Posted on 10/17/2005 12:39:54 PM PDT by Ben Mugged
Antarctica is melting, adding to the inexorable rise in global sea levels, endangering millions of lives and whole economies, leading scientists said on Monday.
But while the effect is well known after years of monitoring from land and space, the reasons for the sea warming are not.
"We know sea levels will rise. We need to know by how much and why," Anthony Payne of the University of Bristol and one of the organizers of a major scientific conference in London, told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting at the Royal Society, Britain's national academy of science.
"This has implications for the whole world — most people and industries are in coastal areas," he added.
Payne said there was a net loss of mass in Antarctica as the snowfall in the center of the frigid landmass was more than offset by sea ice melting around the edges.
The key was to find out whether the process was accelerating, or whether it might stabilize or even reverse.
And the important factor was understanding the complex interaction between ocean and wind currents and how much — if any — of the warming of the seas was due to mankind's contribution to global warming.
"We know a lot more about the ice sheets than we did before," Payne said. "We know change is happening and that it is rapid. What we don't know is why or what is causing it — what proportion is anthropomorphic."
Scientists calculate that average world temperatures — which have already risen by 0.6 degrees Celsius (1.1 Fahrenheit) since 1900 — could rise by at least two more degrees this century, due in large part to greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
For floating ice, that's not true. If the ice is floating on the water, as in the case of the Arctic, water-level should not over-flow.
Antarctica ice is a different scenario.
" For floating ice, that's not true. If the ice is floating on the water, as in the case of the Arctic, water-level should not over-flow.
Antarctica ice is a different scenario."
Antartica is a continent.
If sea levels are rising, tell us where and by how much. So far all we are getting is conjecture.
Scientists calculate that average world temperatures — which have already risen by 0.6 degrees Celsius (1.1 Fahrenheit) since 1900 — could rise by at least two more degrees this century, due in large part to greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.
The author of the article apparently doesn't speak English. The scientist said that "we don't know is why or what is causing it," not "due in large part to greenhouse gases..."
---If you put enough ice cubes in a glass so that the top ones are above the liquid level then the liquid level will rise as the ice melts.---
It seems to me that the ice displaces it's weight in water, so that the part sticking up represents the added volume it assumes in a frozen state. When it melts it should occupy the same volume as it displaced in water when it was frozen. No rise in levels.
You do not want to face the wrath of a warmed globe. And this globe will warm or cool as it sees fit, in spite of what these little bugs on the surface try to do.
I meant that the ice was stacked to the bottom - analogous to Antartica since there is land under the ice.
A lot of the ice is resting on land. If it melts, it will flow into the ocean.
Except of course if the ice were atop a landmass and its runoff flowed into the ocean. Is there really enough ice atop landmasses for this to happen?
"Why would ice melting cause the sea level to rise? Ice takes up more room than water. When the ice in my tea melts the glass doesn't overflow. :^)"
There's a lot of ice on top of land, not floating in the water. If that ice were to melt, water levels would most definitely rise.
then there was the Rush monolog on arctic ice last week in the he was stating that ice cap fluctuations was due or lack thereof to solar energy.
Im looking at my radio and thinking this guy is an idiot (today) and he's embarrassing himself.
if anything its due to heat from the inner core or natural nuclear heat from decomposition.
Yes this I know to be true. Antarctica is a different scenario as it is covered in ice more than 1,000 feet thick in places and the ice is above sea level.
Anyway, the The cause of global warming is the SUN!
Polar caps are melting on Mars, but last I looked, no one was living there. Mars Is Melting
---Is there really enough ice atop landmasses for this to happen?---
That will be a tough one for Mr. Wizard to answer!
>>>Why would ice melting cause the sea level to rise?
Much of the Antarctic ice lies over land (Antarctica), so when the ice melts, sea levels increase.
To be correct, the example of the bowl with ice and water would require ice cubes on the rim of the bowl that are melting as well. In time, the bowl will overflow.
Mercury called, it wants to know about all this Global Warming talk here on Earth. It wants to know if we want to switch places for awhile. lol
" Anyway, the The cause of global warming is the SUN!"
I don't think that is clear at all. Solar output doesn't correlate with the 1945-1976 period when global warming stopped. As this point we really don't have a definitive answer.
Mars has about 30 times more carbon dioxide in its atmosphere than does Earth, but Mars has a lot less of everything else and the greenhouse effect is absolutely part of the reason that Mars gets up to nearly 70 degrees even though it receives less than half as much solar energy per square meter and has much less overall atmosphere.
So mars is really not the example we want to use when debating with the anti-corporate types.
Should be required reading for everyone. The article in this thread just goes to show that he is right - fear and lack of knowledge go hand in hand.
"You got it right. I saw a scientist on TV demonstrate the same principle. He had a bowl filled with ice and added water to the top of the bowl's rim. If the global warming fear mongers are correct, that water should have overflown the bowl as the ice melted. Didn't happen. Read Michael Crichton's book, State of Fear, and a lot of this Antarctica stuff is debunked. No mention at all about the Solar storms and how the ice is melting on Mars, too."
1. To get a better example he should have has the ice resting on a rock.
2. You do realize that "State of Fear," like Jurassic Park is a work of fiction, yes?
;-)
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