NYT: Antarctica, Warming, Looks Ever More Vulnerable

[DeepModem Mom]

Antarctica, Warming, Looks Ever More Vulnerable
By LARRY ROHTER
Published: January 25, 2005


OVER THE ABBOTT ICE SHELF, Antarctica - From an airplane at 500 feet, all that is visible here is a vast white emptiness. Ahead, a chalky plain stretches as far as the eye can see, the monotony broken only by a few gentle rises and the wrinkles created when new sheets of ice form.

Under the surface of that ice, though, profound and potentially troubling changes are taking place, and at a quickened pace. With temperatures climbing in parts of Antarctica in recent years, melt water seems to be penetrating deeper and deeper into ice crevices, weakening immense and seemingly impregnable formations that have developed over thousands of years.

As a result, huge glaciers in this and other remote areas of Antarctica are thinning and ice shelves the size of American states are either disintegrating or retreating - all possible indications of global warming. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey reported in December that in some parts of the Antarctic Peninsula hundreds of miles from here, large growths of grass are appearing in places that until recently were hidden under a frozen cloak.

"The evidence is piling up; everything fits," Dr. Robert Thomas, a glaciologist from NASA who is the lead author of a recent paper on accelerating sea-level rise, said as the Chilean Navy plane flew over the sea ice here on an unusually clear day late in November. "Around the Amundsen Sea, we have surveyed a half dozen glaciers. All are thinning, in some cases quite rapidly, and in each case, the ice shelf is also thinning."...


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/25/science/earth/25ice.html

[Spinzonner]

1. All those people must be hallucinating

According to the experts in the Bush Administration there is no proven Global Warming.

[Squatch]

10. And, they would be correct.

There is no "proven" global warming. It's a wildly contested theory with piles of evidence to support either side.

[Viking12]

13. It is not a "wildly contested " theory

In fact within scientific circles there is harldy any debate on the anthropogenic influence on the climate. Debate over the extent adn future of the influence, sure, but the science is overwhelming that humans are influencing the climate.

The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change.
Naomi Oreskes. Science, Vol 306, Issue 5702, 1686 , 3 December 2004


The scientific consensus is clearly expressed in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Programme, IPCC's purpose is to evaluate the state of climate science as a basis for informed policy action, primarily on the basis of peer-reviewed and published scientific literature (3). In its most recent assessment, IPCC states unequivocally that the consensus of scientific opinion is that Earth's climate is being affected by human activities: "Human activities ... are modifying the concentration of atmospheric constituents ... that absorb or scatter radiant energy. ... ost of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations" .

IPCC is not alone in its conclusions. In recent years, all major scientific bodies in the United States whose members' expertise bears directly on the matter have issued similar statements. For example, the National Academy of Sciences report, Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions, begins: "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise". The report explicitly asks whether the IPCC assessment is a fair summary of professional scientific thinking, and answers yes: "The IPCC's conclusion that most of the observed warming of the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations accurately reflects the current thinking of the scientific community on this issue".

Others agree. The American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, all have issued statements in recent years concluding that the evidence for human modification of climate is compelling.

- snip-

The drafting of such reports and statements involves many opportunities for comment, criticism, and revision, and it is not likely that they would diverge greatly from the opinions of the societies' members. Nevertheless, they might downplay legitimate dissenting opinions. That hypothesis was tested by analyzing 928 abstracts, published in refereed scientific journals between 1993 and 2003, and listed in the ISI database with the keywords "climate change" (9). This analysis shows that scientists publishing in the peer-reviewed literature agree with IPCC, the National Academy of Sciences, and the public statements of their professional societies. Politicians, economists, journalists, and others may have the impression of confusion, disagreement, or discord among climate scientists, but that impression is incorrect.

[Ripley]

14. Got a link for the pile of evidence supporting no global warming?

I don't think even Exxon's hired guns could convince anyone that it is not happening. If you mean "why" it is happening...well I believe scientists have a pretty good idea it is the increased burning of fossil fuels. So why not try to reduce them to try and stop the chaos? At the very least it might clean up the air. Wouldn't that be a good thing?

[Squatch]

15. Actually, if you have access to GEOBASE, a cursory search

will give you more information than you can handle.

http://www.oclc.org/support/documentation/firstsearch/databases/dbdetails/details/GEOBASE.htm

[Ripley]

17. I have no idea why you linked me there.

I asked for a link to your assertion, not a huge website. I really don't feel like filtering through it to find anything relevant.

