Ice Caps Melting

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
60
91
Will melting polar ice flood the earth?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/08/24/melting.arctic.ap/index.html

Note that it says that within a century something might happpen. It does not matter what you think is the cause this does present a possible problem that scientists admit they have no way of controlling or reversing. Clearly they can see some evidence of a warming trend, but do not fully understand the process.

Fact or Fiction? Is this a warming trend that will reverse or is it a possible process that can not be stopped till it runs full circle?

There has been flooding in Switzerland, what next?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The rate of ice melting in the Arctic is increasing and a panel of researchers says it sees no natural process that is likely to change that trend.

Within a century the melting could lead to summertime ice-free ocean conditions not seen in the area in a million years, the group said Tuesday.

Melting of land-based glaciers could take much longer but could raise the sea levels, potentially affecting coastal regions worldwide.

And changes to the permafrost could undermine buildings, drain water into bogs and release additional carbon into the atmosphere.

"What really makes the Arctic different from the rest of the non-polar world is the permanent ice in the ground, in the ocean, and on land," said Jonathan T. Overpeck of the University of Arizona and chairman of the National Science Foundation's Arctic System Science Committee that issued the report.

"We see all of that ice melting already, and we envision that it will melt back much more dramatically in the future, as we move towards this more permanent ice-free state," Overpeck said in a statement.

The panel's findings were published in Tuesday's issue of Eos, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical Union.

The report comes just days after environmental ministers and officials from 23 countries met in Greenland to call on governments to stop arguing over global warming and start acting.

That session was held in the town of Ilulissat, near the edge of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier that has retreated nearly seven miles since 1960 and has become a symbol of fears that the planet is approaching a dangerous warming.

The report was issued following a weeklong meeting of scientists that examined how the Arctic environment and climate interact and how that system would respond as global temperatures rise.

In the past, Arctic climate has included glacial periods with ice sheets extending into North America and Europe, and other times of relative warming.

After studying how various parts of the climate system interact, the researchers said there are two major feedback systems influencing the region -- ocean circulation in the North Atlantic and the amount of precipitation and evaporation that takes place.

Feedback can accelerate changes in the system, they said. For example, the white sea ice reflects solar radiation back into space, but as the ice melts the dark water will absorb some of the light, warming and melting more ice.

The scientists said they did not see any natural mechanism that could stop the loss of ice.

"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," Overpeck said.

In addition to sea and land ice melting, Overpeck said that the frozen soil layer called permafrost will melt and eventually disappear in some areas. That could release additional greenhouse gases stored in the permafrost for thousands of years, he said.

 

MiniDoom

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2004
5,305
0
71
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)
 

BushBasha

Banned
Jul 18, 2005
453
0
0
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.
 

Czar

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
28,510
0
0
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.

what does al gore have to do with the polar caps melting?
 

2Xtreme21

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2004
7,044
0
0
Originally posted by: Czar
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.

what does al gore have to do with the polar caps melting?

Lmao. :D

Anyway, I think warmth sure beats the hell out of an ice age.
 

tweakmm

Lifer
May 28, 2001
18,436
4
0
Originally posted by: Czar
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.

what does al gore have to do with the polar caps melting?
You damn liberals with your head's up your asses. What doesn't Al Gore have to do with the polar ice caps melting?
 

cKGunslinger

Lifer
Nov 29, 1999
16,408
57
91
Originally posted by: tweakmm
Originally posted by: Czar
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.

what does al gore have to do with the polar caps melting?
You damn liberals with your head's up your asses. What doesn't Al Gore have to do with the polar ice caps melting?

:laugh: :thumbsup:
 

Deudalus

Golden Member
Jan 16, 2005
1,090
0
0
Ice melts, it has nothing else to do. It can either stay ice or melt and staying ice has to get boring after awhile.

This thread needs a whole new outlook.

This thread is now about how a fresh blended margarita is way better than a 30 minute old blended margarita in which the ice has melted.

/go
 

BushBasha

Banned
Jul 18, 2005
453
0
0
Originally posted by: Czar
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.

what does al gore have to do with the polar caps melting?

I'll type s..l..o..w for the liberals playing at home.

