Posted on 02/05/2009 3:45:30 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Washington, D.C., and other coastal U.S. cities could find themselves under several more feet of water than previously predicted if warming temperatures destroy the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, a new study based on a model predicts.
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) towers about 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) above sea level over a large section of Antarctica. It holds about 500,000 cubic miles (2.2 million cubic kilometers) of ice, about the same amount of ice contained in the Greenland Ice Sheet.
This vast swath of ice is the anchor for numerous glaciers that drain into the polar sea and is bounded by the Ross and Ronne Ice Shelves. Whether or when this ice sheet might melt is still very uncertain, but even a partial melt would have a bigger impact on some coastal areas than others.
The new research found that sea level rise would not be uniform around the globe, owing to odd gravitational effects and predicted shifts in the planet's rotation.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Good reason to pray for a meltdown. Hope it catches our entire government in bed.
Oh, sure, next thing you’ll be telling me a warmer Siberia would be a good thing.
:)
The grease off of Chuck Schumer alone would make the Exxon Valdez spill pale in comparison
“The headline makes it sound like that would be a bad thing.”
Yep. Sounds like a feature, not a bug, to me.
That should save California’s water-starved agriculture, and still not deprive the Delta Smelt.
This sort of thing is perfectly acceptable to me. I will be a half block from the Atlantic when this happens and my lot will be worth much more than it is now.
I agree, that was my first thought “And that is bad?”
Yes, it won't be happening for millions of years. (And unlike Nancy Pelosi, I know the difference between a million and a thousand.)
Suppose there’s a cave painting somewhere around DC warning of the dangers of Global Cooling sucking up all the water?
>>Washington, D.C., and other coastal U.S. cities could find themselves under several more feet of water than previously predicted if warming temperatures destroy the West Antarctic Ice Sheet<<
Now, THAT is the best news I’ve had all day. Please, please, please let’s have LOTS of global warming. Just make sure the critters are in the House and Senate with no buses or limos to bail them out.
Enviro-porn.
Coastal?
What is the downside?
Click on POGW graphic for full GW rundown
Ping me if you find one I've missed.
All of the D.C. buildings, monuments, museums, etc. should be moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota.
“All of the D.C. buildings, monuments, museums, etc. should be moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota.”
Oh, I don’t know, with all the monuments under water, it might be like Atlantis (As long as Arlinton stays above water.) Besides, the Black Hills are beautiful as they are.
I'd rather than the really valuable stuff was as far inland as possible -- to protect from seaborne attacks.
Okay, I’ll give you the Badlands, or any place in Ne. :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.