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Thin Glaciers Get Thinner in Antarctica
Reuters ^ | 9/24/2004 | Maggie Fox

Posted on 09/24/2004 12:01:10 PM PDT by TChris

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of Antarctica's glaciers are melting faster than snow can replace them, enough to raise sea levels measurably, scientists reported on Friday.

Measurements of glaciers flowing into the Amundsen Sea, on the Pacific Ocean side of Antarctica, show they are melting much faster than in recent years and could break up.

And they contain more ice than was previously estimated, meaning they could raise sea level by more than predicted, the international team of researchers writes in the journal Science.

"The ... Amundsen Sea glaciers contain enough ice to raise sea level by 1.3 meters (4 feet)," the researchers wrote in their report.

"Our measurements show them collectively to be 60 percent out of balance, sufficient to raise sea level by 0.24 mm (nearly 0.01 inch) per year," they added.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antarctica; climatechange; environmental; environmentalism; environmentalist; glacier; glaciers; globalwarming; globalwarminghoax; meltdown
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To: koolaidsmile
Thin Glaciers Get Thinner...

And, Johnny's get'n laaaarger

21 posted on 09/24/2004 12:15:41 PM PDT by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: Zavien Doombringer
Water level will not increase.

Actually, it will increase, these are ANTARCTIC Glaciers, which means they are on LAND. They are not currently displacing the oceans.

Having said that, I dont know why anybody expected the earth to remain constant, it is always undergoing change..

22 posted on 09/24/2004 12:15:43 PM PDT by Paradox (Occam was probably right.)
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To: bjmorris
Of course, it's because they sent four-wheel-drive martian rovers (or, more commonly, SUV martian rovers) which are notorious for their emission of greenhouse gasses.
23 posted on 09/24/2004 12:16:31 PM PDT by TChris (Why can't anyone manage to prosecute and imprison traitor politicians?)
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To: TChris

I think I'm gonna go buy a big-ass SUV and drive around all weekend to celebrate.


24 posted on 09/24/2004 12:17:04 PM PDT by GaltMeister (I'm just a Pajamahadeen cog in the wheels of the VRWC.)
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To: Paradox

If the Antartic Glaciers are thinning, it is due to evaporation. Just as water is evaporating from the oceans, at the same rate. Water always finds it's level, so where it is lacking, it will fill up, the sahara dessert will finally become a rain forrest.


25 posted on 09/24/2004 12:18:42 PM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (I am not late for Zots, I have stealth Zot capability.....)
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To: Zavien Doombringer
In addition, water is the only substance on earth that contracts as it melts. Therefore, the volume of space occupied by a melted ice cube is less than the volume of space that it occupied when it was a cube.

Having said that, there is no reason to assume that melting glaciers would have no impact on sea level. When the glacier is frozen, the water isn't in the sea -- so when it melts, the water flows down and increases the volume of the body of water underneath it.

26 posted on 09/24/2004 12:18:56 PM PDT by Alberta's Child (I made enough money to buy Miami -- but I pissed it away on the Alternative Minimum Tax.)
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To: TChris
You better stop scaring me like this!

I read your post and ran for the refigerator. The ice bucket was full.

This must be a local phenomenon.

27 posted on 09/24/2004 12:19:43 PM PDT by G.Mason (Mr. Rather ... do you have any last words?... No? ... you may put the black hood on him executioner.)
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To: NorseWood

Oh, great. Now the planet is going to wobble like a bent dredl.


28 posted on 09/24/2004 12:20:42 PM PDT by patton (Die Frau haette sich keine Sorgen dabai, aber meine Freundin wuerde mich sofort um die Ecke bringen!)
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To: Zavien Doombringer
Place a lot of ice cubes in a bowl (large salad bowl), then fill with water until the ice floats. When the water over flows the bowl, that's when you can panic, It won't happen though. It's called Displacement. The ice floating in the water already has taken the space of the melt water that will replace the area the ice has taken up. Water level will not increase.

Actually, to make the experiment more analogous to earth, you would need to place some rocks in the salad bowl with the tops of the rocks protruding above the top of the water, and then put some of the ice on top of those rocks and not just in the water. That way, when the ice on top of the rocks melts, the salad bowl will over-flow.

29 posted on 09/24/2004 12:21:59 PM PDT by spodefly (A bunny-slippered operative in the Vast Right-Wing Pajama Party.)
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To: TChris

Just one eensy-teensy problem with the nut jobs posing as scientists: http://www.john-daly.com/


30 posted on 09/24/2004 12:22:15 PM PDT by branch1
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To: farmfriend


31 posted on 09/24/2004 12:22:37 PM PDT by Libertarianize the GOP (Make all taxes truly voluntary)
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To: TChris; RadioAstronomer; Physicist

It'd be great if we ended up in another ice age.
I'd personally laugh about it.
Last I read, the previous Ice Age was supposedly preceded by a marked rise in global temp before crashing.
And this was long before the eee-vil SUV and long before man fiddled with coal or other fuels.
*chuckle*
There are guys here who are versed in this stuff, so I'll ping some guys who are likely to knwo, or know someone who does.

I suspect that the Earth is doing it's normal cycle of shifting weather patterns.
Similar to precession of the constellations, Earth's climate also shifts.
There are places in Africa that used to get monsoon rains, monsoon rains that now occur many miles further east.
So I'm not surprised by glaciers melting away in one place or another.

Astronomer, Physicist, anything you guys have run across on this at all, or anyone you know run across this stuff lately?


32 posted on 09/24/2004 12:23:01 PM PDT by Darksheare (Liberalism is political domestic abuse.)
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To: spodefly

For antartica yes, but for the Artic, no...


33 posted on 09/24/2004 12:25:01 PM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (I am not late for Zots, I have stealth Zot capability.....)
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To: AnalogReigns

Not time to be beach front property in Antartica either.


34 posted on 09/24/2004 12:25:56 PM PDT by TheDon (The Democratic Party is the party of TREASON)
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To: Darksheare
Hey Dark...you did it again...so I'll ping some guys who are likely to knwo
35 posted on 09/24/2004 12:26:27 PM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (I am not late for Zots, I have stealth Zot capability.....)
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To: TChris
Time to invest in South-pole timeshares.
36 posted on 09/24/2004 12:26:52 PM PDT by FFIGHTER
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To: Darksheare

Here's a good article on the subject:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123013,00.html


37 posted on 09/24/2004 12:27:52 PM PDT by TChris (Why can't anyone manage to prosecute and imprison traitor politicians?)
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To: Darksheare

From some Physic Profs in Col. they said if all of the water on and above the earth were to suddenly combine, the water level could be 6 feet above mount everest.


38 posted on 09/24/2004 12:28:25 PM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (I am not late for Zots, I have stealth Zot capability.....)
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To: Zavien Doombringer

Typo demon!!
I'll have to find him and crush him soemtiem!
(sometime)


39 posted on 09/24/2004 12:29:14 PM PDT by Darksheare (Liberalism is political domestic abuse.)
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To: Zavien Doombringer

...and another good article:

http://www.junkscience.com/july04/Daily_Mail-Bellamy.htm


40 posted on 09/24/2004 12:30:13 PM PDT by TChris (Why can't anyone manage to prosecute and imprison traitor politicians?)
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