Posted on 03/27/2008 1:34:39 AM PDT by Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit
"Block after block of ice is just tumbling and crumbling into the ocean," Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said in a telephone interview.
"The shelf is not just cracking off and a piece goes drifting away, but totally shattering. These kinds of events, we don't see them very often. But we want to understand them better because these are the things that lead to a complete loss of the ice shelf," Scambos added.
Scambos said a large part of the ice shelf is now supported by only a thin strip of ice. This last "ice buttress" could collapse and about half the total ice shelf area could be lost in the next few years, Scambos added.
British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan said in a statement: "This shelf is hanging by a thread."
"One corner of it that's exposed to the ocean is shattering in a pattern that we've seen in a few places over the past 10 or 15 years. In every case, we've eventually concluded that it's a result of climate warming," Scambos added.
Satellite images showing the collapse began on February 28, as a large iceberg measuring 25.5 by 1.5 miles fell away from the ice shelf's southwestern front leading to a runaway disintegration of the shelf interior, Scambos said.
A plane also was sent over the area to get photographs of the shelf as it was disintegrating, he added.
Scambos said this ice shelf has been in place for at least a few hundred years, but warm air and exposure to ocean waves are causing a breakup. In the past half century, the Antarctic Peninsula has witnessed a warming as fast as anywhere on the planet, according to scientists.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Satellite images show that a large hunk of Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf has started to collapse in a fast-warming region of the continent, scientists said on Tuesday.
The area of collapse measured about 160 square miles of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, according to satellite imagery from the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The Wilkins Ice Shelf is a broad sheet of permanent floating ice that spans about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km) and is located on the southwest Antarctic Peninsula about 1,000 miles south of South America.
"The warming that's going on in the peninsula is pretty clearly tied to greenhouse gas increases and the change that they have in the atmospheric circulation around the Antarctic," Scambos said.
With Antarctica's summer melt season coming to an end, the he said he does not expect the ice shelf to disintegrate further immediately, but come January scientists will be watching to see if it continues to fall apart.
“With Antarctica’s summer melt season coming to an end, the he said he does not expect the ice shelf to disintegrate further immediately, but...
next ‘summer melt season’ we expect to see some more melting.
“Block after block of ice is just tumbling and crumbling into the ocean,” Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said in a telephone interview.
“The shelf is not just cracking off and a piece goes drifting away, but totally shattering. These kinds of events, we don’t see them very often. But we want to understand them better because these are the things that lead to a complete loss of the ice shelf,” Scambos added.
YET. The article states this is about ONE BLOCK 125 miles long and 1.5 miles wide.
NOW, which is it?
There was a larger block that broke off the ice shelf, this past year. Much larger.
The articles written about that one stated that it was a normal event, even though rare.
The article you posted is implying that the ice caps will ‘shatter’ and ‘disintegrate’,’totally’.
I call those outright lies.
When, for instance, has this ever, ever occurred?
Ring Ring
Ring Ring
“Hello. Mr. Sun? Would you please cool it already?
Oh! You already are?
Thanks!”
Fat penguins.
The article is garbage and more hysteria, pumped out by the media and global warming nuts as a desperation move while their agenda goes down the toilet. Ice shelves in and of their nature collapse into the water as they have been doing for eons. It’s what causes icebergs. To say global warming caused this is akin to saying global warming sank the Titanic. We have heard this hysteria many times over. In 2001 when part of the Larsen ice shelf broke off, which was a much larger piece than this recent break off, the hand wringing and wailing was just as intense. However, a close scrutiny of the 2001 Larsen shelf reveals that scientists said that after the ice calved off, the Larsen shelf had been RETURNED TO THE SIZE IT WAS IN 1911 when first mapped by Amundsen and Scott. So there you have it, this recent episode if you read the articles closely says somewhat the same thing.....this ice shelf may have been there for 400 years!!!! Wow, and what was it like 420 years ago?
The fact that it’s summer in the Antarctic seems to be lost on some, the fact that in the height of summer in Antarctica ant that there is 2 MILLION SQUARE MILES more sea ice than the historical norm currently is also lost to those that deny reality.
