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Sea levels likely to rise 25cm this century
March 17, 2005 -
Tech person of the year: Nature
December 22, 2004
Looking at data on the rate of ice melt in the Arctic, researchers from the University of Arizona and other universities concluded that the rate is accelerating and that no foreseeable natural forces will counteract that acceleration. As a result, ice-free summers loom.
The situation will have worldwide ecological impact, the researchers said. The progressive melt will cause sea levels worldwide to rise, flooding coastal areas, where a substantial portion of the world's population lives. Huge sections of Bangladesh, for example, consist of river delta at sea level. The melt could also thaw permafrost, which could lead to an increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The increasing rate of ice melt is already having some impact on people and animals in the Arctic. Other researchers have speculated that the progressing ice melt around Siberia may lead to a summer Northeast passage connecting Japan to Europe in a decade or so.
Some researchers have also speculated that sea levels may rise nearly a foot in 100 years.
Rising sea levels, and global warming in general, are, however, issues that are passionately debated in scientific and political circles.
The climate of the Arctic region has veered from deep ice ages where glaciers covered huge swaths of North America and Europe to somewhat warmer periods. By studying ice cores and marine sediment, scientists have put together a picture of the natural climate envelope for the region for the past million years.
Arctic climate is largely determined by the interplay of three different feedback loops: the interaction between sea and land ice; ocean circulation in the North Atlantic; and precipitation and evaporation. Shifts in the balance of these factors lead inexorably to larger changes.
For example, the white surface of sea ice reflects radiation from the sun. However, as sea ice melts, more solar radiation is absorbed by the dark ocean, which heats up and results in yet more sea ice melting.
While some of these factors could cause the rate of the melt to slow, none appear strong enough to reverse the current situation, the researchers said.
"I think probably the biggest surprise of the meeting was that no one could envision any interaction between the components that would act naturally to stop the trajectory to the new system," said Jonathan Overpeck, a geoscientist at the University of Arizona and the lead author on the paper.
The report was published in the Aug. 23 edition of Eos, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical Union.
See more CNET content tagged:
melt, researcher, climate, rate, Europe
Jim
No, seriously, why not hook a big vaccum up in space, drop a REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY long hose down to the sea and start sucking up the Ocean, spraying the water to mars? eh? eh?
Darn Microsoft.
dysfunctional 3rd world. They should clean up their back yard
before they start knocking on our door.
Besides, if Algore was for it, you know it had to be a bad deal for
America. (Now watch the socialists come flying out of the closet all
ticked off.)
and cheap forms of energy to choose from. Too bad most
politicians are ignorant of what is available, and keep repeating
the same tired myth that our dependency on oil is inevitable.
People, start voting for Green parties, otherwise we will all be
toast, quite literally...
Democrats and stop dividing the vote. They only hurt their own
cause as a third party.
foolish Ed Bagely look-alikes. You go right ahead and vote for
those nerds and spilt the vote for the Dems. I really GOP want
you to.
Then when you can give the world an accurate weather report
3-5 days in advance then maybe you can join the adults.
Meanwhile, dream on about flying cars that run on Skittles and
rainbows. The rest of us will live the in the real world.
And the CHI-COM oligarchy power structure just mimics the US leadership and buys into OPEC propaganda against solar power...
Of course!!
The fact is this a normal process for the planet we just help it go threw it faster.
anyone remember in world history the map of the world before the ice age, I would say that The planet is entering a normalizational ( <-- Might not be a word) state before the comet put us in that ice age state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milutin_Milankovitch.
Have fun Bob!
past the drift of the earth's inclination relative to aphelion and
perihelion, he was really just sifting dust.
A far more significant factor is the Atlantic Conveyor, the current
pattern cycling sea water through the oceans. Losing the ice
from the arctic will shut off this conveyor, which in turn means
no gulf stream, which in turn means Northeast North American
and Northern Europe (including Great Britain) drops about 30
degrees in temperature, which in turn means rapid formation of
glaciers. Eventually, the Atlantic Conveyor restarts and the north
Atlantic area begins to warm up again.
And this could be a repetitive phenomenon.
The "100 years" estimate was first made by scientists and researchers between 2002 and 2003 in related studies about global warming and the progressive melting of the Arctic ice.
Though global warming is one state, what happens during or after is not known. There are theories about global warming leading to global water crisis (too much or too little here and there); to a new ice age; and/or to ecological imbalance which may lead to the development of damaging or lethal eco-system.
This article is a reminder of what is known since the start of the 21st century.
is less than one millionth of the Earth's surface.
outgasing from cows and termites, plus gasification of methyl
hydrate. Sure, CO2 is also important, but it's not the only one to be
concerned about.
I believe that we are having an impact on the climate, but all these doom & gloom "predictions" are just ridiculous.
Here is a Newsweek article from the 70's. Seems we were having the exact opposite problem back then.
Looks like a good investment now!
quagmire. Someday, swamp critters may like it, but probably no
one else.
Here we are, able to quantify certain "trends" for the first time in history and we automatically assume that a)It's never happened before and b)the planet is doomed based on a few years' observation.
How unscientific.
Is global warming real? Half the world's scientists agree...the other half disagree.
I'll believe it when I see it.
well be too late to do anything about it other than to kiss your
butt goodbye.
No, it's not a sure thing. Yes, it could be just a transient
phenomenon. No, we can't forecast the weather that accurately.
Yes, we can forecast that if the warming is real, and we don't do
anything about it now, there won't be anything we can do about
it later.
It's a gamble. Which way do you want to bet?????
Its more like "read only what will support what you want to believe"
So, if someone hates Bush, they are likely to read about how Bush is destroying the earth, about how Bush is a murderer, about how he's a liar, etc.
c|net, cnn, whoever, just keep ringing the register... cha ching cha ching!
One might note at the political level (power is ever so important to our peace); that our ORIGINAL Federal Constitution had a bit more potential for diversity in the Administration, given the fact that the people were given two votes for the candidate. Admittedly, they were basically only used for intities of the same party before the system was changed, after a few elections. One of which put Thomas Jefferson in a bind, percipicating the change. Yet there may be many people in the more modern times that would rather split their votes.
An example of a National contituion that does allow more diversity is that of South Africa. The present literacy rate is limiting the expression of its fullest potential. Still the minority 'white' population have been living relatively peacefully among the rest since its introduction. As having a 'Deputy President' in the cabinet helps to insure that laws will be followed properly. Admittedly, the laws of reality is what rules the world. Having harmony with that should be the focus all around.
Sincerely,
Gregory D. MELLOTT
Crichton wants to believe in global warming, or any belief, because of facts, not because scare tactics. Read the book with an open mind for truth.
And the CHI-COM oligarchy power structure just mimics the US leadership and buys into OPEC propaganda against solar power...
Of course!!
Sincerely,
Gregory D. MELLOTT
One source of alternative energy that I hear little about, to me is potentially one of strongest. Just a 6 foot wave 100 feet across its front, and 1 wave length long, has well over 100KWatts of energy in it. The North West Pacific is a noted storm generator giving us rough seas often. There is an area of the coast of California that has a sea mount that nears the surface that also generates swells pretty consistantly.
Sincerely,
Gregory D. MELLOTT
I blame George Bush anyway. He's usually behind everything.
and on a personal note, this girl makes ME melt
http://www.fotodaze.com/view.php?view=2077
- Melting an ice cube won't raise the water level in a glass...
- by August 29, 2005 8:39 AM PDT
- LAND-based ice melt will raise sea level. How will ice ALREADY in the ocean raise the level?
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
(80 Comments)