First, I pointed out that warmer winters will lower heating bills, thus allowing elderly people to both buy their prescriptions and heat their house...Gore said this is what elderly people do in the New England area...secondly, Gore contributed to the melting of the ice caps:

GLOBAL WARMING ALERT: GORE BURNS 439,500 LBS OF FUEL TO ATTEND SUMMIT

"The most vulnerable part of the Earth's environment is the very thin layer
of air clinging near to the surface of the planet, that we are now so
carelessly filling with gaseous wastes that we are actually altering the
relationship between the Earth and the Sun - by trapping more solar
radiation under this growing blanket of pollution that envelops the entire
world," Vice President Gore told the U.N. Global Warming conference of 159
nations this morning in Koyto, Japan.

In what was one the most dramatic speeches in recent memory, Gore announced
to world leaders: "Whether we recognize it or not, we are now engaged in an
epic battle to right the balance of our Earth, and the tide of this battle
will turn on when the majority of people in the world become sufficiently
aroused by shared sense of urgent danger to join an all-out effort."

Applause filed the halls of the Kyoto International Conference Center. "We
must achieve a safe overall concentration level for greenhouse gases in the
Earth's atmosphere."

carbondioxidemethanenitrousoxidehydrofluorocarbonsperfluorocarbonssulfurhexa
chloride.
 

tweakmm

Lifer
May 28, 2001
18,436
4
0
Originally posted by: Deudalus
Ice melts, it has nothing else to do. It can either stay ice or melt and staying ice has to get boring after awhile.
Lord knows how exciting the word is gonna be when the caps melt :D
 

imported_tss4

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2004
1,607
0
0
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: Czar
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.

what does al gore have to do with the polar caps melting?

I'll type s..l..o..w for the liberals playing at home.

First, I pointed out that warmer winters will lower heating bills, thus allowing elderly people to both buy their prescriptions and heat their house...Gore said this is what elderly people do in the New England area...secondly, Gore contributed to the melting of the ice caps:

GLOBAL WARMING ALERT: GORE BURNS 439,500 LBS OF FUEL TO ATTEND SUMMIT

"The most vulnerable part of the Earth's environment is the very thin layer
of air clinging near to the surface of the planet, that we are now so
carelessly filling with gaseous wastes that we are actually altering the
relationship between the Earth and the Sun - by trapping more solar
radiation under this growing blanket of pollution that envelops the entire
world," Vice President Gore told the U.N. Global Warming conference of 159
nations this morning in Koyto, Japan.

In what was one the most dramatic speeches in recent memory, Gore announced
to world leaders: "Whether we recognize it or not, we are now engaged in an
epic battle to right the balance of our Earth, and the tide of this battle
will turn on when the majority of people in the world become sufficiently
aroused by shared sense of urgent danger to join an all-out effort."

Applause filed the halls of the Kyoto International Conference Center. "We
must achieve a safe overall concentration level for greenhouse gases in the
Earth's atmosphere."

carbondioxidemethanenitrousoxidehydrofluorocarbonsperfluorocarbonssulfurhexa
chloride.


Dude, can't you be civil and contribute to the topic.
 

sunzt

Diamond Member
Nov 27, 2003
3,076
3
81
WTF? The Ice Caps are NOT melting. Global warming does not exist!! It's just a NATURAL PHASE of Earth's climate!!! We have no scientific proof!!
 

jman19

Lifer
Nov 3, 2000
11,222
658
126
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: Czar
Originally posted by: BushBasha
Originally posted by: rdubbz420
cool, I could use a warmer winter...oh and I wouldn't need to drive as far to the beach.;)

...saves on heating bills, too; that way, senior citizens won't, in Al Gore fashion, have to choose between Viagra and heating their homes. Win-win any way you look at it.

what does al gore have to do with the polar caps melting?

I'll type s..l..o..w for the liberals playing at home.

First, I pointed out that warmer winters will lower heating bills, thus allowing elderly people to both buy their prescriptions and heat their house...Gore said this is what elderly people do in the New England area...secondly, Gore contributed to the melting of the ice caps:

GLOBAL WARMING ALERT: GORE BURNS 439,500 LBS OF FUEL TO ATTEND SUMMIT

"The most vulnerable part of the Earth's environment is the very thin layer
of air clinging near to the surface of the planet, that we are now so
carelessly filling with gaseous wastes that we are actually altering the
relationship between the Earth and the Sun - by trapping more solar
radiation under this growing blanket of pollution that envelops the entire
world," Vice President Gore told the U.N. Global Warming conference of 159
nations this morning in Koyto, Japan.

In what was one the most dramatic speeches in recent memory, Gore announced
to world leaders: "Whether we recognize it or not, we are now engaged in an
epic battle to right the balance of our Earth, and the tide of this battle
will turn on when the majority of people in the world become sufficiently
aroused by shared sense of urgent danger to join an all-out effort."