There.........I’m done ranting...........
The article is simply more GW bunk and lies. What they don’t mention is that Antartica has been cooling which has been a major thorn in the GW Socialists side.
I was hoping McCain would drop this idiotic GW crap. As a result he may lose my support because to belive in GW proves one to be an absolute moron and a Socialist lemming. Maybe he’s only mouthing that crap to get elected, who knows.
Even if that’s the case nothing pisses me off more than this Commuinst driven wealth transfer scheme that is mainly targeted at weakening America as much as possible.
I’m all for sensible environmentalism here, but I think that should this GW crap be ultimately proven to be the largest hoax in history then public figures, “scientists”, educators and government officials responsible for spreading this crap should be executed and all others flogged within an inch of their lives with some salt rubbed in to boot. After all, isn’t that what the other side advocates against “Deniers”? Are they not deliberately lying and then saying “if you don’t buy into our lie and give us all your money then you shouldn’t be allowed to live on this planet? The Global Warming scheme is HIDEOUS.
Oh and heres a picture of my "Office" I have been a pilot flying this beauty for over 12 years. Nothing like a rocket assisted take off from the top of Greenland. Oh...and the ice is 3 MILES thick. Its not going ANYWAHERE Same of rAntarctica only there is more of it.
Could someone please post stick figures running back and forth.
It’s summer in antarctica - the end of a warming period that happens every year. Also, the ice shelf broke off since new ice is being formed at higher rates in the winter thus creating more ice than ever. Temps last winter were lower than average in antarctica. The facts reported by science reporters are lacking validation.
My alter career path was always to be a research climatologist. When I was in college in the '70's (in this somewhat related field), our professors used the warn us of short term macro trends that bascially incorporated a 10-20 year phases. In fact they used the "coming ice age" mantra that the media was scaring folks with in the 1970's.
Honest answer is, that there many other factors that influence the weather that have much much more impact than human activity (i.e solar activity, Sea Temperatures)
Probably the best question to ask one of these whackos has always been how could have the Viking colonized Greenland 1000 years ago. They sure didn't drive SUV's back then. 9 out of 10 whackos will respond that it was a short term anamolous trend, and then realize they debunked their own argument of the results of the past 20 years here. Bottom line.... Has there been global warming say 1995-2005...answer is yes. Has man had any single hand in it.... my response is a resounding NO!
Ice is constantly melting and then refreezing. It’s called summer, fall, winter and spring.
Winter hasn’t fully arrived there, and it hasn’t fully left here yet. The amazing thing is how ‘amazed’ these fools are every time they see it happen. It’s called the weather and I can tell you this... When you die, when your children die, when their children die, and so on and so forth... the Arctic ice and the Antarctic ice will still be there.
Sometimes there’ll be more, some times there will be less... But it will be there. And Al Gore and all of his favorite global warming scientist will be long gone, fully discredited and dead.
You know... This Global Warming thing could have some positive effect.
1. Third world countries would have higher rates of disease and bug infestation. Plus large parts of their populations die off.
2. Deserts expanding would cause greater starvation in the middle east and Sahara Africa. Plus large parts of their population die off.
3. Rising Ocean levels. More flooding in island and coastal regions. Plus large parts of population move inland creating overpopulation, spread of disease and greater deaths in their population.
4. More markets for our grain and technology.
Everything has a silver lining.
Sarc Alert Off!
Good post, great discussion. BTTT
Ok, the giant ice shelfs have collapsed. The cities aren’t flooded, the crops haven’t failed, sea level is stable, the penguins are fine and life goes on normally. What’s the big deal?
OMG! What happened to the pilot? Ane they're worried about the ice cubes?
< /sarc >
That would make one big ICEE. Take mine in grape flavor please.
There's a man (gore) without a clue over there - telling me I've got to be 'ware.
So, a thawing out Antarctica is supposed to be a BAD thing? Heck, there’ll be a LOT more beach front property and land galore if the ice sheets melt!
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