NASA confirms Greenland ice cap melting

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TB2K spinoff uncensored : One Thread

NASA confirms Greenland ice cap melting

chart
The Greenland ice cap is thinning around the edges and slightly thickening in the center. Click on this map to see a larger version  

July 20, 2000
Web posted at: 2:05 p.m. EDT (1805 GMT)

(CNN) -- An ice cap covering much of Greenland is shrinking rapidly and releasing enough water to raise sea levels, according to a report released Thursday.

NASA scientists flew over Greenland in 1993 and 1994, and again in 1998 and 1999, using airborne lasers to measure the thickness of the ice sheet, which covers nearly 85 percent of the island. Their research shows it is thinning around the edges at a rate of about three feet (1 meter) a year.

Ice at the center of Greenland is becoming slightly thicker. But as it turns out, that progression is the result of weather changes related to the loss of ice over the remainder of the island, NASA scientists said.

After Antarctica, Greenland's ice cap contains the second largest mass of frozen freshwater in the world. The Arctic island has a net loss of about 50 billion gallons (227 billion liters) of ice each year, which can cause a measurable rise in sea levels.

In one lifetime, the rise would be nearly 1 centimeter (0.4 inches), if the rate were to remain the same, according to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which coordinated the study research.

Should that rate increase, or other factors push the level higher, the result could prove disastrous.

"When you consider a flat beach, an inch in sea level rise covers a large horizontal distance," said NASA researcher Waleed Abdalati. "There are instances where there are large storm events because the water's closer to the land. So it's something to be studied. It's something to be considered."

The NASA report, published in the July 21 issue of Science, does not mention global warming. But some scientists note that the massive patches of ice near the North and South Pole reflect sunlight back into space, helping regulate the temperature of the Earth.

Correspondent David George contributed to this report.



-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), July 21, 2000

Answers

Just a lot a bunk, right cpr?

-- (nemesis@awol.com), July 21, 2000.

well, I'm not CPR, but you are right Nemesis....it is a "lot of bunk". This sort of thing has been going on for decades....the greenies have an agenda, and they will misrepresent data to try and get their way. They will talk alot about holes in the ozone layer....without telling you why and how the two holes in the ozone layer (one at each pole) work. They will talk about "global warming" but never mention that each massive volcanic eruption that generates large volumes of air-bourne particles causes the average global temperature to drop several degrees for several years.

This is just another case of selective research and pre-conceived notions.

-- not an earth worshiper (don't@worship.creation), July 21, 2000.


Scientists will still be studying the earth for millennia to come. The earth changes... well, duh.

I noticed not much info on the changes in the south poles or how often these measurements were taken (four data points doesn't seem adequate to draw any logical conclusions). The last seven years is a fraction of a blink of an eye in geological time lines.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), July 21, 2000.


"In one lifetime, the rise (in ocean levels) would be nearly one centimeter (0.4 inches)..."

That's less than One Inch Per One Hundred Years

Not really worth a move to the mountains.

-- (retired@nd.happy), July 21, 2000.


OH MY GOD !!! that means the waves fron the winter storms here will be 800 inches higher this year !!!,,,,, oops, transposed the numbers,,,, .008 inches higher,,,, never mind :-)

-- Mr. Slippery (slip@slide.cum), July 21, 2000.


BTW, has anyone here read " Fallen Angels " by Larry Niven? A slightly different look at the Green Movement and the Green house effect.

-- Mr. Slippery (slip@slide.cum), July 21, 2000.

have not read it Mr. S. can you provide a synopsis for us? Is it pro-earth saving (as if the earth needed saving) or does it show the true agenda behind many of the "save the ______" types?

-- not an earth worshiper (no@not.me), July 22, 2000.

We're all going to die.

-- FutureShock (gray@matter.think), July 22, 2000.

BTW, has anyone here read " Fallen Angels " by Larry Niven? A slightly different look at the Green Movement and the Green house effect.

-- Mr. Slippery (slip@slide.cum), July 21, 2000.

Excellent book, Mr. Slippery!

Is it pro-earth saving (as if the earth needed saving) or does it show the true agenda behind many of the "save the ______" types?

-- not an earth worshiper (no@not.me), July 22, 2000.

The latter.

Here's a synospis of the book from Amazon.com:

The "Greens" have won and now control the world. Technology is the enemy of the people and is responsible for all the problems of the world. Burning fossil fuels is banned innovation is stopped and the world economy collapses. A major climatic change spurred by the lack of particulate matter in the atmosphere finds the world plunged into a new ice age. Technophiles are the underground and they have their heroes. Miles above the planet the last of the astronauts live isolated from the rest of humanity, imprisoned in a metal can once known as the international space station. When they send one of their ramscoops to collect vital nitrogen from the Earth's atmosphere it is shot down. Thus begins a frantic rescue mission to save the downed "fallen angel" from the frigid cold and the ravages of gravity on his frail space born body. I was fascinated by the premises of this book. I couldn't help but wonder if this is the inevitable conclusion of the extreme environmentalist movement. It's clear Niven/Pournelle place the blame for the demise of technology as much with the scientists and politicians as it did with the Greens themselves. The authors describes in great detail the consequences of stopping the technology train in its tracks. The effect on the world and humanity is truly devastating and can be likened to jumping from a car as it speeds down the interstate. This book should be required reading for all would be politicians, scientists and especially those budding environmentalists who may think the are doing the world a favor by opposing the high tech world we live in. It was a quick read, I loved it.



-- -@ (
question@everything.xxx), July 22, 2000.


LINK

-- -@ (question@everything.xxx), July 22, 2000.


Thanx @, I'd forgotten that Dr. Pournelle was involved in that book, it's been a long time.

Folks, this isn't a Science book, it's science fiction... but it's based on Hard science as it is known at the time of writing. There is a lot of evidence that the earth went into a new Ice Age about the time of the Industrial Age, and a case can be made that the only thing holding it off are the pollutants that we are spewing around today, take it for what You think it is worth.

It is a fast read, and a lot of fun if you are at all familiar with Science Fiction Fandom, if you're not you'll miss a lot of the bits :-) After all... FIAHIALS

-- Mr. Slippery (slip@slide.cum), July 22, 2000.


Frozen Water,called Ice ,expands,right? So,why do some of You keep thinking the Ocean Level will rise during Ice Melts?

-- Good Tasting (Ice Cream@home.ok), July 23, 2000.

Because much of the ice is above sea level you moron.

-- (sum.peepul@are.dumb), July 23, 2000.

responses like that last one are why I usually avoid discussions like this on the web.

Thanks for the reminder.....color me gone.

-- not an earth worshiper (now@y.not.me), July 23, 2000.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