Applause filed the halls of the Kyoto International Conference Center. "We
must achieve a safe overall concentration level for greenhouse gases in the
Earth's atmosphere."

carbondioxidemethanenitrousoxidehydrofluorocarbonsperfluorocarbonssulfurhexa
chloride.

Ha, like we're all supposed to remember/have heard everything Gore has said. Stop being such a troll.
 
Jun 27, 2005
19,216
1
61
Originally posted by: sunzt
WTF? The Ice Caps are NOT melting. Global warming does not exist!! It's just a NATURAL PHASE of Earth's climate!!! We have no scientific proof!!

I know you're being sarcastic... but you're also right.
 

ntdz

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2004
6,989
0
0
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Originally posted by: sunzt
WTF? The Ice Caps are NOT melting. Global warming does not exist!! It's just a NATURAL PHASE of Earth's climate!!! We have no scientific proof!!

I know you're being sarcastic... but you're also right.

:thumbsup:
 

BushBasha

Banned
Jul 18, 2005
453
0
0
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Originally posted by: sunzt
WTF? The Ice Caps are NOT melting. Global warming does not exist!! It's just a NATURAL PHASE of Earth's climate!!! We have no scientific proof!!

I know you're being sarcastic... but you're also right.

:thumbsup:
 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
now if water expands when if freezes, wouldn't that mean that we wouldn't see no change if the caps melted. take a small iceberg and stick it in a bathtub, wouldn't most of it stick under the water. I would think if that melted, the amount that sticks out of the water would make up for the expansion that the water had when it was ice. Therefore everything would even out. Am I missing something here?
 
Jun 27, 2005
19,216
1
61
Originally posted by: KK
now if water expands when if freezes, wouldn't that mean that we wouldn't see no change if the caps melted. take a small iceberg and stick it in a bathtub, wouldn't most of it stick under the water. I would think if that melted, the amount that sticks out of the water would make up for the expansion that the water had when it was ice. Therefore everything would even out. Am I missing something here?

One of the polar ice caps isn't floating in the ocean. It covers a continent.
 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Originally posted by: KK
now if water expands when if freezes, wouldn't that mean that we wouldn't see no change if the caps melted. take a small iceberg and stick it in a bathtub, wouldn't most of it stick under the water. I would think if that melted, the amount that sticks out of the water would make up for the expansion that the water had when it was ice. Therefore everything would even out. Am I missing something here?

One of the polar ice caps isn't floating in the ocean. It covers a continent.

details, details. :) anyways, how much land mass is under it? didn't they have a large section break off a year or so ago?
 

cquark

Golden Member
Apr 4, 2004
1,741
0
0
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Originally posted by: sunzt
WTF? The Ice Caps are NOT melting. Global warming does not exist!! It's just a NATURAL PHASE of Earth's climate!!! We have no scientific proof!!

I know you're being sarcastic... but you're also right.

That says more about you than about global warming, because his statement is blatantly self-contradictory.
 

cquark

Golden Member
Apr 4, 2004
1,741
0
0
Originally posted by: KK
Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
Originally posted by: KK
now if water expands when if freezes, wouldn't that mean that we wouldn't see no change if the caps melted. take a small iceberg and stick it in a bathtub, wouldn't most of it stick under the water. I would think if that melted, the amount that sticks out of the water would make up for the expansion that the water had when it was ice. Therefore everything would even out. Am I missing something here?

One of the polar ice caps isn't floating in the ocean. It covers a continent.

details, details. :) anyways, how much land mass is under it? didn't they have a large section break off a year or so ago?

The iceberg was the size of a small US state, but Antarctica's bigger than the US and Greenland's large too.
 

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
60
91
Well if there is water where there was ice for the last ten years dont you call that proof of the ice melting?

It could just be a warming cycle to be replaced by some really bad winters.

If there is more liquid available to evaporate we could get lots more rain and snow every year.
 

Forsythe

Platinum Member
May 2, 2004
2,825
0
0
Originally posted by: KK
now if water expands when if freezes, wouldn't that mean that we wouldn't see no change if the caps melted. take a small iceberg and stick it in a bathtub, wouldn't most of it stick under the water. I would think if that melted, the amount that sticks out of the water would make up for the expansion that the water had when it was ice. Therefore everything would even out. Am I missing something here?

Hey, you quoted it yourself:

"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."