However I personally worked with scientists who have spent decades in the field in Peru, Alaska and Antarctica and they know it is happening. So why do you not believe the scientists working in the field and take the word of Corporate Armchair "scientists?"

[Squatch]

18. You're more than welcome to take your time...

I personally work with scientists who do the same thing. In fact, I've just returned from a 2 week cruise sampling in the Gulf of Alaska as part of some graduate study work I'm doing. I'll be returning in the summer.

[Ripley]

19. When I type in global warming it asks me to download...

No thanks. I don't want to download whatever it is. Perhaps you could find something a little easier to access.

[The Doctor.]

26. I'm curious what theories you have concerning the steady rise

in global climate temperature and overall energy.

I understand that the planet's ecosphere goes through natural cycles.
I've also heard that we are supposed to be on the verge of another ice age (next 1000 years or so).

If humans have nothing to do with the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, then I'm very interested to hear your theory.

[Viking12]

21. If there are "piles" of evidence, certainly you can easily find some

If the evidence you claim actually exists, you could readily point us in the right direction. Unfortunately it doesn't exist, so you offer us this meaningless link.

[gasperc]

30. Yeah, it was 3F here in MI yesterday so warming is a myth

gee, its sooooo obvious, we can pump all the CO2 into the air with no dire consequences.


me thinks more minds will get changed during the massive flooding that will occur this spring

[UL_Approved]

2. Conspiracy theory

The global warming idea is nothing but unsubstantiated rumors, like UFO's and prisoner abuse...

Right.

[rooboy]

3. This is all nonsense according to the US Govt's chief scientist...

Rush Limbaugh.

[Elwood P Dowd]

4. Not only Limbaugh

but other world renown scientists such as Shawn Hannity, Neal Boortz, Anne Coulter, Pat Robertson, and William Kristol have proved beyond a shadow of doubt this is all a hoax. The liberals are behind this because they hate America and hate our freedom.

[natrat]

9. freedom is on the march

[ze_dscherman]

5. Didn't these "scientists" read the lates Michael Crichton?

He's a writer, and he knows better than all those conspiring scientists.

/ sarcasm off

[drhilarius]

6. Idiot "scientists" with their high falutin' Ph.D.'s....

what the hell do they know? (sarcasm off).

[Cooley Hurd]

7. I fear we'll see massive climate change in our lifetimes...:(

...maybe not on the scale depicted in the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow," but enough to change our lifestyles in a profound way.

[Eloriel]

34. And in this case, "profound" is a euphemism of the highest order

I fear. Not at all sure I want to be around to see it.

:-(

[jmcgowanjm]

8. Countdown to global catastrophe

The danger point of global warming, that is, the temperature
rise beyond which the world would be irretrievably committed
to disastrous changes. These could include
widespread agricultural failure, water shortages and
major droughts, increased disease, sea-level rise and the
death of forests - with the added possibility of
abrupt catastrophic events such as "runaway" global
warming, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, or
the switching-off of the Gulf
Stream.

More ominously still, it assesses the concentration of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere after which the two-
degree rise will become inevitable, and says it will be 400
parts per million by volume (ppm) of
CO2.

The current level is 379ppm, and rising by more than
2ppm annually - so it is likely that the vital 400ppm threshold
will be crossed in just 10 years' time, or even less (although
the two-degree temperature rise might take longer to come
into effect)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=603975

All the trend lines are moving rapidly in the wrong direction.

human pop.
food stockpiles
fresh water usage
oil use, production, depletion (depletion
may stop this)

The strange attractor is oscillating
new steady state inevitable.

[natrat]

11. i was under the impression

that yes humans and most other species would die out ; but in a million years or whatever the planet could start over. I read something yesterday that suggests the heat will perpetuate itself and burn this place up for a good long time and take everything including the cockroaches with it. oh well

[yinkaafrica]

24. Well, my friend, at least we have front row seats for the great show

There is no stopping it now, bush will do his best to see to that.

[gorbal]

32. That article is chilling

Chilling, but slightly comforting after talking to a friend of mine who says we have already reached the point of no return and says her professors agree with her.

