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Sea levels likely to rise 25cm this century
March 17, 2005
Studying photos dating back to 1940 and satellite images dating back to 1960, researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and the United States Geological Survey have determined that 87 percent of the 244 glaciers studied in the region have retreated during the past 50 years. On average, the glaciers retreated 164 feet, or 50 meters, every year for the last five years, faster than in earlier years.
That's a reversal of the situation 60 years ago when many glaciers were expanding. Still, 32 glaciers of those studied have made minor advances.
"This region has shown dramatic and localized warming--(an increase of) around 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 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."
Cook said warming is likely the primary cause, but there are others. Further study will be required to determine to what extent the warming is caused by human activity, the researchers said.
Global warming is taking its toll in the Northern Hemisphere as well, with ice around the North Pole retreating. During the next 10 years, the ice will likely retreat to a point where a sea lane will exist above Siberia that will allow ships to run from Tokyo to Halifax, said University of Colorado scientist Mark Serreze.
Meanwhile, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research published a study earlier this year stating that ocean levels will likely rise by 25 to 30 centimeters, or nearly a foot, by 2100. If no actions are taken to curb greenhouse gases, ocean levels could rise by a meter by 2400.
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glacier, Antarctica, researcher, scientist
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).
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).
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!!!!
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.
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!!!!
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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...
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...
* 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.
- Some Facts
- by April 26, 2005 12:02 PM PDT
- Check this out:
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
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- 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
- Like this View reply
Processing -
(18 Comments)* 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.