Mar 27 2008
Giant Antarctic ice shelf breaks into the sea due to global warming
EMILY CHANG, CNN REPORTER: Scientists fly over a giant chunk of Antarctic ice as it cracks and collapses. The chunk is enormous, about 7 times the size of Manhattan, 160 square miles. It was part of the Wilkins ice shelf, the biggest on Antarctica yet, scientists say, to fall victim to global warming.
But that’s not the worst part….
Now, as a result of recent losses, a large part of the 12,950-square-kilometer (5,000-square-mile) shelf is supported by a narrow 5.6-kilometer (3.5-mile) strip of ice between two islands, scientists said.
“If there is a little bit more retreat, this last ‘ice buttress’ could collapse and we’d likely lose about half the total ice shelf area in the next few years,” NSIDC lead scientist Ted Scambos said in a statement.
“Wilkins is the largest ice shelf on West Antarctica yet to be threatened. This shelf is hanging by a thread,” echoed David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey, which contributed data on the break-up.
This is happening about 30 years earlier than scientists predicted. But George, I thought you said there is no such thing as global warming?
Popularity: 20% [?]
In 1975 they were all predicting total destruction from ‘Global Cooling’… Ice caps almost to Arizona. I was looking forward to that. Instead I had to move North to cool off.
I simply don’t believe that it is brought on by man rather than simply natural earth cycles, which are caused by the sun. And the earth is not headed for destruction by ‘Warming’ any more than it was from the ‘Cooling’ scare in ‘75.
This is an interesting look at the subject: http://www.denisdutton.com/cooling_world.htm
In my opinion these things are used by some as a way to scare people and try to control what they do. When really we can’t control it at all. The BBC did a recent documentary proving that it is the sun that controls what happens weather-wise here on Earth.
Hey Jayleen! It’s true that the sun controls weather/climate.
But the sun can’t tell us to leave it’s ozone layer alone. Nature gave us the ozone layer to protect us from harmful UV.. and man invented chemicals that destroy it. That’s been proven by scientific research.
The ‘cooling scare’ in ‘75 wasn’t bogus any more than global warming is - up to ‘75, temperatures were dropping on Earth.
But… by the early 80’s man made chemicals had caused a hole in the ozone layer and the cooling trend stopped.
In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was signed as nations agreed to reduce the amount of ozone depleting chemicals we use so the ozone layer could repair itself over time.
I don’t think that global warming is a way to scare people. I think it’s a message to humans that we need to be a little kinder and more considerate of this little planet called Earth. It’s all we’ve got, really.
Here’s a great link;
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/
Some people think that they are way too smart. They think their comments are wonders of the world! Dudes don’t be so self-confident.
I apologize for the lengthy post…. but this subject should not be viewed lightly.
Instead of ranting on about global warming and people being self-confident, I am inserting some websites worthy of reading. Do take the time to read them and many more…. Research! Research! Research! The proof is in the puddin’
“http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4495463.stm -Global warming ‘proof’ detected
The Earth is absorbing more energy from the Sun than it is giving back into space, according to a new study by climate scientists in the US….. The reason the extra energy is trapped, the researchers say, is the human-produced greenhouse effect - elevated levels of gases such as carbon dioxide that absorb radiation from the Earth’s surface which would otherwise disappear into space.
http://www.livescience.com/environment/global_warming_041115.html -Report: Proof of Global Warming
Overall, the reports say, Earth’s climate has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900. In the Arctic, where a number of processes amplify the warming effects of carbon dioxide, most regions have experienced a temperature rise of 4 to 7 degrees in the last 50 years.
That warmth has reduced the amount of snow that falls every winter, melted away mountain glaciers and shrunk the Arctic Ocean’s summer sea ice cover to its smallest extent in millennia, according to satellite measurements. Swaths of Alaskan permafrost are thawing into soggy bogs, and trees are moving northward at the expense of the tundra that rings the Arctic Ocean.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1415818.htm - Tasmanian coral reef ‘proof of global warming’
Scientists believe they have discovered proof that global warming has altered Tasmania’s marine environment…. The senior biologist who discovered the reef, Neville Barrett, believes it is evidence that rising water temperatures are having an impact on the marine environment.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2007/04/17/nmushroom117.xml -collecting data on fungi in the 1950s started shows that fungi fruit twice a year instead of once…
The records reveal that the nation’s fungi are discombobulated by climate change. Some species that previously fruited only in October now fruit in April too because of warmer spring temperatures (February has warmed more than any other month, from an average of 3.5 deg C in 1950 to 5.2 deg C now). This has provided enough nutrients early in the year for the fungi to fruit. It is “unheard of for an organism to start reproducing twice a year in two opposite seasons”, said Prof Gange.
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/september22/yellowstone-922.html - Fossils provide proof that global warming affects wildlife evolution
http://www.greeneggsandplanet.com/blog/in-the-news/live-conference-with-will-steger/ - Firsthand Proof of Global Warming: Will Steger Explains in Live Conference
“In 1989 to 1990, [we] crossed the Arctic peninsula…by 2002 the ice shelf had totally disintegrated,” he said during his interview. The biggest concern he claimed is not the rising sea levels but the change in heat affecting the region. “Last summer, 50 percent of ice was lost, which is a shock to even conservative scientists,” he said.
The more heat there is hitting exposed darker water surfaces, the more it absorbs the heat and amplifies the global warming process. This in turn creates a domino effect where the overall temperature rises and can lead to melting in over 3 million square miles of permafrost. “One of the problems of permafrost melting,” he explained, “is structural problems, and the other is the release of methane gases into the atmosphere.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2002/jun/04/usnews.globalwarming -It’s official, global warming does exist, says Bush: A government report to the UN says that global warming exists
“In an extraordinarily secretive manoeuvre, the Bush administration has subtly altered its position on global warming… Among the report’s predictions are warnings of drought, damage from melting snow and permafrost, public health dangers caused by extreme heat and air pollution, and the disappearance of many unique ecosystems.
Worst affected will be coral reefs, the alpine meadows of the Rockies and the low-lying barrier islands of the south-east coast, which may well be engulfed by the Atlantic. Forests are expected to experience “major species shifts”. Improved crop productivity and better tree growth are listed as potential pluses…..”
What an excellent post. Thank you for taking the time to gather those.
Every year, when the hurricane season starts and we watch people in the Atlantic basic prepare for the onslaught, I wonder how long people can keep pretending there’s no such thing as global warming.
The head in the sand approach to life makes it easier… but never did solve any problems.
Kds Bbs Pics Russian Child Models Ls Girls…
I can not agree with you in 100% regarding some thoughts, but you got good point of view…