Posted on 08/04/2005 10:28:07 AM PDT by cogitator
The disintegration of the huge Larsen B ice shelf in Antarctica was an unprecedented event in the past 10,000 years of geological history, a study has found.
Research by scientists from Hamilton College in New York, based on the scrutiny of six ice cores from the vicinity of the ice shelf, found that a collapse of this size had not happened during the period since the end of the last Ice Age.
The piece of ice which sheered away from Larsen B into the sea in 2002 was roughly the size of Luxembourg. The study, published in the journal Nature, shows that the ice shelf had been thinning over the millennia but went through a more rapid loss in recent decades, probably due to global warming.
In March 2002, scientists announced the Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula had entered a phase of rapid break-up with more than 50 billion tons of ice spilling into the Weddell Sea to form thousands of massive icebergs. It had been known for many years that the ice shelf was thinning and in retreat but the speed of its final collapse astonished scientists. It took just 35 days for the Larsen B ice shelf to fall away completely after a Nasa satellite detected the first ruptures in the 1,255 square miles of ice at the end of January 2002.
Although the disintegration of ice shelves does not itself cause sea levels to rise (because they are already floating), their loss is thought to speed up the flow of ice from ice sheets on land, causing sea levels to rise. Larsen B's smaller neighbour, Larsen A, broke off in 1995 and other much bigger ice shelves nearby, such as the Ross and Ronne, are also considered to be at risk of disintegrating, according to studies by the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge.
Researchers have measured a 2.5C increase in average temperatures in the Antarctic peninsula over the past 50 years and many scientists believe there is little doubt that this rise can be linked to global warming and climate change exacerbated by man-made pollution.
The latest study by a team led by Eugene Domack analysed oxygen isotopes and the microscopic plankton called formanifera, which are found in ice cores dating back 10,000 years. "We infer from our oxygen isotope measurements in planktonic formanifera that the Larsen B ice shelf has been thinning throughout the Holocene [from the present to 10,000 years ago], and we suggest that the recent prolonged period of warming in the Antarctic peninsula region, in combination with the long-term thinning, has led to collapse of the ice shelf," the researchers said.
Yep - the sequel to this article will point out how this is a result of the Booosh tax cuts.
Yes... the collapse of AN ice shelf isn't unprecedented, or even the collapse of an ice shelf of that size. It's the collapse of THAT ice shelf that they are talking about.
Penguins won't have to walk as far.
Perhaps failing to notice that we were having an ice age 10,000 years ago, and have been warming pretty much ever since.
Honestly, what amazes me is the hubris of the environmental movement. There have been massive, catastrophic changes in our environment over the ages. Did we cause all of those? To assume we caused ALL of this, is to assume we can CONTROL all of this. We couldn't even make the tiny little biosphere work for crying out loud.
Sounds like NASA has become PC ( Politically Correct ).
It's Bush's fault that it still isn't!! John Kerry has a plan to fix that!
If it gets too hot, then I'm planning on moving to a thawed out Antarctica. It should be just right, with plenty of virgin land to go around. ;)
Right, but the collapse of that ice shelf isn't unprecedented, either--otherwise the headline would be, "Collapse of ice shelf without precedent for last billion years". The headline tells me that it quite probably collapsed a bit over 10K years ago.
Apparently the Sun is suppose to maintain it's current intensity and our atmosphere is responsible for regulating how much of it makes to the surface of the Earth.
quick! everyone buy an suv, we need to contribute to global warming to fight off the coming ice age!
It's the length of time called the Holocene, the period of time since the last glacial epoch. Therefore it's an important period of time, even if it's short.
No, to me that makes her a Watermelon BITCH, she is using my TAX DOLLARS and Clinton installed PC crap that gets her the freaking job to begin with to forward HER BS agenda.
Just wanted to clear that up for you, next we may discuss the 1st Ammendment and I will support your Right to say/think whatever you want, (but I shouldn't have to pay Tax Money for you soapbox to say it).
TT
Sediment cores obtained from under the ice shelf (before it collapsed).
Most convincing scientific treatise I've ever read ... we're all doomed I tell ya, doomed.
I am not so sure all those assumptions could be made from what I've read. It does seem odd someone with a liberal agenda would have the drive & fight enough to become an astronaut.
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