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Comments on: Glaciers in Antarctica in retreat

Researchers find that 87 percent of 244 glaciers have retreated during the past half century.
Giant iceberg strikes Antarctica

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2 degrees Celsius equals...?
by April 25, 2005 6:20 PM PDT
"This region has shown dramatic and localized warming--
around 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the last
50 years," lead author of the study Alison Cook said in a
statement. "Fifty years ago, most of the glaciers we looked at
were slowly growing in length but since then this pattern has
reversed. In the last five years the majority were actually
shrinking rapidly."


I think this should read "2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees
Fahrenheit)..." as it's a measurement of increase from an
arbitrary point zero, not an absolute measurement of increase -
e.g. if a temperature rose 2 degrees Celsius above the boiling
point of water, we wouldn't say it rose 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit
(to 247.6 degrees).
Reply to this comment
2 degrees Celsius equals...?
by April 25, 2005 6:20 PM PDT
"This region has shown dramatic and localized warming--
around 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the last
50 years," lead author of the study Alison Cook said in a
statement. "Fifty years ago, most of the glaciers we looked at
were slowly growing in length but since then this pattern has
reversed. In the last five years the majority were actually
shrinking rapidly."


I think this should read "2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees
Fahrenheit)..." as it's a measurement of increase from an
arbitrary point zero, not an absolute measurement of increase -
e.g. if a temperature rose 2 degrees Celsius above the boiling
point of water, we wouldn't say it rose 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit
(to 247.6 degrees).
Reply to this comment
More support for junkscience ?
by April 25, 2005 6:36 PM PDT
Global Warming is just another BS Progressive scheme to destroy all industry.

Since when is "News.Com" dedicated to self-distruction?

This is supposed to be a "tech news site" not a vehicle to promote Left-Wing BS!!!!
Reply to this comment
Don't I know it!
by April 25, 2005 7:13 PM PDT
Global warming - it's a big conspiracy, and behind it... the
Pentaverate.

The Gettys, the Rothchilds, the Queen, the Vatican, and the
Colonel, before he went teats up - "oooh, you're going to eat my
chicken..."

Little known fact: The colonel puts an addictive chemical in his
chicken that makes you crave for it fortnightly.
More support for junkscience ?
by April 25, 2005 6:36 PM PDT
Global Warming is just another BS Progressive scheme to destroy all industry.

Since when is "News.Com" dedicated to self-distruction?

This is supposed to be a "tech news site" not a vehicle to promote Left-Wing BS!!!!
Reply to this comment
Don't I know it!
by April 25, 2005 7:13 PM PDT
Global warming - it's a big conspiracy, and behind it... the
Pentaverate.

The Gettys, the Rothchilds, the Queen, the Vatican, and the
Colonel, before he went teats up - "oooh, you're going to eat my
chicken..."

Little known fact: The colonel puts an addictive chemical in his
chicken that makes you crave for it fortnightly.
What the study author actually said...
by signalops April 25, 2005 7:20 PM PDT
The author of the study has posted a commentary online at
RealClimate. Please see http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?
p=146

The looked at glaciers on the northern part of the Antarctic
peninsula, and all of which are floating on the ocean. One of the
study author's notes that the ice melt here may be due to warm
ocean currents and may be unrelated to atmospheric
temperatures.

The overall peninsula represents about 2% of the land mass of
Antarctica. Nearly all of the rest of Antarctica remains below
freezing year around (hence, no melting) and most of the
continent has a documented cooling trend. Please see the charts
at the British Antarctic Survey web site at http://
www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_Antarctica/Weather/Temperature/
index.php
Reply to this comment
Additionally ...
by signalops April 25, 2005 7:24 PM PDT
David Vaughn, one of the study author's I cited above, notes that
the sea level will not change as a result of the glacier melt that
they document since these glaciers are already floating on the
ocean. In other words, their water is already in the ocean. Thus,
the last paragraph of the story inappropriately links this research
- which shows no impact on sea levels - to rising sea levels.
What the study author actually said...
by signalops April 25, 2005 7:20 PM PDT
The author of the study has posted a commentary online at
RealClimate. Please see http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?
p=146

The looked at glaciers on the northern part of the Antarctic
peninsula, and all of which are floating on the ocean. One of the
study author's notes that the ice melt here may be due to warm
ocean currents and may be unrelated to atmospheric
temperatures.