[Eloriel]

35. August 13, 2010

This may not mean much to many of you, but it might mean something to a few of you -- an astrological chart for August 13, 2010, a very, very unusual formation:

http://www.gaiamind.org/aug13-2010.html

[420inTN]

37. Dec 21, 2012 is the date to worry about

http://exodus2006.com/6maya.htm

[Ripley]

12. This is horribly dangerous for all the scientists there.

I used to work with a group of Glaciologists at the former Institute of Polar Studies. A geologist fell to his death in a crevasse while doing research near McMurdo. This was about 15 years ago. With this increased destabilization of the ice, I imagine the research will become severely curtailed and perhaps the base might even have to be abandoned for safety reasons.

[gorbal]

22. You probably know more than most of us

where are the best places to get info on-line? I am curious how Ross's Shelf is doing.

[Ripley]

23. You can get info on current research in Antarctica here:

http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/

And here is a good link that describes the scientists who disagree that human activities are responsible at all for global warming (guess who gives them big bucks?):

http://www.epilogicconsulting.com/cascadiac/altviews.htm

[anarchy1999]

16. I think now is a good time to remind everyone of Dr. David Suzuki and

www.sacredbalance.com

Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

[gorbal]

20. Anyone go to University?

Ask any science professor, YES global warming is happening. Of course, you might not be the type to believe those silly professor types.(sarcasm)

I do think some peopel go to far when they talk like the whole world is going to end and their is absolutely nothing we can do about it, being defeatest doesn't help anyone.

[opihimoimoi]

25. Standby to volunteer to fill them sandbags to save Florida......

Get yer shovels ready//////

[Eloriel]

Hah! Who wants to save Florida? Not I!!

Some (select) Floridians, sure.

[jmcgowanjm]

31. Humans are merely being shown their place

the whole world is not going to end.
I like raccoons to follow us.

I=pat

Impact = population times affluence times
technology

Imagine a survivor of a failed civilization with
only
a tattered book on aromatherapy for guidance in
arresting
a cholera epidemic. Yet, such a book would more
likely
be found amid the debris than a comprehensible
medical
text.
-- James Lovelock

We're in the fourth quarter of the suburban sprawl fiesta
bowl with less than two minutes left on the
clock.

http://www.kunstler.com/mags_diary12.html

[Lorien]

27. Flippant posts aside; you CAN do something NOW

boycott big polluters, tell your reps you want them to make an issue of this NOW, and don't buy into the RW "happy bunnyworld" BS-this is serious, folks. Do you want to grow old? Do you want your kids to have ANY kind of life? I'm not just talking about having no health insurance, being unemployed and unable to afford a plasma TV-screw that, your kids won't have food to eat and will be fighting endless wars over basic resources.

The Economic Activism and Progressive Living forum in DU groups has lists of companies to boycott, and those which are blue. At the very least, you can start there. Stop waiting for someone else to "fix" things; WE need to be the ones who demand changes now. We were willing to march against war; now we need to march for the survival of all life on earth!

[lovuian]

28. This is going to destroy coastal lands Sri Lanka for sure

I mean those people are just going to have to move which means the worlds lands are going to shrink and have to support larger populations Islands are going to be buried and it looks like this is going to be quicker than what people thought!!!

[Ripley]

29. I read a book about GW which said that the Pentagon

listed Global Warming (or more accurately Global Climate Change) as one of the top 5 in their list of threats to the US. Resource Wars will become more numerous.

Sorry, I can't recall the book's title. But I did find this article which gives a link to the Pentagon report. Scary indeed.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0225-13.htm

Why the hell didn't Kerry use this? In fact, I never heard him even bring this topic up in his campaign.

[barb162]

33. Kerry also didn't use environmental in general in his campaign

and it and global warming are/ were automatic winners. Even most pugs have to believe that cutting down the national forests for the timber industry types is "not a good thing."

[mordarlar]

36. Why the Sun seems to be 'dimming'

>>>>We are all seeing rather less of the Sun, according to scientists who have been looking at five decades of sunlight measurements.

They have reached the disturbing conclusion that the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth's surface has been gradually falling.

Paradoxically, the decline in sunlight may mean that global warming is a far greater threat to society than previously thought.

The effect was first spotted by Gerry Stanhill, an English scientist working in Israel. <<<

I posted this in another warming thread also.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4171591.stm