http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/1023esuice.html
On Wednesday 27 December 2006 20:42, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote: > On Dec 27, 2006, at 9:27 AM, graywolf wrote: > > Some of the ice seems to be melting, some of it seems to be getting > > thicker. I have found nothing to confirm that the ice cap averages > > over > > a mile. I do know that it is over a mile think in some places, but > > that > > is hardly an average. Any realistic information I have found about the > > ice caps overall melting faster than normal can be translated to "Who > > knows?". > > I see that you are now an environmental scientist. Got there without > a high school degree too, if past conversation is any evidence. Amazing. > > Quoting: > http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/weather/snow-ice.shtml > > > With 98% of its surface covered with various forms of snow and ice, > > it's no wonder that the continent of Antarctica attracts "cold > > weather" scientists from all over the world. Basically, Antarctica > > is a snow and ice "factory" with ice depths on the Polar Plateau > > reaching 15,000 feet (the continent's average ice thickness is > > 7,000 feet). Thus, one of Antarctica's most important resources is > > its ice. It is said that Antarctica's ice accounts for 70% of the > > world's fresh water. Some people have considered towing icebergs > > from Antarctica to parts of the world in need of fresh water. > > This site has information that is well documented. > > 70% of the world's fresh water ... That's a bit of water, eh? If all > of that were to melt, not only would ocean water levels rise > substantially, but the whole ocean heat pump of currents and winds > would change radically due to both temperature and salinity changes. > > Quoting: > http://www.nasa.gov/lb/vision/earth/environment/sea_ice.html > > > Sea Ice May Be on Increase in the Antarctic: A Phenomenon Due to a > > Lot of 'Hot Air'? > > 08.16.05 > > > > A new NASA-funded study finds that predicted increases in > > precipitation due to warmer air temperatures from greenhouse gas > > emissions may actually increase sea ice volume in the Antarctic’s > > Southern Ocean. This adds new evidence of potential asymmetry > > between the two poles, and may be an indication that climate change > > processes may have different impact on different areas of the globe. > > graywolf the environmental scientist again: > > Remember where the ice caps extended to 10-20 thousand years > > ago; whoops, who can remember that far back? > > Ice cores extracted from the Antarctic ice pack provide information > regards carbon dioxide and temperature of the planet over the past > 650,000 years, or about 30x recorded Homo Sapiens history. Other > evidence infers where the polar ice extended to at various times in > geologic history. Current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels exceed > the highest previous levels in the past 650,000 years by a factor of > three, and the accretion to this level is all within the past fifty > years or so. > > If you don't think this is significant, well, hopefully you'll take > your final passage soon enough that it won't be of much issue to you. > > Godfrey -- Frits Wüthrich -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
