West Antarctic ice sheet could collapse, causing significant sea level rise, experts warn

foxnews.com ^ | 3/31/2016 | unknown

[rktman]

Scientists are warning that the West Antarctic ice sheet could collapse, potentially causing sea levels to rise more than 49 feet by 2500.

The study published in the journal Nature this week, cites the impact of greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades. Collapsing Antarctic ice could cause sea levels to rise more than 3 feet by 2100, say co-authors Rob DeConto, a geoscientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and David Pollard, a palaeoclimatologist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.

If emissions continue unabated, the scientists warn, atmospheric warming will soon become a “dominant driver” of ice loss, with prolonged ocean warming delaying its recovery for thousands of years.

[Sgt_Schultze]

The average high temperature for the year in Antarctica is about -49 degrees F, while the average low temperature for the continent is about -56 degrees F. source
So even if the temperature at Antarctica went up by 30 degrees celcius - the average temperature would still be 19 degrees below freezing.

[Axenolith]

Ah, this is an every 5 to 7 years hand wringing topic...

Realize though that in this type of climate regime or even a bit warmer and Northern Africa and the Arabian peninsula become vegetated savannah environments. The basin and range provinces of the American west have large lakes with forested shores in the intermountain areas.

Greenland becomes resettleable, enormous swaths of the northern climes become amenable to seasonal agriculture.

[SaveFerris]

Oh my gosh, I’ll be well over 400 years old by then.

I can’t retire on the beach with sea levels up by 49 feet!

We’ve got to do something! Buy a Prius!!! NOW!!!!!!!

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Even worse! Without that ice weighing down the Western Antarctic, the Eastern Antarctic my fall into the ocean, tipping the Continent, drowning all the penguins!
.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

And the Detroit Lions COULD win the Super Bowl.

Now don't be silly!

[PGR88]

whatever happened to the law of conservation of mass? It doesn’t apply for Global Warming hacks?

your water glass with some ice cubes floating in it has no more water than the same glass with the ice all melted.

[moovova]

2500...AD?

Dude..I can't afford to wait.

[dasboot]

D’oh!

[hal ogen]

These “scientists” are political shills who have sold their souls for globull warming money through grants. They are co-opted fools.

[NewHampshireDuo]

I’m sitting here at elevation 1135,trying to be concerned.

I'm sitting at 30 ft and I'm not concerned.

[SampleMan]

To get a 1 ft sea level rise requires that ~34 ft of above sea level ice melt off of all of Greenland and Antarctica.

So they are predicting 1666 ft of ice melt over the next 500 years. That is 3.3 ft per year.

Given that the average summertime temp of Antarctica is about 50 degrees below freezing, I’d say these folks a completely full of rat crap.

[notdownwidems]

“Then again, it may not, we just don’t know.”

[Plexi]

360,000,000,000 Meters square * 15 meters = 5,400,000,000,000

I think you're off by three orders of magnitude. One square kilometer is 1,000,000 square meters.

[nascarnation]

True, but ocean water freezes at 28F LOL

[Enterprise]

LOL!!

[Enterprise]

"what accounts for the additional displacement?"

Rosie O'Donnell.

[Graybeard58]

Well this appears to contradict the miracle fix brought on with the inauguration of Caliph Baraq....

***********************************************************

Give the guy credit, he did delay it by 500 years.

[fhayek]

Only if they face the Buffalo Bills.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Not the first time they have sold their souls for grant money and it will not be the last.

[Graybeard58]

Or all the penguins might dive off the Antarctic ice sheet at once, causing a tsunami to wipe out Brazil.

************************************************************

Not to mention causing Guam to tip over.