The overall peninsula represents about 2% of the land mass of
Antarctica. Nearly all of the rest of Antarctica remains below
freezing year around (hence, no melting) and most of the
continent has a documented cooling trend. Please see the charts
at the British Antarctic Survey web site at http://
www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_Antarctica/Weather/Temperature/
index.php
Reply to this comment
Additionally ...
by signalops April 25, 2005 7:24 PM PDT
David Vaughn, one of the study author's I cited above, notes that
the sea level will not change as a result of the glacier melt that
they document since these glaciers are already floating on the
ocean. In other words, their water is already in the ocean. Thus,
the last paragraph of the story inappropriately links this research
- which shows no impact on sea levels - to rising sea levels.
Remember the Cigarette Companies
by April 25, 2005 10:01 PM PDT
Nobody cares,,it wont happen in their lifetime. Proving that this isn't just another regular occurance from mother nature is just as debatable as not getting cancer from cigarettes.
It takes years to prove...
Oh,,has anyone thought of the possibility that the jet stream will have more of a frequency. That is, it wont have a large curve, when the high pressure from evaporation occurs, it will go to the low pressure area, the cold regions. When the cold region turns into a high pressure area and hasnt lost its energy, then the air will travel to a region that has spring or summer conditions and freeze crops. This is about as short as I can make it without getting into details,,does anybody care...
Reply to this comment
Remember the Cigarette Companies
by April 25, 2005 10:01 PM PDT
Nobody cares,,it wont happen in their lifetime. Proving that this isn't just another regular occurance from mother nature is just as debatable as not getting cancer from cigarettes.
It takes years to prove...
Oh,,has anyone thought of the possibility that the jet stream will have more of a frequency. That is, it wont have a large curve, when the high pressure from evaporation occurs, it will go to the low pressure area, the cold regions. When the cold region turns into a high pressure area and hasnt lost its energy, then the air will travel to a region that has spring or summer conditions and freeze crops. This is about as short as I can make it without getting into details,,does anybody care...
Reply to this comment
Some Facts
by April 26, 2005 12:02 PM PDT
Check this out:

* the Sahara Desert is shrinking
* The actual ice mass in the Antarctic is growing
* Glaciers in Greenland and Iceland are growing
* Sea levels have been increasing... for 6000 years. Doubtful changes over this period correlate with industrial emissions.

I can provide peer-reviewed article citations on these topics. Does global warming exist or not? It can be argued both ways, depending on which facts you use.

Try reading "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton. Without a crisis, the eco-movement will find itself irrelevant. In the 1970s, they actually claimed there was a coming ice age! Do a Google search on "global cooling" and "Time" or "Newsweek" and see for yourself.

Journalism is the same. In this case, the author used some information and modified it to support his claim for global warming. The original authors clearly did not intend it to be used this way. However, without making this leap, the story is not as compelling.
Reply to this comment
40 years of data?
by don1p2 July 27, 2005 7:43 PM PDT
Can you say ...small sample size. This is trashscience at its worse
View reply
Some Facts
by April 26, 2005 12:02 PM PDT
Check this out:

* the Sahara Desert is shrinking
* The actual ice mass in the Antarctic is growing
* Glaciers in Greenland and Iceland are growing
* Sea levels have been increasing... for 6000 years. Doubtful changes over this period correlate with industrial emissions.

I can provide peer-reviewed article citations on these topics. Does global warming exist or not? It can be argued both ways, depending on which facts you use.

Try reading "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton. Without a crisis, the eco-movement will find itself irrelevant. In the 1970s, they actually claimed there was a coming ice age! Do a Google search on "global cooling" and "Time" or "Newsweek" and see for yourself.

Journalism is the same. In this case, the author used some information and modified it to support his claim for global warming. The original authors clearly did not intend it to be used this way. However, without making this leap, the story is not as compelling.
Reply to this comment
40 years of data?
by don1p2 July 27, 2005 7:43 PM PDT
Can you say ...small sample size. This is trashscience at its worse
View reply
(18 Comments)
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