Scientists say Antarctic ice sheet is thinning

[JCMach1]

Source: Reuters

A Texas-sized piece of the Antarctic ice sheet is thinning, possibly due to global warming, and could cause the world’s oceans to rise significantly, polar ice experts said on Wednesday.

They said “surprisingly rapid changes” were occurring in Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea Embayment, which faces the southern Pacific Ocean, but that more study was needed to know how fast it was melting and how much it could cause the sea level to rise.

The warning came in a joint statement issued at the end of a conference of US and European polar ice experts at the University of Texas in Austin...

Read more: http://khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/March/theworld_March749.xml§ion=theworld

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Yikes!

[kestrel91316]

1. Sell those beachfront homes while you still can, folks. The market

is gonna tank and stay tanked WAAAYYYYYY sooner than anybody expects. The melting is accelerating.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. Meanwhile, look into Greenland real estate

And make sure that the land is at least 4 meters above current sea level. Once those ice sheets start to recede, you will have some prime property in the (relatively) cool upper latitudes. :hi:

[kestrel91316]

4. I'm thinking we will eventually just be able to relocate all the

coastal refugees to Antarctica. It's the NEXT hot development prospect, methinks.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Greenland is owned by a stable government; Antarctica will be a free-for-all

And Bog help us all if the libertarians settle there first.

[BushOut06]

9. I'd much rather deal with the libertarians than the holier-than-thou religious RWers

At least the libertarians wouldn't be trying to tell you how to live your private life. I'll take that over a new Puritan system.

[lvx35]

6. I'm wondering about Russia

they have so much land that's so damn cold, it makes me wonder.

[Sin]

10. I read about 6 months back.

that the permafrost in the tundra is starting to melt so that might be a bad idea since that hasn't happened in like 10000 years or some such but look on the bright side when it melts all the frozen organic material its made of will release massive amounts of methane. I'm sure that will help humanity's plight. :(

[lvx35]

13. Mmmm. Methane.

Nothing like 2 billion tons of gaseous pig fart entering the world to touch the all of our lives.

I am beginning to get the idea that the future is going to suck. Not in a glorious, apocalyptic sort of way either...but in a radioactive pig-shit kind of way.

[truthisfreedom]

3. All the people who bought homes at 25 feet of elevation are gonna have fresh waterfront views.

And the people on the coasts are going to move inland and look for property with a water view.

I'm about to go in 25% on a commercial property that's 1 acre overlooking the Mississippi River, just a few blocks from encroaching condos. When my business is too big to fit there anymore, we'll be able to sell it for a small fortune! Nice retirement package for me.

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

7. why are all ice sheets the size of texas?

[dipsydoodle]

11. Probably just means

they're white and thick. :rofl:

[Karenina]

12. They're MELTING! They're MELTING!

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[gulfcoastliberal]

8. Think about the positive feedback from all the melting permafrost

All that methane spewing into the atmosphere. The melting permafrost turns into lakes, further absorbing warmth and those lakes are "boiling" from all the methane being released. Even the latest IPCC report didn't take any feedback into account.