The Ilulissat Glacier, a Wonder of the World Melting Away

[G_j]

three stories that convey the dire state of the planet:


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http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0822-06.htm

Published on Monday, August 22, 2005 by Reuters

The Ilulissat Glacier, a Wonder of the World Melting Away
by Caren Bohan

The Ilulissat glacier in Greenland, a UN heritage site considered one of the wonders of the world, has shrunk by over 10 kilometers in just a few years, in one of the most alarming examples of global warming in the Arctic region.

"We are witnesses to one of the most striking examples of climate change in the Arctic," US expert Robert Corell said during a recent helicopter flight over the glacier.

The lower extremity of the glacier "has receded by more than 10 kilometers (six miles) in two or three years after having been relatively stable since the 1960s," he said.

Corell was in charge of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, a 1,400-page report written by more than 250 scientists and published in November 2004 which sounded alarm bells for the region.

The report warned that less than a century from now, the Arctic ice could melt completely during the summer, threatening many species and the lifestyle of the indigenous Inuit population.


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http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1546824,00.html

Warming hits 'tipping point'

Siberia feels the heat It's a frozen peat bog the size of France and Germany combined, contains billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas and, for the first time since the ice age, it is melting

Ian Sample, science correspondent
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

Researchers who have recently returned from the region found that an area of permafrost spanning a million square kilometres - the size of France and Germany combined - has started to melt for the first time since it formed 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

The area, which covers the entire sub-Arctic region of western Siberia, is the world's largest frozen peat bog and scientists fear that as it thaws, it will release billions of tonnes of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.

It is a scenario climate scientists have feared since first identifying "tipping points" - delicate thresholds where a slight rise in the Earth's temperature can cause a dramatic change in the environment that itself triggers a far greater increase in global temperatures.
..more..
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http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/greenhouse-effect-is-melting-g

Going, Going, Gone?
Greenhouse Effect is Melting Greenland
July 21, 2005

Greenland — In a stunning discovery aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise yesterday, scientists found new evidence that Greenland’s glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate. Global warming is no longer on the horizon, it has arrived at our doorstep, and if you live in a coastal city, that’s not just a figure of speech.

That’s because Greenland’s massive ice sheet locks up more than six percent of the world’s fresh water supply, and it is melting much faster than expected. If Greenland were to melt fully, it would cause sea levels around the globe to rise by nearly 20 feet. Even measurements of four to five feet of sea level rise could mean that cities like New York, Miami and Boston will experience flooding in low lying areas and increased threat of storm surge from hurricanes. More than 70 percent of the world's population lives on flat coastal plains, and 11 of the world's 15 largest cities are on the coast or bays and estuaries.

The Arctic Sunrise arrived in Greenland at the end of June, with scientists from around the world onboard. The ship and its crew have been documenting and measuring the impacts of global warming. Yesterday’s’ scientific discovery adds further proof that Greenland’s glaciers are melting far more rapidly than previously believed. All current scientific forecasts for global warming had assumed slower rates of melting from the Greenland ice sheet. This new evidence reveals that the threat of global warming is much greater and more urgent than previously believed.

In addition to the increased speed of the glacier, scientists from the University of Maine found that the Kangerdlussuaq glacier has receded more than three miles since 2001. Measurements from glaciers across Greenland are providing startling new evidence of thinning, causing the glaciers to speed up and decrease in overall mass, intensifying the flow of ice into the ocean.

Kangerdlussuaq glacier alone contains enough ice to fill the Great Lakes four times if it melts completely.

“The alarm is now deafening. We can’t stand back and watch our future go under, literally,” said Melanie Duchin, Greenpeace campaigner onboard the Arctic Sunrise. “We must stop generating global warming pollution."

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Excellent Portal for Climate Change News:

http://www.climateark.org/news/

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Kick. (And not just because it mentions Mainahs, either.)

[NYC]

2. I read about 3 other glaciers

just this morning. Acceleration.

[newyawker99]

3. kick

:kick:

[G_j]

4. ~kICk~