-Caveat Lector- Thaw in Greenland threatens new ice age http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,872609,00.html This week's big chill could prove a taster of winters to come
Paul Brown, environment correspondent Saturday January 11, 2003 The Guardian The snowfalls of the past week may be just a taster of what is to come, if the latest predictions from scientists are correct. The amount of ice melting from the surface of the Greenland ice sheet broke all known records last year, threatening a rapid rise in sea levels and a return of very cold winters to Britain because of a slowing down in the Gulf Stream. Already the Gulf Stream, which bathes the west coast of Britain in warm water from the Gulf of Mexico and keeps the country much milder than normal for such northern latitudes, is slowing down. Even greater melting of the Greenland ice could shut off the currents altogether, allowing depressions to dump snow rather than instead of rain in Britain and leading to a much colder continental climate, as has been experienced in the past week. As happens on the eastern seaboard of Canada, which on the same latitude, the sea could freeze and snow lie for weeks or months instead of a day of two. Last year large areas of the Greenland ice shelf, previously too high and too cold to melt, began pouring billions of gallons of fresh water into the northern Atlantic. Melted water trapped between the ice and the rock beneath is causing an acceleration of glaciers breaking off in huge chunks and increasing the number of icebergs. According to scientists at the University of Colorado a very dramatic melting trend has been in progress since 1979. Extreme melt years were 1991, 1995 and 2002. The Greenland ice sheet's maximum melt area increased on average by 16% from 1979 to 2002. This year's maximum melt extent of 264,400 square miles exceeds by 2.6 times the melt area measured in 1992. In particular, the northern and north-eastern part of the ice sheet experienced melting reaching up to an elevation of 2,000 metres (6,560ft). This is the first time this area of the giant island, closest to the north pole, has suffered this kind of melting. The Colorado-based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences also found that temperatures during the summer of 2002 were unusually warm over much of the Arctic ocean. "Since the season also was characterised by very stormy conditions, we believe these two factors contributed to extensive melt and break-up of the icepack," said research associate Mark Serreze, the lead author of the study, which was presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Sea ice in the Arctic last year was at the lowest since satellite measurements began. Mr Serreze said accelerated melting of sea ice, along with runoff from the Greenland ice sheet, was bad news for British weather moderated by the Gulf Stream. The warm water from the tropics now travels north past British shores and warms the western coastlines of Europe as far north as Norway before sinking to the bottom of the ocean and returning south. This deep water convection in the north Atlantic has already been noted to be slowing down by British scientists, and US scientists say the trend could profoundly impact global ocean circulation and climate. "In other studies, changes in the north Atlantic circulation have been implicated in starting and stopping northern hemisphere ice ages," Mr Serreze said. Climatologist Konrad Steffen, a professor of geography at Colorado, said a change in the Greenland climate towards warmer conditions would lead to an increase in the rate of sea level rise, mainly due to the dynamic response of the large ice sheet rather than just the surface melting. "For every degree increase in the mean annual temperature near Greenland, the rate of sea level rise increases by about 10%," Professor Steffen said. Oceans are now rising by a little more than half an inch every 10 years. Both sea ice and glacier ice cool the earth, reflecting back into space about 80% of springtime sunshine and 40% -50% during the summer melt. But winter sea ice cover slows heat loss from the relatively warm ocean to the cold atmosphere. Without large sea ice masses at the poles to moderate the energy balance, warming escalates. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 A<:>E<:>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article has to stand on its own merits. Therefore, unless I am a first-hand witness to any event described, I cannot attest to its validity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
