sorry I should have linked to this before. NOAA's page on the Younger Dryas.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/abrupt/data4.html
EG you may be correct but why did the forcing in Greenland change so much and in such a very brief period? Ten degrees in 10 years is incredible.
We do know that the Holocene optimum had higher temps than today because sea levels were much higher even as recently as 4,000 years ago.
BTW the C Commission is at it again and Will Steffen etc is leading the charge.. Great to see the Bolter pounce on this stupidity and remind us what Steffen said on the Bolt report just two years ago.
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/more_spin_from_the_climate_commission/
I think what Pielke jnr said about the Real climate Mafia inmates should apply to our Commission as well. Their ABC are hopeless promoters of this rubbish because they want to help the liars in their ALP.