Posted on 05/12/2014 4:46:14 PM PDT by Libloather
Two teams of scientists say the long-feared collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has begun, kicking off what they say will be a centuries-long, "unstoppable" process that could raise sea levels by as much as 15 feet.
"There's been a lot of speculation about the stability of marine ice sheets, and many scientists suspected that this kind of behavior is under way," Ian Joughin, a glaciologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a news release about one of the studies published Monday. "This study provides a more qualitative idea of the rates at which the collapse could take place."
The findings from Joughin and his colleagues, appearing in the journal Science, indicate that in some places, Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier is losing tens of feet, or several meters, of ice elevation every year.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
I know what will heal the earth. Tax the crap out of productive US citizens, but exempt the fascist billionaires and politicians.
From what I understand this has nothing to do with AGW.
CC
Anandakrishnan said future middle-of-the-road estimates for 2100 may well zero in on the top end of the current IPCC projection, around 3 feet. Without mitigating measures, that amount of sea level rise would inundate significant areas of coastal cities including Miami Beach, New Orleans and New York.
Three feet higher seas by 2100? How horrible. The end of the world. Let’s all go hang ourselves.
Or public policy wonks er I mean scientists making dire predictions that can’t be proven false for 200 years. Good 6 figure work if you can get it.
If inland water that has been frozen migrates to the ocean or to ice that is floating on the ocean, then it could lift the ocean. By how much, is a different question. How can adding the water of a little spot of ice to an ocean whose area is tens of thousands of times that much, make such a dramatic impact?
OMG, it’s getting worse by the minute!
The penguins are about to be in an utter fever.
Better visit Venice and the Netherlands while there’s still time. And Florida. Does that mean we go back to 49 States?
I have no idea what the number will be. But remember, most of Antarctic ice is based on land. So if it falls into the sea it adds to the liquid when it melts. Whereas when the ice melts in the Article the net sea level change is negligible.
I have no idea what the number will be. But remember, most of Antarctic ice is based on land. So if it falls into the sea it adds to the liquid when it melts. Whereas when the ice melts in the Article the net sea level change is negligible.
“When ice melts, it takes up LESS space, not more.”
I think they are saying that massive amounts of ice that is now sitting on top of land (and not taking up any area in the ocean) is going to break apart or melt and end up in the ocean. It’s a bunch of BS, but their science isn’t quite as bad as you suspect.
Dammit Jim! I'm a Doctor, not a climatologist! We're dead Jim, dead!
When it’s floating you are correct. When the ice is on land, it does add to the ocean water. Not defending the 15 ft number, but Antarctic ice is generally land based, not so much at the north.
Thanks for the ping to your post # 24.
25,000 years is a rather serious omission!
We all knew global warming would be the end of the planet, didn’t we? See here: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up”. (2 Peter 3:10). /s
Based on what the AGW wonks are already claiming, whatever WILL they say THEN?
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