Arctic ice cap to disappear by 2040 (AFP)

[redacted]

(From Agençe France-Presse)

WASHINGTON: The worrying shrinkage of the Arctic ice pack could leave the northerly ocean virtually devoid of ice in summer by 2040, according to an international study.

The research, which appeared on Tuesday in the U.S. journal Geophysical Research Letters, mainly pointed at greenhouse-gas emissions as the culprit.

It warned that if carbon pollution continues to increase at present rates, the Arctic's normal cycle of freezing and thawing faces catastrophic disruption.

A simulation run by scientists at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Canada's McGill University predicted that the area covered by ice in September - before new ice begins to form each winter - could shrink from about 5.9 million square kilometres to 1.9 million square kilometres within a decade.

MORE
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/920

[phantom power]

1. Actually, it's worse than that.

Even if we halted our CO2 emissions tomorrow, this is all coming to pass. And probably faster than they say. Every climate-change report I've read for the last 3 years has come along with the statement "this was faster than we expected." The corrolary is easy: if they say "2040" we can assume their predictions are too conservative. It will be sooner.

[lapfog_1]

6. Yes, that is because the models don't take into account ALL

of the positive feedback loops that actually exist in nature. Every time they have to go back and refine the models to incorporate what nature actually does.

I think this winter, from across the entire Norther Hemisphere of the planet, things are going very badly. It's not just in the Arctic, but everywhere. Armadillos in Kansas! Cherry blossom buds in Washington DC now. European ski resorts with no snow (not just a little snow, but NO snow).

We don't have 100 years to address this, we don't have 50 years. We have 20, at best. And that's to a place where we are not only not adding to the problem, but actively working to reverse the damage.

And unlike the CFC ozone layer issue, it's going to be a lot harder and more expensive.

[FourScore]

13. This was the first year my son

was old enough to sign up for his school's ski club. He was so excited. He signed up for snowboarding. Tomorrow was supposed to be the first day on the slopes. But the 50 degrees outside and no way to even use artificial snow has caused them to cancel tomorrow.

We'll see what happens in two weeks...

So far we've only had one day of snow that only lasted for a few hours. We're supposed to get snow 5 days a week up here. It's not good.

[Parche]

2. arctic

So who is this Al Gore guy?
And what is he talking about??

[sweetheart]

23. "in america, political will is a renewable resource"

Yes, where is al gore.

It seems the bush/exon tossers are planning to drown a few
hundred million people and not dirty their 'pretty little minds'.

[Reterr]

3. kr.eom

[madmax]

4. I don't know about Global Warming

:evilgrin: but, my plants are really confused. The daffodils are sprouting leaves, my hyacinth bulbs have 5" buds. It's full steam ahead here for Spring and it's only January!!!!! :mad:

[texastoast]

8. In Colorado the last few days

We went over the Snake River, and I've never seen it running this time of year where we go. Always there has been an ice sheet covering it. Not this time. We could have gone wading (and gotten very blue feet).

[Raksha]

19. Where are you? I'm in Southern California and that's normal for us.

Daffodils and hyacinths normally bloom in January and February around here. It's been happening ever since I can remember. The earliest flowering trees are the redbuds and they will be in bloom soon, if they aren't already.

But if this ISN'T typical for your area, I'd say you've got problems. I'm not trying to minimize the seriousness of it.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. The earth is ridding herself of vermin

If we don't stop ourselves she will.

[texastoast]

7. Oh, don't you know

that our Lovely Lady is nothing but a big ball of mud? She can't think for herself.:sarcasm:

Oh, too little too late. Had we listened 40 years ago . . .

[Delphinus]

10. And this is where it shows clearly

how we are all connected. We are one. We may be individuals, but we are one. And, unfortunately, what the too many people are doing is only caring about themselves, in this moment, right now, to hell with the future and their progeny. We ALL will have to reap the consequences.

[redacted]

9. ..

[FourScore]

11. Still no snow and 50 degrees in central New York n/t

K&R

:kick:

[antiimperialist]

16. Today was 12 degrees hotter than average in NY

And it will be 60 on Saturday. The record is 64 for January in Central Park.

[FogerRox]

17. 14 miles west of NYC in NJ,

I am sooooo ready to shovel some snow...PLEASE......

[Maestro]

12. Very bad.

The US needs to take the lead in spearheading alternate forms of energy. We can start by stopping the subsidization of Big Oil and subsidize more wind farms and more effective solar energy and electric cars! The answers are there! We just need to develop them and leave Big Oil behind.

[Dinger]

14. K & R

[redacted]

15. SEE ALSO POST: World faces hottest year ever, as El Niño combines with global warming (Independent)

From the Independent, UK:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3036105&mesg_id=3036105

[OneBlueSky]

18. so what would be the impact on, say, New York City? . . .

if the Artic ice pack melts, sea levels are going to rise considerably all over the globe . . . I've spent some time near the waterfront of the lower Hudson, and at high tide the water gets right up there . . . what happens if it rises another, say, three feet? . . . won't most of Manhattan be flooded? . . . have any studies been done on this? . . .

[NickB79]

20. Melted Arctic pack ice won't raise sea levels

The ice is already floating, meaning it is already displacing an equivalent amount of water.

Now, if the land-based ice in Greenland or Antarctica melts, THEN sea levels rise.

[redacted]

21. Impact on NYC, England, Netherlands, Shanghai could be catastrophic

There are a number of graphical computer simulations presented in Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" that show the effects on these and other areas. The area where the World Trade Center once stood would be completely submerged.

It sounds like you haven't yet seen the film. There's a really good quality copy that Paramount posted on Google Video for promotional purposes. You can download it from there and watch it for free.

[redacted]

22. .....

[Clark2008]

24. My son heard about the polar ice caps melting and sadly came

to ask me where Santa was going to live.

:cry: